Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells Series: The Prospero's War #2
Published by Orbit Books on August 12, 2014
Genres: Adult SFF, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 370
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
My Reviews in this series: Dirty Magic, Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon, Deadly Spells
*This book was provided by the Publisher for review. No compensation was provided and all opinions are strictly my own.
When a rare Blue Moon upsets the magical balance in the city, Detective Kate Prospero and her Magical Enforcement colleagues pitch in to help Babylon PD keep the peace. Between potions going haywire and everyone's emotions running high, every cop in the city is on edge. But the moon's impact is especially strong for Kate who's wrestling with guilt over falling off the magic wagon.
After a rogue wizard steals dangerous potions from the local covens, Kate worries their suspect is building a dirty magic bomb. Her team must find the anarchist rogue before the covens catch him, and make sure they defuse the bomb before the Blue Moon deadline. Failure is never an option, but success will require Kate to come clean about her secrets.
I loved book one in this series, Dirty Magic. I gave it 4.5 stars, actually. So, you ask, what happened that we are all the way down to 2 measly stars for Cursed Moon? A loss of 2.5 stars? What happened?
I’ll tell you what happened, in Cursed Moon our Heroine Kate Prospero is pigeon holed into a guilty conscience, alcoholic wreck. Yeah for Kate!
I almost DNF’d three times due to irritation and boredom. As a fellow reader, I am sure that you share my annoyance with people for feeling like everything is their fault even when they had nothing to do with it. Such a self-centered attitude is annoying and it is pretty much all you get from Kate in Cursed Moon.
She has a tough job, I get it. Being a detective on a special magical task force is tough work. But when you are raising your teen brother as a single mom, if you are not there because you have to work then don’t feel all angry when you realize he is closer to the people he actually spends time with. When you are carrying a big secret that you can;t share with anyone but your enemy, don;t srink to hide from your demons. Don’t push away the people who care about you. These are the themes of this novel. Page after page, chapter after chapter of this self-recrimination. Whenever something bad happens to ANYBODY, Kate makes it HER fault. AAAAAAAAH! The romance brewing between her and her partner is weak at best. I think we need a new male on the scene!
I would quit the series, but this Cursed Moon ends on a high note. Kate recognizes her problems. You get one page of good. I will start the third in this series, because I loved the first and the world building is really good. It better be at least a little more plot and a little less emotional wreck. I will give it 3 chapters.
Maggie
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blodeuedd
I read another review and was all no! Not gonna start this series, I would only get disappointed
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Maggie Jones
I am worried. I hope the third more than makes up for the second. Hopeful!
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Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons)
I really enjoyed Well’s Sabina Kane series and have been wanting to try this one. I haven’t gotten to it yet. What did you think of book one? I hate that you didn’t like this one, but glad that it finished well. Maybe book three will be better. Great review.
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Maggie Jones
Loved book one! Here’s a link to the review: http://www.notyetread.com/2014/09/review-dirty-magic-jaye-wells/
I am very hopeful that three picks up the story from one, I’ll pretend two never happened.
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Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
Oh bummer, 2 stars:-( I haven’t read Dirty Magic yet, but it sounds like fun. Oh well, better luck next time. Hopefully book 3 picks back up!
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Kirsty-Marie
Well, that was more backward character growth. :/ She does sound annoying mind, and really, go away Kate. But seriously, it gets good at the last page? How even more annoying. >:( Bad book.
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Mary @BookSwarm
This was a hard one to get through (though I did rate it higher than you). But there’s no way I’m giving up on this series after that ending. I’m hoping she’s worked through her issues because they’re getting in the way of a great story. (And that kid just bugged the crap out of me!! Damn teenager.)
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Maggie Jones
He is terrible! Teens are pretty annoying and full of themselves though. I certainly was.
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Carmel @ Rabid Reads
Reviews for this sequel have been pretty mixed, and I’ve seen a lot of readers, like you, go from loving book 1 to hating this one. It sounds like the heroine took a turn for the worst, and I’ve heard rumours that it features some pretty graphic scenes about sodomy which is SO not for me. Thanks for the heads up!
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Maggie Jones
I found the sexual element to be sort of a sick side show, it never really featured into the book for me.
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Melliane
I liked it a lot more than you I confess but at the same time I understand as well. I hope the next one will be better for you. If I understand right, it’s the last one.
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Molly Mortensen
I am with you, I hate books where the main character get so guilt wracked they start drinking and think of nothing else. These books are not fun to read and they ruin the usually kick butt person they were before. Sadly this story line is done way too often. Thanks for warning me against this one.
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Maggie Jones
Check back for after three is done, then we’ll know if it’s worth slogging through!
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Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
This is the second negative review I’ve seen for this book in recent days, it’s really surprising how a second book can crash and burn for readers even after a very strong start to the series in the first book. I guess I’ll have to see for myself when I start this one 🙂
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Maggie Jones
I can’t wait to read your review. 🙂
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Tabitha (Not Yet Read)
I really hope the next one gets better for you. That would disappoint me a lot to have my enjoyment level drop so drastically.
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Danya @ Fine Print
Wow, this is like the third negative review I’ve seen for Cursed Moon in the last couple of weeks. It makes me really sad because I want all UF series to be awesome and magical so I can have more to fawn over. 😉 Personally I can’t handle a protagonist whose defining characteristic is guilt. BORING. Cook up a spell, kick some ass, and move on lady. Hopefully book three has a lot of that going on!
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Maggie Jones
Yes! Soul searching is fine unless it makes you emotionally crippled and incompetent! I hope book three picks up the basic story line and focuses less on her problems.
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