Someone who nullifies all magic including making Vampires human while in her vicinity.... well that is what this book is about. Scarlett uses her job as a "cleaner" to clean up magical messes in order to keep the magical world hidden.
Scarlett works with an LAPD Detective to investigate and prove her vampire roommates innocence in a crime she didn't commit. All while no one wants the truth to come to light.
The entire Scarlett Bernard series is an amazing Rollercoaster of a ride from one book to the next. You fall in love with Scarlett and Molly all while learning the secrets of the past that must stay hidden.
Highly recommended series!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and of course Melissa F. Olson, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. However, I enjoyed it so much, I chose to support the author by purchasing the Kindle and Audible versions. Nothing compares to listening to the Audible version the next time around!!
All opinions are my own.

Scarlett is a null. This means any vampire or werewolf within 10 feet of her become human & any witch unable to cast a spell. This makes her the ideal candidate to cover up supernatural crime scenes to protect the Old World from being exposed to the humans. Part of her role is to keep the peace sitting between the accused and their accusers at the Vampire Trials. Only trouble is Scarlett is also faced with solving a crime before the Vampire Trials, armed with her throwing knives, a couple of martial arts moves and snark. Her secret weapon is Shadow a spelled dog who is designed to kill werewolves. This is the first book I have read by Melissa F Olsen. It is a great introduction to a rich and complex world I am very much looking forward to exploring further. It is the first book of a trilogy but is the second trilogy featuring Scarlett as the protagonist. I have already downloaded the first book of the first trilogy.

this was my first dip into Scarlett's world and I loved it. it was paced just right and flowed beautifully. I loved learning about Scarlett, Jesse and Molly.

I know this is meant to be the first installment of a spin-off series, but I still felt like I was coming in mid-story. I'll give this one another shot after reading the original series.

Midnight Curse is the first book in the Disrupted Magic series by Melissa F. Olson, which is a follow up to the Scarlet Bernard book, so you could think of it as the fourth book in that series if you would like. It also has some characters from the Boundary Magic series. I think I would recommend reading the other series first, before jumping in here. Since I adore the books, I think it would be a pleasure rather than a task. However, if you want to just dive in, there is enough groundwork and explanation in the book that I think newcomers could catch up quickly.

Scarlett Bernard is used to cleaning up messes. As a human who cancels out any magic around her, Scarlett’s job is to keep the supernatural world hidden—at any cost. But on the eve of the Vampire Trials, a two-day tribunal that allows the otherworldly community to air their grievances, Scarlett receives a blood-soaked message from Molly, her estranged former roommate. Molly, a vampire, had been living with twelve human college students…and in one terrible night, she slaughtered them all. Scarlett believes Molly’s been set up, but no one else in the Old World agrees with her. Meanwhile, the true perpetrator is determined to make sure Molly goes on trial for the massacre—and the penalty is death. With less than two days to prove her friend’s innocence, Scarlett calls on former LAPD detective Jesse Cruz to help her dig into Molly’s past. But no one—Molly included—wants Scarlett and Jesse to bring the terrible truth to light.

Midnight Curse is exactly what fans of Olson are looking for. The first chapter was spent playing catch up and remembering what I had read already, but I think that is the case for more series or related books with good backstories. I think there is a good amount of information so that newer readers to the world will catch up, but I still recommend reading the books in order to get a fuller understanding of the larger relationships and politics involved. I really enjoyed the growth that Scarlet shows, and the realistic personal and interpersonal reactions and feelings. I thought the danger and mystery were well done and pretty perfectly paced. I liked that not everything, and everyone, was perfectly good or bad- but that Olson continued to show how most everyone comes in shades of grey.

I was glad to see Molly back into Scarlet's life- although not in the way anyone was really hoping for. I also like that the book wrapped up the mystery and struggle of the particular story while still leaving plenty of open avenues for future books that will not be a reach or stretch. I was glad to see Jesse back as well, and think this is going to be a great series with the majority of my favorite characters. A must read for fans, and good motivation for urban fantasy fans that have yet to read her work to start from the beginning and become a fan.

Midnight Curse is another great book from Olson. I was disappointed that I took this long to get around to reading this book, but so glad I did. To those that like audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to the series. I binge listened to ALL the previous books from Olson via my library overdrive offerings and Audible. The reader is wonderful, and actually reading this book rather than listening, I still heard the narrator I was used to in my read as I read.

This had a really good premise, but it didn't pan out for me. The writing is well done, but the story line just wasn't there. There's a lot of back story that is missing so much of the story doesn't make sense. Checking Goodreads I discovered that there are other books featuring this character, which would have been helpful to know. It definitely feels like jumping into the middle of a series instead of starting off at book one.

ARC/Urban Fantasy: I have read a lot of Melissa F. Olson's books. I have liked them a lot and plan to read further into this world. I did get this ARC from NetGalley in lieu of an honest review. It took me a while to get to it because I thought I should to read book three of the Scarlett Bernard trilogy first. This was not necessary because the Disrupted Magic series starts three years later. The only thing you won't understand is how she ends up with Shadow.

Shadow is my biggest issue with this book that I would have given five stars to because the plot was different and good. There was too much extra narrative, but I would have forgiven it. The first star was taken off because Scarlett puts a working dog's service cape on Shadow and tells the audience that she also has ill-gotten papers that Shadow is a service dog. Apparently, Ms. Olson also researched further that someone cannot legally ask why a person has a service dog. That really put a bad taste in my mouth and then the poop came. Yep, I was doing my lunch time walk one day at the mall and came upon a woman cleaning dog poop off the mall carpet. Not only was the idiot cleaning it with a Wet One, but she had a 20 pound dog next to her, you guessed it, with a cape on. I was so torqued off that after I reported the incident to the mall, so they could clean it properly, I swore I'd take another star off this book.

I know you didn't want to hear it, but if I can't unsee it, either can you. Seriously, I as a dog lover, thought this was a cheap out to figure out plot. I can accept Olson's use of destroying evidence in plot, but I felt this was over the line and disrespectful to people to really need service dogs.

So if you can get over the fake service dog cape, you'll really like the book. I do intend to read further in the series. I really like the Old World and Scarlett.

If you've read the earlier Scarlet books you'll really enjoy this one because she's matured so much. If you haven't you'll still enjoy this book but be a little lost. Great irks building and it was nice to see people again.

This author has not had a bad book yet in my opinion i like her writing style and the stong characters in her storyline.

Very complicated relationships involved in this book . The story was very good and the mystery held it's own. I like Melissa Olson as an author - she writes characters that re dimensional and story lines that keep me interested.

“Whoever had forced Molly to kill her friends wanted her to get caught, go on trial and be executed before she had a chance to prove her innocence.”

About : Scarlett Bernard is a “null,” a human who cancels out any magic around her. Her abilities come in handy on the job—she works to keep the magical world a secret from normal humans in the city of LA. She’s actually starting to enjoy her job, although she's also enjoying the good life with her werewolf boyfriend, Eli, outside of work.

But duty calls when someone magically forces a vampire friend of hers into murdering 12 USC roommates. Scarlett’s job becomes twofold: hide the magical involvement from the humans and find out who wants to hurt her friend.

Nobody believes in the vampire's innocence, but Scarlett is determined to find the real murderer with a little help from an old LAPD buddy. Midnight Curse is adult UF authored by Melissa F. Olson and published February 7th 2017 by 47North.

I was browsing Netgalley for a promising new series when I ran across Midnight Curse, first in the new “Disrupted Magic” trilogy. It wasn’t until after I requested the book that I learned about a previous trilogy starring Scarlett Bernard, but I jumped in anyway.

And Olson had me from the first line.

Thoughts : Scarlett is at an art show with her boyfriend when she gets a creepy, blood-spattered SOS note delivered from her old vampire friend, Molly. The note asks Scarlett to come meet her secretly, so Scarlett blows off her boyfriend, hoping he’ll understand and let her handle it. After all, if she tells him, he has to tell his werewolf pack leader, and then the secret’s not so secret anymore.

But things careen out of control and soon, Scarlett finds herself running damage control on all fronts while still trying to uncover the real mass murderer—and their veiled purpose. The story unfolds in the perspectives of both Scarlett and her LAPD friend Jesse, and a fantastic first 50% ensues. Scarlett and Jesse keep the twisty mystery plot moving, interspersing their investigation with humorous one-liners, psychologically layered character dynamics and precise, interesting backstory and worldbuilding.

Because I jumped in without reading the earlier books, I worried that missing information would muddy the experience for me. But Olson integrates explanations smoothly without info-dumping. The worldbuilding becomes clearer with every page. A lot of the mystery developments do rely on past history and knowledge of Scarlett’s manifold abilities, but I still enjoyed the plot very much.

So with all this going for Midnight Curse, why did I rate the book at 4 stars instead of 5?

It’s largely due to a subjective reaction to one relationship arc that left me feeling bitter during the second half. Throughout the novel, we see the themes of relational control and abuse taken to different extremes, and I didn’t enjoy how it played out in Scarlett’s case. I’m not a huge fan of these dysfunctional relationships from hell, haha.

