Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Blessed Curses
AUTHOR: Madeleine Ribbon
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 168 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 7, 2013
BLURB:
Though he’s a sorcerer with a talent for creating blessings, David can do very little with any other magic. He works the night shift for his cousin’s magical supply shop because he’s cursed—his brother did it when they were kids—and now people can’t stand to be near David since he inspires irrational fear. Many experts have tried to remove it, but the curse has proven completely binding. Then David meets Vaughn at his brother’s wedding.
Vaughn works for the magical enforcers, picking apart complex curses and making sure sorcerers stay within the law. He has the ability to dampen magical effects around him and loves solving supposedly irreversible curses like David’s. He quickly develops a more personal interest in David. Despite the distance David attempts to keep between them, he finally realizes when Vaughn is injured on the job that he doesn’t want to stay away anymore. But what about the curse?
REVIEW:
This was such a sweet, satisfying read! Poor David has lived his life with everyone (except his brother) afraid of him while also being afraid of himself. He’s seen every curse breaker and medic available and after years of attempting to find a solution, David finally gave up and just retreated further into his own company. The last thing he wants is to be attending a wedding with a large group of people that will never understand or tolerate his presence but its for his brother so he’ll just have to suffer through it. David is understandably surprised, however, when he meets Vaughn, a friend of the bride who works as a curse breaker. While suspicious of his motives at first, David develops an unexpected and unanticipated relationship with Vaughn that has him letting someone in for the first time since he was a child and may see him finding a way to his happily ever after.
Like I said, this was a really sweet story. I felt so bad for David yet despite the curse he was saddled with as a child, he’s still managed to build a life for himself. Granted it wasn’t the life he wanted or envisioned for himself but he still got by. Vaughn was also a great character; there were quite a few different sides to the man but his best quality was in sticking by David, even when David was trying to shove him away for ‘his own good’. There’s a bit of a side story included that deals with Vaughn’s job that added a nice undercurrent to the overall story line and it was interesting getting to see what he did for a living. There isn’t a lot of drama or angst to speak of over the course of the book but I found it wasn’t really necessary here, either. This was just a great story that dealt with the magical backlash to a kid that didn’t deserve it and getting to see him finally get his happy ending. The only complaint I have is that, for a book featuring magic users, I didn’t actually get to see much magic! I still enjoyed the story immensely, however, and I know I’ll read it again just for the characters themselves.
RATING: 
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