Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Curses and Kitsune
SERIES: A Paranormal Yakuza Duet Book 2
AUTHOR: C.J. Ravenna
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 285 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 24th, 2024
BLURB:
Jinta
Nothing’s easy when you’re fated to a yakuza boss.
I’m possessed by an ancient, powerful kitsune hellbent on chaos and destruction. Until we can find a way to lift the curse, I’m a threat to everyone I hold dear. Tensions within the Namikawa-kai, hunters lurking in the shadows, and vengeful ex-boyfriends want to thwart us at every step.
All I want is to be with Raiden, my mate, the man I love. If we stand together, we can get through it all. But when I see a new, ugly side to Raiden, I can’t help but question if we really want the same things.
When the time comes to run, will Raiden leave it all behind for me?
Raiden
I’ll destroy anyone who hurts my mate—but I’m the one hurting him the most.
I’m the boss now. This is my pack. Tokyo is my city. No one will ever control me again. As I fall deeper into my new responsibilities, Jinta and I grow more estranged.
When betrayal strikes from within my own pack, Jinta is the one who pays the price. Jinta has no place in my world. He’s a pure ray of sunshine in the darkness of my life, and I can’t be the reason he gets hurt. I don’t deserve him. Never have.
I’ve got to let him go. Before the shadows of my world consume the only person I’ve ever loved.
Curses & Kitsune is the final book in A Paranormal Yakuza Duet and concludes with a hard-won Happily-Ever-After.
REVIEW:
I went into this book with hopeful expectations but it let me down a little. I really liked these characters in the first book so I was looking forward to seeing how there story ended.
There are a few problems with this story. First and foremost, it basically boils down to this book devolving into nothing but sex and violence. These two men, Raiden and Jinta, really needed to sit down and have a conversation where they both listened to what the other was saying. Instead, one would say “lets talk” and the other would be “no, lets talk later, lets have sex.” They spend the whole book either fighting or f**king. Also, they are both way too dramatic. One of them really needed to stop feeling sorry for themself and be the one to hold the other up.
Because there was so much of both, the impact of both became muted and dull. I found myself skimming the sex scenes, to find the bits of the story that managed to make it to the page. And it’s too bad, because the story was pretty good in the first book. I loved the premise and wanted to see how it turned out.
My second biggest issue is the fact that these Yakuza, Raidens family and the other gangs, are the dumbest villains in Yakuza history. This goes against everything that the average reader knows about the Yakuza. After watching a giant demon vaporize a bunch of their companions, they don’t stop and think about a better way to go after the giant demon instead of just throwing more guys to be killed? It makes absolutely no sense!
This book gets three hearts because I still like the main characters and really wanted them to get their happily-ever-after. I just really wish we could have gotten more story time and less sex and violence.
RATING: 
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