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kathydavie's review
5.0
First in the Cursed Luck paranormal fantasy series revolving around Kennedy Bennett and her family. Of the Unstable Bennetts. It switches between Boston and Unstable, Massachusetts.
My Take
This is unique. A tale of curse weavers descended from the gods. And man, these gods are unique. Nothing like you'd expect. Wait'll you read Ares' explanation of how the gods evolved, lol. The National Enquirer all the way. As for god families . . . whoa . . . It certainly does point up the difference in how women were treated back then and the freedoms we have now. It's still not perfect, mind you.
These Bennetts are certainly honest, in their own way.
It's too funny. Aiden is a jerk who has no clue how to be a nice guy. Kennedy enjoys informing him of this fact over and over again. She don't take nothing from this guy! Then again, Armstrong does manage to make risk management and statistics sound interesting. He also gets a comeuppance when he learns he's not considered a threat by, bwa-ha-ha, unknown others!
Of course, you do have to feel sorry for Aiden. His parents are a nightmare! The way they've raised their kids?? I wonder if that's how other rich people raise their kids. Ick. They also expect Kennedy to work for them in spite of their insults and actions.
As for Aiden, his parents expect him to bail Rian out of every mess he gets into. And he is irresponsible, even while he's angry that Aiden is always bailing him out. I think he needs to sit back and reflect on how he could/should change.
Still Kennedy sees something in Aiden . . .?
Armstrong uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Kennedy's perspective, so we know everything she experiences, feels, and thinks, and there's a major realization in here that explains that flight.
It's a jumble of arrogant people demanding services, kidnapping when they choose.
Armstrong creates an interesting history for Unstable. It's a nice switch-up from Salem! As for uncursing or creating luck, there has to be a balance, which makes for some interesting problems.
It's a fun, cozy story filled with action, betrayals, ancient history, and the "truth" about gods and goddesses
The Story
Kennedy Bennett comes from a long line of curse weavers. For centuries, her family has plied their trade in Unstable, Massachusetts, a quirky small town that’s welcomed paranormal practitioners since the dawn of spiritualism. Kennedy has recently struck out on her own, opening an antiques shop in Boston, where her speciality is uncursing and reselling hexed objects.
Then Aiden Connolly walks into her life with an offer she really should refuse. The scion of a wealthy family of luck workers, Aiden has a scheme to get his hands on the most famous cursed object of all: the mythical Necklace of Harmonia. He’s not the only one after the necklace, though. And he’s not the only one looking for a curse weaver to fix it. Kennedy’s sisters are kidnapped, she finds herself plunged into the underbelly of the magical world where even Aidan soon finds himself in over his head.
Turns out Rian owes a debt to someone in the magical black market, and it's why Aiden has to get that necklace. And his parents expect that he'll bail his brother out yet again.
The Characters
Kennedy Bennett is an expert in the joker's jinx from a family of curse weavers who live in Unstable, Massachusetts. Kennedy has an antique shop in Boston that's filled only with formerly cursed items. Elohssa "Ellie", the thirteenth cat in a litter, is her black cat who does not like kibble.
The ginger-haired Aiden Connolly is from old Boston money, went to Harvard, and is kind of a jerk. The company he started in high school sells insurance. He's also a luck worker descended from Fortuna, a Roman goddess. His parents, even worse jerks, are Liam and Marion neé O'Sullivan Connolly. Rian is their useless younger son. The bullying Travis is one of the men who works for Marion. Their gran calls luck "fairy dust".
Unstable, Massachusetts
. . . is a tolerant village upstate that relies on tourism. Tolerant of spiritual anything.
Kennedy's sisters, Turani "Ani" and Hope own Unhex Me Here in Unstable. All three sisters are principled and honest.Their mom died of cancer; their father, a small-town doctor, was in a car accident three years ago. Mom's mother is Yiayia.
Jonathan King is the gorgeous local librarian and Ani's best friend. Miss Clara is also a librarian with memory issues. Mrs Salazar is a neighbor who is the queen bee is the community. Mrs Salazar's niece is the police chief. Mrs Madami has a custard shop.
The arae are . . .
. . . a group of humans with gifts, including immortality, i.e., gods.