But I get the feeling that Olson wanted/needed to shake things up for the new trilogy, and my impression of Scarlett suffered without an understanding of the love triangle and character histories of the original series. She came across as very immature to me in this one isolated relationship. She’s a great protagonist in every other way, and in fact, a lot of readers enjoyed everything about the book (the overall Goodreads rating is super high—currently 4.27, wow!), including this arc. Your experience of this relationship arc seems to really depend on your emotional connection to the characters.

Overall: So while Midnight Curse is a great UF, it left me severely cranky, haha. I probably won’t read any more about Scarlett because I try to avoid getting my heart ripped out; but I’d be down to read more by this author—I loved everything else about the book. I could see a lot of readers giving it five stars.

Recommended To : I recommend this to readers looking for adult UF with a strong mystery, a fast pace and characters that don’t leave room for ambivalence.

Thank you so much to Melissa F. Olson, 47North and Netgally for this great ARC. I really enjoyed it!

Blog Review: https://christyluisreviews.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/midnight-curse-disrupted-magic-1-by-melissa-f-olson/

I thoroughly enjoyed this book of magic, werewolves, vampires and nulls. Doesn't matter what world you live in there are prejudices and barriers to get through to have the life you want. This is a humorous, engaging novel. The characters are interesting and likable and there is enough suspense to keep you reading late into the night.

Midnight Curse is the first installment in author Melissa F. Olson's Disrupted Magic series. However, it is also book # 4 in the Scarlett Bernard series, and book # 10 in what's being called the Old World Chronicles. Other books in this series features Allison "Lex" Luther's Boundary Magic trilogy. I mentioned Lex, because she makes a brief but all important stop during this story. More later. Recently, thanks to Amazon, I purchased the first (3) books in Scarlett's series and will attempt to go back to the beginning and see how it all began.

Olson, who has quickly become a favorite author of mine, does a fantastic job of summarizing previous important parts of the Scarlett's series. Like the fact that she is a part time janitor, part time protector of the Old World. Like the fact that part of her job is to ensure the Old Word doesn't bleed into the human world. Like the fact that she answers to Vampire Cardinal Dashiell and has made great strides in the past 3 years to become relevant. Like the fact that she has the ugliest dog in the world who she calls Shadow. Shadow was spelled by some really evil witches, and loves to hunt down & kill werewolves.

As a Null, she negates supernatural powers and abilities within the area around her. In her 3 years as part of the Old World, she has managed to become partner and has been accepted by more than those who hate her. This is an important return to Scarlett's series. Scarlett will find herself tested in ways that she hasn't been in along time. She will find her relationship with her werewolf boyfriend Eli tested. She will have to push herself to the limits in order to save another one of her former's. Her former roommate & vampire Molly who has been accused of killing a dozen of her human roommates.

This is a bad time for Molly's situation to rise up. It is the Vampire Trial's which hasn't been seen in LA in 6 years. It is a 2 night event where the Old World gets together to air out grievances against other Old World members. Besides Dashiell, the others that make up the council are Kirsten, leader of the witches, and Will, Alpha of the Werewolves. This story also marks the return of Scarlett's former partner & former LA Detective Jesse Cruz who had his eyes opened wide in Dead Spots. Jesse is the right person, at the right time for Scarlett to understand that what she does is important, and she's really good at it.

I've only briefly met Jesse Cruz, and that was when Lex came to LA in search for the person who was responsible for killing her sister. Something that Scarlett knows all too well about what really happened. In fact, Scarlett's relationship with Lex isn't one of hugs and feelings. It is one of bitter resentment and understanding that Scarlett didn't really have a choice in what she did. I am happy on one issue. That the bitterness between the two characters has been pushed aside for the sake of finding out who is out to destroy Molly. I look forward to seeing more of Lex either in this series, or in her own series. Make it so Ms Olson!

MIDNIGHT CURSE is the first in the Disrupted Magic series, but is actually the 10th novel written in the Old World Chronology series by Melissa F. Olson. I didn’t realise it was part of a larger series until after I had finished it, and I didn’t feel like I missed anything by not reading the previous books; in fact, I adored how Scarlett is a more mature, experienced heroine who has tricks up her sleeve and isn’t bumbling around discovering her powers or how the world works.

Scarlett is a null, someone who can cancel the magic of other supernaturals in her vicinity. She’s part janitor, part professional liar, keeping the supernatural world hidden by cleaning up messes and breaking up supernatural fights (by making everyone in her range temporarily human). She’s a necessary part of the council or supernaturals, but it also feels like she’s also excluded because of what she is. It was refreshing to read about a heroine who is capable from the get go, who has gotten past her rocky start and dramatic upbringing. She has a backstory that you hear snippets about, but I was never confused when it was brought up, it just worked to make the character more real.

It’s difficult to pick what my favourite part of the book was: the cool variety in witchcraft types, the awesome ex-police detective Scarlett enlists to help her discover who is trying to frame her friend, the sensitive werewolf boyfriend or the giant hell-dog that was created to hunt werewolves and who Scarlett has to keep by her side at all times.

On second thought, it’s the dog for sure. She's called Shadow, she understands basic human speech, she wears a little service dog vest and can tear out a man’s throat before he has time to scream. What’s not to love?

Supernatural politics, intense actions and high emotion blend perfectly to make one of the best urban fantasy books I’ve read in a long time. Pick it up here, or dig through the older books if you want, but you’ll not be sorry you discovered the Old World Chronology series.

I love Scarlett Bernard.. I like Lex too (other series) but I really love Scarlet. Three years have past since we last hung out with Scarlet. She and Eli have a loving committed relationship and they have given Shadow ( the barguest) a happy home. Scarlet still worked for the 3 leaders of Los Angeles, but now she actually has a vote in what happens in the Old World. Things look good for Scarlett, until she gets a cryptic blood soaked note from Molly. Her old vampire roommate. She rushes to Molly, to find out that Molly has slaughtered her 12 college roommates. Molly is unsure if she did it in a blood gorge or was somehow forced to do it. Of course this all happens on the eve of the Vampire Trials, where all eyes from the Old World will be on Los Angeles. Scarlett rushes to Jesse the former LAPD detective to help her prove Molly's innocence before Dashell is forced to kill Molly for risking their exposure to the humans.

In the first book of the Disrupted Magic series, Melissa F. Olson goes back to focusing on her original heroine, Scarlett Bernard, nullifier of magic and supernatural clean up expert.  The paranormal population of LA rely on her to keep humans from discovering the hidden supernatural world.
 
In Midnight Curse, Scarlett discovers her friend Molly in the center of a bloodbath.  Despite the obvious evidence, Scarlett knows Molly cannot be responsible for the vicious murder of the 12 coeds she lived with.  Unfortunately with the Vampire Trials about to begin, she has little time to discover the truth.  With the help of former cop Jesse Cruz and her barghest Shadow, Scarlett starts seeking answers, soon uncovering a plot for revenge that threatens to throw the entire supernatural community into chaos.

As always, Melissa F Olson gives readers plenty of fast paced action flavored with a liberal helping of acerbic wit.  Scarlett has grown far more confident in herself and her abilities, but still remains the sarcastic, socially awkward misfit we all adore. Midnight Curse is well done.  Olson’s stories are refreshingly non-formulaic.  Although written for adults, I consider Midnight Curse acceptable for teens, as there are no sex scenes and little bad language.  Olson’s books are definitely fantasy novels, as opposed to romance novels.  

If you are looking for a good urban fantasy with plenty of action and more than a little humor, Midnight Curse is definitely for you.  It isn’t necessary to read Olson’s other books first, but if you decide you like Midnight Curse, you will definitely want to pick up her other novels.

