Love & Other Cursed Things

Krista and Becca Ritchie are my favorite authors, and they've created a new world that I absolutely, completely adore. The coastal setting, the lovable characters, the searingly swooning F/F romance! All of it is perfect! The chemistry between Zoey and October is electric, and I love all of the side characters with my WHOLE HEART! Mistpoint Harbor is strange and cursed, and yet the characters are all so full of love. The mysteries in the book are deep and complicated, but love is never, ever forgotten. This is one beautiful book. LOCT was everything I wanted and more. Krista and Becca NEVER disappoint! The coastal, lakeside atmosphere (there's a lighthouse keeper!! There's a lovable lakeside bar!!), the absolutely fascinating world building, the rich and textured characters, and the most perfectly romantic F/F romance all culminated in a whirlwind of twists and turns, of small town politics and unsolved mysteries, of fierce family bonds and a rich, spangled love. Zoey and October are, as I said, electric (and so alive), and even though this book is billed as a standalone, I hope KBR give us more one day. These characters are too precious and incredible to let go of! Like. Parry DiNapoli. I mean. My damn heart! LOCT is not exactly magical (or is it?), but if you love the uncanny curiosities of the Raven Cycle, you'll adore the vibes of this book. Mistpoint Harbor is a strange, cursed town that holds tight to its residents. Stay long enough, and misfortune will follow...The pacing of the world building throughout is sublime. Each little morsel of information is so naturally and skillfully deployed--nothing is ever forced. Everything makes sense. This is a fast and tidy novel, but in under 350 pages, Krista and Becca have created yet another world I can't live without. Mistpoint Harbor is a place rich with history and tangled connections, and I love, love, love the new characters with all of my heart. Their interactions are LIFE. For real, I'm obsessed. And the book does fit somewhere into the Addicted/Like Us timeline! I won't spoil where, but if you adore the Famous Families as much as I do, I think you'll be overjoyed to see when LOCT takes place. I had such a giddy smile on my face every time the Hales, Meadows, and Cobalts were mentioned! This book was pure perfection. I can't get over how much I enjoyed it. I already knew it would be a 5 star read, but it's so much more than that. There was one bomb drop moment in the book that had me staring and stunned. STUNNED. And the chemistry between Zoey and October? *chef's kiss* This is my first book of the year, and I'm so glad I started 2022 with my favorite authors. There's nothing better than a new KBR book, and this one is so very special. And it's a standalone! So you're not committing yourself to a long series if you're new to the KBR universe! A win-win. Bliss.

There's far more meat to the plot of Love and Other Cursed Things than one usually finds in this genre. I won't write a plot synopsis, other reviewers will do that far better than I can. I'll just say that this book is a gem. I had to force myself not to race to the finish - to get the mysteries unraveled, and I'm so glad I resisted. This is a story that deserves to be savored: gripping plot, twists and turns, a perfect balance of angst and joy. Possible spoiler, although I'm trying hard to dance around that: the one downside for me was, IMHO, a cowardly and morally unsupportable decision made by one of the key characters - and abetted by the others. "It might inconvenience me," is a pitifully weak excuse to dodge the right action, even in fiction, especially when that literal life and death decision will eventually leave a family in a grief filled limbo of loss and uncertainty and nearly every character in the book in a legal jeopardy that would eventually take a much higher toll on their lives life than simply facing up to the situation at the outset. In an otherwise very well written book this was a jarring and unnecessary plot misstep and the only reason I rated it 4, rather than 5.

Characters shrouded in mystery. Small town politics. A creepy inn. A missing persons case. This book caught my attention from page 1 and never let it go. There were times when I truly had no idea what was happening but I was dying to learn more. I adored Zoey and October. The pining and longing from both characters felt to real and also drove me insane. I found myself screaming at them to just be together. There's a lot of history between the two, but it just makes it all more worth it when they finally get together. The secondary characters were all fantastic as well. KBs books always get you to fall in love with a whole different range of personalities, and this book is no different. But like I mentioned, all these characters are carrying secrets, you think you’ve got someone figured out and then they’ll show you a whole new side and you’re left questioning everything all over again. As for the plot, bombs were dropped, lives were changed. At times this book resembled a telenovela. I loved every page of it. And I won’t be greedy and ask for a sequel since it does say it's a standalone, but if these authors ever feel the need to revisit these characters or town… I would very much be ok with that.

This is one of my all time favorite books by Krista and Becca. It is the perfect autumn read full of Nancy Drew vibes. Grab a fuzzy blanket and a cup of tea because Mistpoint Harbor is calling!

