Review: Sealed with a Curse (Weird Girls, #1)

Author: Cecy Robson
Series: Weird Girls, #1
Release date: December 31st 2012
Publisher: Signet
Mass Market Paperback, 350 pages
Buy: The Book Depository



You should have seen the look on my face when I finished the last chapter of Sealed with a Curse. It was downright comical! I always get excited when I discover a new series I like, but when it’s Urban Fantasy, I get virtually ecstatic. And lo and behold, Cecy Robson wrote a very promising first installment.

Celia Wird and her three sisters have supernatural powers as a result of a backfired curse. Emme is telekinetic and has the ability to heal people, Taran is a magic worker, Shayna can turn just about anything pointy into an arrow or a sword and Celia is a shifter with a powerful tigress living inside her. The sisters are nothing alike, and yet they are extremely close. Their parents died when they were very young and after a few foster homes, some of them terrible, Celia took over and gained custody of her younger sisters. As the oldest, she is used to being responsible for the others, and as the strongest, she is used to protecting them.

The girls aren’t exactly human, but they aren’t exactly part of the paranormal community either. They are stuck between two worlds, and their biggest desire is to be left alone. But powers like theirs can hardly go unnoticed and before they know it, they’re fighting paranormal battles all over the city.

Based on what I wrote so far, I think you can easily conclude what type of character Celia is. She is responsible, strong, determined and caring, and she always puts her sisters first. Buried under so many responsibilities, Celia has trouble relaxing and her loneliness is almost tangible – as a rule, men sense the predator within her and tend to run the other way. There’s a barrier between her and her sisters as well. She might be a Wird sister, but her role is essentially parental and that makes it difficult for her to be their friend.

But fear not, romance lovers! There is a man strong enough for Celia, one that will brush off all her weirdness and accept her for what she is. He is… (mine! If I can thumb-wrestle Cecy Robson into submission)… Aric, a pureblood werewolf and a guy with huge responsibilities on his shoulders, but he handles them well. He takes nothing lightly, which makes him perfect for our girl. These two will make you swoon, my friends!

While I liked Celia, Emme and Shayna, I didn’t feel the same about Taran. She is the loud one, the one who always swears and complains and says inappropriate things at most unfortunate moments. It took me a while to warm up to her, but eventually I did, and that’s all that counts. The sisters were all interesting individually, but I really enjoyed their group dynamics and the little things between them, but most of all, how well they knew each other. It helped that I have a sister who’d do anything for me (and vice versa, of course) so it was very easy for me to relate.

The fight scenes, especially the huge one around the middle, tended to get a bit confusing. I had to go back a page or two a few times because they weren’t descriptive enough and I couldn’t connect it all in my head. But all things considered, that one can easily be overlooked, and I’m sure these big, ambitious scenes will get better in time.

The second book, A Cursed Embrace, should be out in July, but I’m ready to bribe, beg and offer eternal servitude to Cecy Robson or Penguin for an early copy. True, I have no pride, but who needs pride when I can have Aric?