Vanessa Apsley is a dream-shaper, divorced, and with her own money. And she shapes one heckuva dream for Kennedy . . . whoa . . . Aiden is in it too! Seems part of her dream dealing is matchmaking. Marius Archer is an arms dealer and is Vanessa's off-again, on-again lover. Carson is one of his men. Hector Voden of Voden Group, which is into construction, is Vanessa's ex-husband, a real jerk. Lars is one of Hector's men.
Havoc is a capo masquerading as a godfather, and she hates Vanessa. She is one really nasty piece of work.
That is, Vanessa is Aphrodite (Venus), Marius is Mars (Ares), and Hector is Hephaestus (Vulcan). Venus and Ares' first child was Harmonia who married Cadmus, and whose wedding gift from Hephaestus was a necklace, the Necklace of Harmonia, the most famous cursed object in history, the wearing of which gives both benefit and disaster. Semele was Harmonia and Cadmus' daughter. Besides the 97-year-old Josephine Hill-Cabot, other owners of the necklace included Queen Jocasta, Jack Astor before he set foot on the Titanic; Benjamin Guggenheim who also died on the Titanic; and, Joe Kennedy Sr. Officer Bradford makes a traffic stop. Lesley-Ann Morrison is another curse weaver with little talent. Misanthrope has cast a malice.
George Hill-Cabot, Josephine's son, is married to Brianne.
A lover's lament is an ex-hex. The joker's jinx is a curse that should be fun, maybe a little bit wicked, but never cruel. Roger Thornton recommended Connolly to Kennedy. Erin Concord is a fake name with clues. Tiffany was a fellow classmate of Aiden's and an even worse jerk in sophomore year. In high school. Michael Fassbender had been a previous fantasy.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of blues from the very, very deep to the lighthearted blues. In profile with her head turned to us is Kennedy with her long black hair, an all-knowing smile and a deep purple tank top, her right hand holding the all-important Magic 8 Ball. Behind her is a dark cloudy sky with halos of light blues behind her head. There are swirls of grass green on either side of her. Just above her elbow is the title in an embossed white with silver shadowing. Below that is an info blurb in white, as is the author's name below that.
The title is Kennedy and Aiden with their combined Cursed Luck.
My Take
This is unique. A tale of curse weavers descended from the gods. And man, these gods are unique. Nothing like you'd expect. Wait'll you read Ares' explanation of how the gods evolved, lol. The National Enquirer all the way. As for god families . . . whoa . . . It certainly does point up the difference in how women were treated back then and the freedoms we have now. It's still not perfect, mind you.
These Bennetts are certainly honest, in their own way.
It's too funny. Aiden is a jerk who has no clue how to be a nice guy. Kennedy enjoys informing him of this fact over and over again. She don't take nothing from this guy! Then again, Armstrong does manage to make risk management and statistics sound interesting. He also gets a comeuppance when he learns he's not considered a threat by, bwa-ha-ha, unknown others!
Of course, you do have to feel sorry for Aiden. His parents are a nightmare! The way they've raised their kids?? I wonder if that's how other rich people raise their kids. Ick. They also expect Kennedy to work for them in spite of their insults and actions.
As for Aiden, his parents expect him to bail Rian out of every mess he gets into. And he is irresponsible, even while he's angry that Aiden is always bailing him out. I think he needs to sit back and reflect on how he could/should change.
Still Kennedy sees something in Aiden . . .?
Armstrong uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Kennedy's perspective, so we know everything she experiences, feels, and thinks, and there's a major realization in here that explains that flight.
It's a jumble of arrogant people demanding services, kidnapping when they choose.
Armstrong creates an interesting history for Unstable. It's a nice switch-up from Salem! As for uncursing or creating luck, there has to be a balance, which makes for some interesting problems.
It's a fun, cozy story filled with action, betrayals, ancient history, and the "truth" about gods and goddesses
The Story
Kennedy Bennett comes from a long line of curse weavers. For centuries, her family has plied their trade in Unstable, Massachusetts, a quirky small town that’s welcomed paranormal practitioners since the dawn of spiritualism. Kennedy has recently struck out on her own, opening an antiques shop in Boston, where her speciality is uncursing and reselling hexed objects.
Then Aiden Connolly walks into her life with an offer she really should refuse. The scion of a wealthy family of luck workers, Aiden has a scheme to get his hands on the most famous cursed object of all: the mythical Necklace of Harmonia. He’s not the only one after the necklace, though. And he’s not the only one looking for a curse weaver to fix it. Kennedy’s sisters are kidnapped, she finds herself plunged into the underbelly of the magical world where even Aidan soon finds himself in over his head.
