The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner

 

My thoughts

To me this book started out kind of slow. I didn't have a hard time putting it down. It was good. It was very interesting. There are a couple of stories going on and finding how they relate was interesting. For the most part I was lost for a while. When it did pick up though I enjoyed it. 

This story is about sunken treasure. Witchcraft. Love. Family. It has a bit going on. Haven Ambrose is a nautical archaeologist who is working along the Amalfi Coast. To me she was a bit weak and not at all as strong as she should have been. I liked her but wish she had been written as a stronger female. 

When she is replaced on a job she gets upset but when called back she goes for it like nothing ever happened. I thought she should have put up more of a fight in the first place but definitely should have gave them a hard time about coming back. And her dad's so called friend, Conrad... What a loser. I didn't like him at all. I did love Enzo though. He was the guy who stole Haven's heart. A love story there. This part is told in the present.

Mari is a Strega. That is a witch but seems to be more powerful. She could control the waters where the ships sailed. If they got to close she would make it so they had to leave. Mari met and feel for Holmes. I liked them both. They had a strong love. 

This story is told from three POVs. Two timelines. From 1821 in Mari's and Holmes' life and the present from Haven't pov. It was a very interesting story but I can't say that I loved it. It was ok but not breathtaking. It had beautiful scenes. The descriptions make it sound gorgeous. I'm sure it is. 

I enjoyed this story but still was not blown away by it. Not like I love a book to make me feel. 

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. 

About

Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…

Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.