Cursed Coven of the Raven Book 1
Paranormal Romance/Witches
September 13, 2018
211
Oskar Quigley knows exactly when and how he’ll die.
Living with a death curse isn’t easy, but after generations of research handed down to him he thinks he knows how to defeat the Thomas, his great uncle and a witch gone bad who caused the problem. There’s just one thing he never accounted for: another victim.
Mylla has been Thomas’s servant for as long as she can remember, but her memories can’t be trusted. The marks on her wall add up to decades, and her diary is a muddled collection of rambling. When Oskar arrives to tend the gardens she needs to warn him that bad things happen, difficult when she can only talk on Thomas’ command. But she doesn’t need to talk to steal a few moments for herself in Oskar’s bed as she tries to convince him that magic is real.
With time running out and Thomas’s suspicions growing, Oskar is forced to act. But if living with a death curse is hard, learning to live is even harder.
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Oskar Quigley was taken into the Uncommon Raven Agency, a coven that saved him from going astray but a coven that refuses to initiate him because of the Quigley bloodline. Not having been initiated into the coven he has never learned the secrets that could help him in his guest. His great-great-great Uncle Thomas was responsible for the curse that has caused the death of the Quigley men at the age of 30 and now Oskar is only three months away from that same fate.
Refusing to just give up and die he is determined to put an end to the curse and his great-uncle even though many others have tried and failed. Oskar accepts the job as the new gardener for Thomas but as soon as he enters the home he realizes that death magic is everywhere and his uncle is much stronger than him. He asks for help from the Goddess Morrigu but she only tells him that he has to get over his fear of life and not his fear of death. Not much help but Oskar is determined to put an end to his curse.
Thomas is using death magic to stay alive draining blood and the life force from his maid Mylla and the life-like statues in the garden, and by life like I mean it literally. Every ten years Thomas hires a new gardener and Oskar knows his time is limited. He is on his own and not a very strong witch in spite of his attempt to strengthen his powers on his own.
Mylla is unable to speak and walks around in a trance leaving Oskar convinced that she is under his uncle’s control. She is able to speak only when Thomas talks to her and I won’t go into the other unimaginable things he does to her or how long she has been under his control. Thomas is unaware of the fact that Mylla is beginning to get some control back and each night she writes down what has happened to her knowing that she will forget everything by the next day. It is Oskar that seems to free her mind up even more and although she can’t communicate with him verbally she does so with pen and paper.
Oskar is unsure of Mylla and if she is there to trick him and reveal what they say back to his uncle but before long he realizes that she is as much a victim as the statues in the garden and the Quigley men. I won’t reveal what happens and whether good wins over evil, I will leave that for you to discover and I am sure you will be happy you did. I look forward to more in this series.