5/5

I received a copy of Midnight Curse from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Scarlets’ dog was Shadow which had been spelled and had super powers. Shadow had been trained and raised to kill werewolves. Scarlett's’ boyfriend Eli was a werewolf and it had taken almost two years before Scarlet could leave Shadow alone with Eli long enough to go to the bathroom. Eli did beautiful carvings from driftwood but he also tended bar and was Beta of his werewolf pack which was second in command. Scarlet was a Null and when around her werewolves lost the itch to do wolfy thing;some hated this, some didn’t care either way, and others loved this. Scarlet has been tasked in keeping Shadow from killing anyone. Shadow would only kill on Scarlet’s command. L A Old World was staging Vampire Trials- this was suppose to happen every three years but it had been more like six since there hadn’t been many interspecies disputes. The powers to be in L A were: Dashiell- cardinal vampire, Kirsten- leader of the witches, and Will who was alpha to the werewolves and Eli decided to hold the trials and clear the air. The three heads of the supernatural community listen to complaints and make judgements on conflicts. L A was the only city in America where all three superpowers live more or less in peace. Scarlet would be sitting at the defendant’s table making sure the vampire, witch, or werewolf setting with her did not try anything. This was Scarlet's first year in this position. Scarlet’s only friend was Eli and that was fine with her but werewolves were very social and Eli needed to be around his pack. Shadow could look terrifying without killing and that was why she went everywhere with Scarlet. A girl came up to Scarlet with a note from Molly who had once been Scarlets’ roommate until she asked Scarlet to leave. Scarlet had lived with Molly three years ago and had heard nothing from Molly since she had left. Scarlet had a human friend at one time but he wanted more and she chose Eli. Reese had been her human friend and had been a L A cop until he quit when he went against his morals with things he had to do with Scarlet. Molly had been compelled to kill twelve humans that were her friends- Molly was a vampire and virtually impossible to compel but there were a couple of ways. Scarlet worked for Dashiell and by trying to help Molly and taking Shadow out of L A county she had broke some serious rules and had been caught by Dashiell anyway. When Jesse came home to his apartment after going to the store Scarlet and Shadow were in his parking lot Scarlet asked for his help Jesse said no. Jesse changed his mind and went out to find Scarlet had been shot. Jesse was one of the few humans who knew about the Old World. Scarlett and Jesse had to figure out who was trying to set up Molly or she would be killed in nineteen hours.
Excellent story I loved it! A lot of action that kept you turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I loved how Scarlet wouldn't give up on Molly even though she had hurt Scarlet in the past. I also loved how Jesse changed his mind quickly and jumped right in to help. Just an all around good paranormal story just no real happy ever after for Scarlet but it just fit. I loved the plot, the characters, and ins and outs of this story and I highly recommend.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I was so confused when I read the blurb for Olson's new Disrupted Magic series. The main heroine, Scarlett Bernard, already has a series, but now she's the voice in MIDNIGHT CURSE, book one, of the Disrupted Magic series? It felt more like it should be Scarlett Bernard #4. You can read this series without reading the 3 books in the Scarlett Bernard series, but why would you want to? There is so much backstory, you won't know you're missing, but it makes the book so much better. While you are at it, you might as well read the Boundary Magic series before diving into MIDNIGHT CURSE too. Both worlds intersect and the characters have history.

I was so excited dive back into Scarlett's world. MIDNIGHT CURSE takes place 3 years after the end of HUNTERS TRAIL and it was crazy to see how much the characters have changed. Scarlett is living with her werewolf boyfriend, her ex-vampire roommate isn't in her life and is in fact living as a coed—although not anymore as we soon find out—, and Jesse—the man I wanted Scarlett to end up with—got married, and divorced, has even written a book, and is now a depressed shadow of his bad-ass self. There are more characters, but these three have always been my favorites.

I don't want to get into the plot, but MIDNIGHT CURSE is a fast paced, easy flowing story with lot's of mystery, action and suspense. Characters and their relationships are tested quite a bit, some in more ways than others and getting to see Lex, from the Boundary Magic series, was an added bonus.

The ending kind of throws things on it's head again after a book that works to smooth things out, but it did it's job of getting me to want to read more. Book two, BLOOD GAMBLE, has a release date of July 25, 2017, so at least we don't have to wait to long to find out what happens next.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wow – this book was such a great read! A few chapters in, I started to figure out that this is a spinoff of a more developed world, but I can honestly say that it didn’t stop me from absolutely loving this book.

Scarlett is a null who is tasked with cleaning up after “messy” supernaturals. She has clearly led a very busy life in previous books, which makes her current work look a little slow. The upcoming Vampire Trials (ooooh, ominous) end up changing her world. While it is actually a little bit like the People’s Court for supernaturals, the Vampire Trials end up pushing a big bad into taking a big step against Scarlett’s old bestie – Molly. Scarlett, being the amazingly well-written and awesomely sarcastic ball of righteousness she is, can’t stand by to let Molly be falsely accused so she begins her own investigation.

The plot of this story has its fair share of twists and turns, but what kept me coming back for more what the characters. I’m sure the author had several books to fully develop them, but even as an outsider just joining the story, they were amazing. Between Scarlett’s boyfriend and her estranged partner, there is no shortage of drama. I am absolutely convinced that I must go back and start from the beginning, if this is what I can expect being built up. Even with a not exactly happy ending, I am 100% committed to reading all this world has to offer.

While I haven't read any of the previous books (regarding Scarlett's backstory), I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Curse. The author did an amazing job giving enough of past events to clue a new reader in to past events, without overdoing it for readers who have read prior books. I did not feel lost at all in this new-to-me world. Once I got about 4 chapters in, I really didn't want to put it down, though I had to because of that thing that pays the bills lol! I saw this may be the first in a new spin-off series, and I'm really hoping for more. I'm definitely Team Scarlett and I'm very curious to see if she and Jesse rekindle anything in the future.