**I’ve always just dreamt of her. The girl who makes me come alive again. And again.** I refuse to believe this is a standalone!!! I need more of Mistpoint Harbour and the Durands!! Truly cannot believe I waited so long to read this and then devoured it in one go. What am I meant to do now that there isn’t another book with this incredible cast of characters. If you haven’t read this yet... what are you doing, go go go! **For her. It’s always only been for her.** Zoey & October are such a beautiful couple. They’re so cute and wonderful together. Their chemistry is amazing, I love how they can’t help but gravitate towards each other. October’s protectiveness was so sweet and I loved both of their internal dialogue about each other. It was so clear how much they care for each other. Zoey was such a fun and loveable character with major Lily energy. I love how geeky she is and all the awkward little things that just endeared her more to October. They were also both so cool and badass. The mystery aspect was fun and I liked the building suspense. The small town politics and the curses were so interesting, just the general town dynamic. Love prevails though and I really enjoyed how a lot of actions stemmed from love between people and a desire to protect them. Even if my poor Durands deserve a thousand times better. **I want to be where you are.** Krista & Becca write the best families, I have fallen in love with every one they’ve written immediately and they just remain in my heart forever. The Durands are no different and I desperately wish we had more content. Brian omg! I can’t believe it and at the same time it makes perfect sense. The development of them was so moving and that hug omg!! Tears were inevitable. When Zoey first returns I just wanted them to talk it out and be close again but this is so much better! I love him and he said so little lol. Zoey remembering all those moments from her childhood got me so emotional, and that photo too!! The time between the secret being revealed, things moving upwards and the book ending is way too short. I need more of their adorable interactions please. All the stuff happening in the background totally reeled me in. I love Parry & Brian together, they’re adorable. All that antagonising hides such deep feelings. Parry is such a great character, I love his friendship and bond with Zoey. And I could beg for more Colt content! I don’t think he realises how great of a brother he is. The way these 3 all care for and are protective of Zoey made me melt. I’m so happy that he is starting to move up after the book’s events, he deserves sunshine and goodness, to be happy and free. All those interactions with Baby… yeah I am so ready for their book. And of course October and Baby are amazing. I love how KBR write sisterhood and this book has another beautiful bond! **Love is the most powerful thing here.** I loved all the fangirling over the Cobalt/Meadows/Hale kids! It’s so fun seeing myself in these fictional characters and their love (obsession), and also seeing a different perspective of Addicted & Like Us. The way October loves and defends Jane is so dear to me! I think they would get along so well. Worlds need to collide! *Read this read this read this, please!*

Un buon romanzo F/F Non è uno dei miei preferiti delle gemelle Ritchie e non perché è f/f Quello che non mi è piaciuto è che a tratti è un pochino lento e ti viene voglia di skippare le pagine.. Cosa non positiva per un lettore. In ogni caso, bel libro ma non bellissimo

4,5 stars This was so good. Such an intriguing and unique story. I loved the town and that whole plotline. The romance was so sweet and all the relationships with the other characters had me super entertained and reeled in into the drama and everything.

This is going to be a billionaires and bodyguards rant before it’s a review. I stopped reading KB Ritchie books with the B&B series because hand on heart I hated it. It’s completely different to what I thought it would be and I couldn’t watch characters I loved be changed so much. I’d actually met the authors before they’d released Sulli’s book and it was not supposed to be a MFM and I was not impressed with this change. Obviously it’s a genre that people like but it’s not for me. I’m not into m/m and read my first ones for these authors - I rated it 4/5 stars and I agree that I loved the story based on the authors writing and my love of the characters past and family members of present but I hated Farrow so much - I’ve not reviewed a single one. I was not happy with Jane’s book and couldn’t even finish it. My last chance to jump back in was Sulli’s (the daughter of my favourite characters of all time) book and it was ridiculousness. All this to say, I’d given up on these authors, one of those “thanks for the memories but it’s time for me to go” things. When they announced a stand-alone I was like “ok here’s a fresh start where I don’t know the characters and I can’t get pissed based on what I was told was going to happen that then didn’t” and it was nice, it reminded me of what I’d like about KB’s writing and the soul they can put in their books that I felt was missing from the Like Us series. I’m likely not going to read any LU books ever again but I do want to re-read about my OGs and I might buy new standalone/series from KB going forward. I really liked the idea of a cursed town and running away from your past just to realise that sometimes you can be in control of your future. Didn’t fall in love with the book but I liked it and that’s more than good enough for me right now.