"Cursed" by Lizzy Ford

Title: Cursed

Author: Lizzy Ford

Series: Voodoo Nights, #1

Publisher: Evatopia Press

Publication date: February 9th, 2014

My rating: 2 of 5

(Book read from January 19th to January 20th, 2014,  from an eARC received from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review.)

 

 

Summary:

 

 

The Red Man is coming ...
 

Five years after her sister disappeared, seventeen-year-old Adrienne finds the strength to return to her father’s home in New Orleans. But soon after she arrives, the mark of a curse appears on her, leaving her worried. Will she be the next victim of a four-hundred-year old family curse ... the next to be claimed by a serial killer roaming the back alleys of the city?
 
The day before his senior year begins, Jayden is given a skeleton key passed down through his family for generations -- a gruesome reminder of how his ancestors betrayed their own people and sold them into slavery. He doesn’t believe in the curse the key allegedly bears and puts it away with the intention of forgetting about its message. Until he meets Adrienne, a girl he’s compelled to for more reasons than her beauty.
 
He’s not the only one who notices her. A man in a skeleton mask and a voodoo gang member are also drawn to Adrienne. One is determined to protect her. The other intends to mislead her. Haunted by the mythical Red Man, all are connected to the ancient curse.
 
Can they overcome their misgivings about one another and prevent the dark prophecy looming over them? Or will they be lured away from each other by evil’s siren song? 

 

 

  

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

  

First of all, I have to say that this won't be a good review, but I'll try not to turn it in a rant.

  

Cursed has a very good premise & idea for a great story. A mix of potentially interesting characters, curses, voodoo, prophecy, mystery & a serial killer - it definitely looked like an interesting story when I started reading it, but that's all just it was - a potentially good story, but the execution of it really, really sucked.

The biggest problem for me were without a doubt the characters. They were just so, so silly. The way they act, the way they think, just silly & ridiculous. At first, I found them a little bit amusing with their silliness, and for most of the book I was snorting at them (I know, not a pretty image). But, their continued silliness & increasing stupidity made everything worse, I couldn't even try disliking them, they just weren't worth it.

I don't even want to talk about each character separately, because I probably want be able to stop myself from ranting.

The second biggest problem was the writing itself. There were these sentences (mostly when describing a character's attractiveness), that they really felt out of place. It was like they suddenly jumped straight from an adult paranormal romance & they decided to join the party. They were so weird & absurd among the rest of this silliness. 

And the "romance", if I can say that it was a romance - almost awful. It could've been cute, if it was only between Jayden & Adrienne, but it ended up being bad also. Adrienne was all over the place, really inconsistent & flaky, also quite gullible.

In the end, even though Cursed wasn't the worst book I've ever read, it was definitely the most ridiculous one, and I'm sad to say it. I usually love those books where the deeds in the past have consequences in the future, where the past is connected with the present & the future, and on top of that, there is mystery & curses, and magic, etc. But, unfortunately, the author just didn't deliver, so I can't recommend this book, even though I know there are those who had enjoyed it a lot, so, thanks, but, no thanks.

 

 

 

Challenges:

 

2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge