The Curse Giver by Dora Machado – Review

 Giveaway information:

Rafflecopter link is at the bottom of the post.  Good Luck!

BLURB:

Lusielle’s bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when her husband betrays her and she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.

Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.

Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.

Excerpt and Chapter 1

Review:

Holy schmoly!  Harlie tends to shy away from the whole epic fantasy realm of books but this book intrigued when I read the first paragraph of the blurb.  Heroine is on the pyre to be burned.  Yep, and then the hero comes in at the last moment and saves her.  But wait, then he has to kill her.  I just had to read the book to find out more.  It sounded like an old historical with the swashbuckling pirate and the damsel in distress.  Only the damsel isn’t in distress so to speak and the pirate is a tortured hero after witnessing his father’s and brother’s deaths.

There are four main characters in the book, too.  Hato is the old sage and a loyal friend to Bren, the hero, Bren is our hero that doesn’t want to be the hero.  Just wants to do his job of killing Lusielle for bearing the birthmark of the curse.  Severo is the one character that took some getting used to.  I didn’t get him at first but once the action started I did.  Lusielle. our beloved heroine starts off meek and timid but in the end, she found her true self and I did a little shout out for her.  Keep in mind that all of these characters tell the story in their own POV so it made for an interesting read.  Lots of people don’t like that in their reading but since this a fantasy, it made it so much easier to follow.  🙂

Once the action starts it doesn’t stop.  Literally doesn’t stop.  I had to put the book down a couple of times to catch my breath and sleep.  Its a long one, almost 500 pages but with everything going on, it reads pretty fast.   The plot was interesting with intrigue, twists, gods, goddesses, myths, curses and lots of action. I was constantly on the edge of the couch hoping and praying things would work out in the end.

Again, this is a dark fantasy/paranormal romance that was very hard to put down once I started it.  Each character is relatable and with some subtle humor sprinkled in, I really liked it.  It kept me on my toes and more than held my interest throughout.  Here’s hoping that Severo gets his own book someday.  🙂

BIO:

Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, coming this summer from Twilight Times Books. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. Her first novel, Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone, won the 2009 Benjamin Franklin award for best debut novel. Her second novel, Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone, won the 2010 Independent Publishers Book Award’s (IPPY) Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy book of the year. Her third novel, Stonewiser: The Lament of the Stones, won the 2012 Independent Publishers Book Award’s (IPPY) Silver Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy book of the year. All three novels were finalist in ForeWord Magazine for Book of the Year in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Category. Her latest novel, The Curse Giver from Twilight Times Books is available July 2013.

She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.

ONLINE LINKS:

• Website  http://www.doramachado.com/
• Blog  http://www.doramachado.com/blog/
• Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/doramachado1
• Twitter  https://twitter.com/DoraMachado
• Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1246272.Dora_Machado
• Amazon Authors page  http://www.amazon.com/Dora-Machado/e/B006RW7R7O

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway