Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank-Blog Tour Review & Giveaway






The wall between our world and that of vengeful spirits has protected humanity for more than 400 years. It’s about to come crashing down.

Ellie Lancaster has lived her whole life by the site of the mysterious Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Virginia settlement that vanished without a trace around 1590. Only the descendants of the two men who banished the spirits of an enemy tribe from the material realm know what really happened to the colony. Ellie is one of those descendants—a Curse Keeper. Her father took pains to teach her what he knew of the curse and the responsibilities of its guardians. He taught her that if the two Curse Keepers ever meet, the curse will be lifted, the gate will open, and the raging Native American spirits will be unleashed to seek their revenge.

Despite her father’s seriousness, Ellie has always taken the legend for a harmless fairy tale. Until she meets the darkly handsome, but downright infuriating, Collin Dailey and realizes everything she was told is true. For when they meet, it’s like the air is sucked from the room. Collin’s presence is electrifying… and it’s not just attraction Ellie feels, but the inexorable pull toward her destiny. The prophecy is real, and now Ellie and Collin must battle supernatural forces and their loathing—and passion—for each other to set things right.

The Curse Keepers are all that stand between the world and its destruction.





Jennifer's Review:


The Curse Keepers is a fun History/Mystery/Paranormal/Romance, YA novel. It is the first book in Denise's new series.
Ellie Lancaster is a descendant of the lost colony in Roanoke, Virginia that vanished without a trace in 1590. Being one of the descendants makes her a Curse Keeper. Her father took pains to teach her what he knew of the curse and the responsibilities of its guardians. He taught her that if the two Curse Keepers ever meet, the curse will be lifted, the gate will open, and the raging Native American spirits will be unleashed to seek their revenge. Unfortunately when Ellie was 8 her mother died and she blocked out everything she had learned of the responsibility she would someday carry.  Her mother did not believe in the curse and therefore she hasn't taken anything her father has told her about the supposed myth seriously.  The day Collin Dailey walks into the New Moon Diner where Ellie worked, both their lives changed forever. The two curse keepers have met and can they save themselves and the World.

The other Curse Keeper is Collin Dailey.  He has been preparing for the responsibility of his duties his whole life. Collin is what appears to be a bad boy determined to use Ellie the curse that they both inherited. So for me Collin was kinda annoying --he didn't answer any of Ellie's questions -- I think it's quite natural that some might have forgotten or not taken their task to learn all about it as seriously as others. But Collin is full of contempt for Ellie because he thinks she' being irresponsible to her heritage - the curse keeper. And even though it's clear that she is in grave danger he won't even tell her how to protect herself? I couldn't really understand that. So even though he changes in the second half of the novel, I still couldn't completely get over my dislike of him from the beginning of the story.

The humor and banter between Collin in Ellie was fun to read. They don't trust each other and it is apparent -- I would even go as far to say that they despise each other in the beginning. They choose to keep one another in the dark -- this I found annoying -- I mean hello, the fate of the World is in your hands -- its not the time for secrets.

While spending time together they start to get to know each other. They realize there is more to the other then they initially thought and that they may have made some wrong assumptions. They begin to trust one another and Ellie begins to believe in the curse. She knows that is up to them to make sure the gate stays closed. It is a race against time. The one thing these two share is a passion to accomplish what is meant to happen. The story took plenty twists, turns, intense danger, mystery and suspense. 


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period.  Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.)  Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks.  She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.



You can find out more about Denise and her other books at: www.denisegroverswank.com.

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4 comments:

  1. All of it every word I just love these types of books. Good and evil battles to keep the world safe

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  2. Being able to read a new (to me) author's work.

    Carolyn Valdez

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  3. I love reading any new book and this sounds great. thank you

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  4. It was different and that was refreshing!

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