Turns out Rian owes a debt to someone in the magical black market, and it's why Aiden has to get that necklace. And his parents expect that he'll bail his brother out yet again.
The Characters
Kennedy Bennett is an expert in the joker's jinx from a family of curse weavers who live in Unstable, Massachusetts. Kennedy has an antique shop in Boston that's filled only with formerly cursed items. Elohssa "Ellie", the thirteenth cat in a litter, is her black cat who does not like kibble.
The ginger-haired Aiden Connolly is from old Boston money, went to Harvard, and is kind of a jerk. The company he started in high school sells insurance. He's also a luck worker descended from Fortuna, a Roman goddess. His parents, even worse jerks, are Liam and Marion neé O'Sullivan Connolly. Rian is their useless younger son. The bullying Travis is one of the men who works for Marion. Their gran calls luck "fairy dust".
Unstable, Massachusetts
. . . is a tolerant village upstate that relies on tourism. Tolerant of spiritual anything.
Kennedy's sisters, Turani "Ani" and Hope own Unhex Me Here in Unstable. All three sisters are principled and honest.Their mom died of cancer; their father, a small-town doctor, was in a car accident three years ago. Mom's mother is Yiayia.
Jonathan King is the gorgeous local librarian and Ani's best friend. Miss Clara is also a librarian with memory issues. Mrs Salazar is a neighbor who is the queen bee is the community. Mrs Salazar's niece is the police chief. Mrs Madami has a custard shop.
The arae are . . .
. . . a group of humans with gifts, including immortality, i.e., gods.
Vanessa Apsley is a dream-shaper, divorced, and with her own money. And she shapes one heckuva dream for Kennedy . . . whoa . . . Aiden is in it too! Seems part of her dream dealing is matchmaking. Marius Archer is an arms dealer and is Vanessa's off-again, on-again lover. Carson is one of his men. Hector Voden of Voden Group, which is into construction, is Vanessa's ex-husband, a real jerk. Lars is one of Hector's men.
Havoc is a capo masquerading as a godfather, and she hates Vanessa. She is one really nasty piece of work.
That is, Vanessa is Aphrodite (Venus), Marius is Mars (Ares), and Hector is Hephaestus (Vulcan). Venus and Ares' first child was Harmonia who married Cadmus, and whose wedding gift from Hephaestus was a necklace, the Necklace of Harmonia, the most famous cursed object in history, the wearing of which gives both benefit and disaster. Semele was Harmonia and Cadmus' daughter. Besides the 97-year-old Josephine Hill-Cabot, other owners of the necklace included Queen Jocasta, Jack Astor before he set foot on the Titanic; Benjamin Guggenheim who also died on the Titanic; and, Joe Kennedy Sr. Officer Bradford makes a traffic stop. Lesley-Ann Morrison is another curse weaver with little talent. Misanthrope has cast a malice.
George Hill-Cabot, Josephine's son, is married to Brianne.
A lover's lament is an ex-hex. The joker's jinx is a curse that should be fun, maybe a little bit wicked, but never cruel. Roger Thornton recommended Connolly to Kennedy. Erin Concord is a fake name with clues. Tiffany was a fellow classmate of Aiden's and an even worse jerk in sophomore year. In high school. Michael Fassbender had been a previous fantasy.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of blues from the very, very deep to the lighthearted blues. In profile with her head turned to us is Kennedy with her long black hair, an all-knowing smile and a deep purple tank top, her right hand holding the all-important Magic 8 Ball. Behind her is a dark cloudy sky with halos of light blues behind her head. There are swirls of grass green on either side of her. Just above her elbow is the title in an embossed white with silver shadowing. Below that is an info blurb in white, as is the author's name below that.
The title is Kennedy and Aiden with their combined Cursed Luck.
tales_of_a_bookbug's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
jacquelinec's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
lizzsully77's review
4.0
I think this is one of the first books by Kelley Armstrong I have read. I did enjoy it and do plan and reading more of this series and seeing what other ones she has.
chloeleigh95's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.2⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ & 0🌶️. I enjoyed this, it was unusual in how the curse weavers magic system works. I didn’t see the twist in chapter 36 coming. So that was pretty cool. But, it did get a little chatty for me at the end. I know it was to explain the plot but I found it rather dull. I kind of like an action packed villian battle style ending so it may just be my preference! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fab and I loved the different voices. I did enjoy the ending and the plot was good but something was missing to get it up to 5 stars. I also wish we saw some romance!
ignited_redqueen75's review against another edition
3.0
Spoilers so please proceed with caution:
I am normally a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong but this book was just not a hit for me.
