Author: Sarah Penner
Published: April 29, 2025 by Park Row
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Blurb: 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.
My Opinion: At first glance, The Amalfi Curse had me debating whether I should even give it a shot. The opening pages weren’t promising. Filled with endorsements from BookTok influencers rather than established authors. It made me wonder: Are publishers shifting their priorities entirely, banking on influencers to sell books instead of engaging directly with readers? If so, what does that mean for the future of book publishing? That uneasy thought lingered as I turned the pages.
The first third of the novel left me feeling detached and uncertain if it would turn out to be another disappointment like The London Séance Society. I was hoping it would compare to the writing in The Lost Apothecary, which pulled me in from the start. It landed somewhere in the middle.
This time, I found myself waiting and wondering when the story would finally click. And then, around the 100-page mark, something shifted. The tangled threads of dual timelines and three distinct perspectives started to tighten into something more compelling. Sea witches, pirates, and fortune hunters are elements that should have been exciting from the start, but the book took its time, making me work for the payoff. It wasn’t until the latter half that I truly appreciated how Penner laid out the story, dropping clues rather than spoon-feeding the reader. That trust in her audience, allowing us to make connections without excess hand-holding, was refreshing.
By the end, I was surprised at how much I had come to care about the characters and the world Penner had built. What started as an uncertain read evolved into something unexpectedly satisfying. She redeemed herself here, crafting a novel that, despite its slow burn, ultimately rewarded patience. In hindsight, maybe that’s part of its charm.
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.
My Opinion: At first glance, The Amalfi Curse had me debating whether I should even give it a shot. The opening pages weren’t promising. Filled with endorsements from BookTok influencers rather than established authors. It made me wonder: Are publishers shifting their priorities entirely, banking on influencers to sell books instead of engaging directly with readers? If so, what does that mean for the future of book publishing? That uneasy thought lingered as I turned the pages.
The first third of the novel left me feeling detached and uncertain if it would turn out to be another disappointment like The London Séance Society. I was hoping it would compare to the writing in The Lost Apothecary, which pulled me in from the start. It landed somewhere in the middle.
This time, I found myself waiting and wondering when the story would finally click. And then, around the 100-page mark, something shifted. The tangled threads of dual timelines and three distinct perspectives started to tighten into something more compelling. Sea witches, pirates, and fortune hunters are elements that should have been exciting from the start, but the book took its time, making me work for the payoff. It wasn’t until the latter half that I truly appreciated how Penner laid out the story, dropping clues rather than spoon-feeding the reader. That trust in her audience, allowing us to make connections without excess hand-holding, was refreshing.
By the end, I was surprised at how much I had come to care about the characters and the world Penner had built. What started as an uncertain read evolved into something unexpectedly satisfying. She redeemed herself here, crafting a novel that, despite its slow burn, ultimately rewarded patience. In hindsight, maybe that’s part of its charm.
No comments:
Post a Comment