The story begins Kennedy a curse weaver in her shop that meets an arrogant, self absorbed, hot looking guy who basically sets her up to test her skills as a curse weaver, then tries to convince her to actually work with him on a job which turns into this banter that reminded me of my kids saying " mom she's touching me, sort of thing." Any who they figure it out, set off on this mission that turns into another and I don't know somewhere along the way it becomes a family feud among immortals, to be fair I think I started skimming through because I was just confused and bored. I really wanted to like this, I love these kind of books but this one was just a no for me. There was too much going on and not enough making sense to me.
I am normally a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong but this book was just not a hit for me.
The story begins Kennedy a curse weaver in her shop that meets an arrogant, self absorbed, hot looking guy who basically sets her up to test her skills as a curse weaver, then tries to convince her to actually work with him on a job which turns into this banter that reminded me of my kids saying " mom she's touching me, sort of thing." Any who they figure it out, set off on this mission that turns into another and I don't know somewhere along the way it becomes a family feud among immortals, to be fair I think I started skimming through because I was just confused and bored. I really wanted to like this, I love these kind of books but this one was just a no for me. There was too much going on and not enough making sense to me.
cluelessleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
A fun urban fantasy story with quippy banter, stubborn romantic leads, some adventure, and an all-around easygoing feeling. A great book to enjoy over the weekend if all you want is something quick and fun to read.
The story follows a woman named Kennedy who must rescue her sisters from being kidnapped by uncursing an ancient item with the help of a mystery man named Connolly. Much of the story is bent around Kennedy and Connolly building their relationship and uncovering the conspiracy around the object they are meant to uncurse. Things become more complicated as family ties and unnatural beings are brought into play, leading to an exciting finale.
The dialogue and prose are light and easy to follow. There is a sense of urgency and danger, but the action is fairly light. The pacing is good and the characters are likable. Kennedy is fiery and determined, which clashes with the more stoic and reserved Connolly. It takes some time for their bond to grow, but is sweet when it does.
There is a twist in the book, however, that I did not see coming and that felt a little jarring. It definitely makes things interesting and is explained, but it didn't quite seem to fit with what I expected from the initial first half of the book.
All this said, CURSED LUCK is a fun read and one that doesn't demand a ton of emotion from its readers. It's good for causal enjoyment and doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Recommended to lovers of fun, urban fantasy, banter, and unique magic.
The story follows a woman named Kennedy who must rescue her sisters from being kidnapped by uncursing an ancient item with the help of a mystery man named Connolly. Much of the story is bent around Kennedy and Connolly building their relationship and uncovering the conspiracy around the object they are meant to uncurse. Things become more complicated as family ties and unnatural beings are brought into play, leading to an exciting finale.
The dialogue and prose are light and easy to follow. There is a sense of urgency and danger, but the action is fairly light. The pacing is good and the characters are likable. Kennedy is fiery and determined, which clashes with the more stoic and reserved Connolly. It takes some time for their bond to grow, but is sweet when it does.
There is a twist in the book, however, that I did not see coming and that felt a little jarring. It definitely makes things interesting and is explained, but it didn't quite seem to fit with what I expected from the initial first half of the book.
All this said, CURSED LUCK is a fun read and one that doesn't demand a ton of emotion from its readers. It's good for causal enjoyment and doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Recommended to lovers of fun, urban fantasy, banter, and unique magic.
sandyfleener's review against another edition
5.0
What a fun read
I usually like Kelly Armstrong's writing so it's no surprise that this series seems like it will be a new favorite. Fun characters, a cat that is just like my cat, loving sisters and brothers that get on each other's nerves. I think I'll like this one quite a bit.
I usually like Kelly Armstrong's writing so it's no surprise that this series seems like it will be a new favorite. Fun characters, a cat that is just like my cat, loving sisters and brothers that get on each other's nerves. I think I'll like this one quite a bit.
alikatson's review against another edition
5.0
4.25 - I really enjoyed this! Armstrong is one of my favorite author's for a reason. I have to admit at first I was a bit disappointed this dealt with . The main character was great!