✨i’m so surprised by this read! it’s super unique and full of rich thai mythology and paranormal creatures. the protagonist is likable yet flawed and unsure of herself, dealing with being non human and cursed early on in the story. we meet a brooding, handsome vampire love interest… who is besties with a werewolf?!? and this might all sound like too much (I thought it would be) but there was not a single moment where i felt overwhelmed by all of the different mythological creatures/plots that weave throughout the story.

✨this is a great first installment to a fantasy series that i assume will focus on a new mythological story with each installment. with that, there are mentions of many myths in this story that are glanced over, that could’ve gone into more depth, but with the idea of more books to dive deep into other stories I felt like the amount of time that was spent on each mention of different creatures/myths was genius. we got enough, leaving us wanting a little more, but not feeling dissatisfied!

✨the romance in this story was something that was obviously going to happen from the beginning. both main characters are soooo into each other and they have many moment of spice throughout the story. it’s not too much, more so happening at the end with the conclusion of the main plot, but their moments are steamy and sweet and perfect for each character.

✨thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was very enjoyable! There is an amazing exploration of supernatural creatures that exist in myth and folklore across the world. The main character, Peeraphan, herself is a supernatural being and once she is introduced to the greater world beyond that of her human one, she is determined to learn everything. The romance progressed way too fast for my liking but nearly every other element had me intrigued the whole time!

3 1/2 stars

This was a fun new fantasy series. I enjoyed reading about different mythical beings along with the standard vampires, fae and lycanthropes. It took me a bit of time to settle into the storyline as it didn't flow easily for me initially. However, once the story fully kicked in, I was drawn into it. I'm not surprised if a new fantasy story takes a while due to necessary world building and so forth but this one almost felt repetitive for a bit and just slow paced. That said, I do feel as if it could have benefited from some more solid world building because it felt a bit patchy in places. Regardless, it still a series I will continue once the additional book/books are released as I'm curious to see where else the author goes with the plot.

Thai mythology isn't something I"m very familiar with so I was interested in reading about it. The bird princess, Kinaree was a refreshing new character to understand. In addition, having the idea of combining the fairytale about the Red Shoes was a clever way to enrich the story. Of course, I was also drawn in by the spicy relationship between Peeraphan and Bennett. Anytime a vampire is involved you can sign me up.

There is definitely a good setup for the rest of this series. I'm hopeful that now that I have the characters somewhat figured out and understand their world a bit, the next book will reel me in quicker. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

3.5/5*

This was an interesting concept and while i have read mythology retelling books, seeing how Thai mythology was represented was very intriguing and though i felt that there were a few things that slowed at times and there were some scenes that could’ve felt that it was adult fantasy rather than YA, i did enjoy the book and looking forward to seeing what will come in the next book.

I'm really mad that I didn't like this one more. It's not awful. It's not even bad. It's just that the sum of its parts didn't add up to the greatness it could have. I mean, we've got all the classic supernaturals with the added coolness factor of an introduction to a Thai bird princess and the red shoe folktale, it should have been an epic story. Instead, we get a solid story but one that only differentiates itself from the many like it by including a new culture. That made me sad.
The plot is pretty standard. Peeraphan is an independent woman, who is secretly a kinnari, that gets trapped in the red shoes of folklore. She's saved and taken to a place where she can get help by the taciturn vampire, Bennet. It turns out Bennet is part of a group of supernaturals that work on collecting and keeping safe the items of myth and power of the world, but his interest quickly turns out to be more for the woman wearing the shoes than the shoes themselves. It's a race against time to get the shoes off before they force Peeraphan to dance to her death.
I didn't really think there was much new material in the plot, but it is used to the author's advantage in the fact that the characters are interesting and there is a clear setup for way more to come. Honestly, I found the side characters way more interesting.
So despite how much I love the fact that we're getting a kinnari in Western urban fantasy, I'm not moved to shout about this one from the rooftops.
All that said, I do think I'll follow the series simply because I'm intrigued by the world and characters Drake created. There's a spark in this story of something greater and I'd like to see if it lives up to the potential implied.

Very grateful to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read and review!

3.75stars-WINGS ONCE CURSED is the first instalment in Piper J. Drake’s contemporary, adult MYTHWOVEN paranormal, romance series focusing on a group known as the Darke Consortium, made up of several supernatural powers. This is Peeraphan ‘ Punch’ Rahttana, a Thai bird princess known as a kinnaree, and ancient vampire Bennet Andrews’ story line.

Told from several limited omniscient third person perspectives including Bennett and Peeraphan WINGS ONCE CURSED follows in the wake of the attempted abduction of our story line heroine. Peeraphan Rahttana aka Punch is a Thai bird princess, a mythological kinnaree, and the target of a collector of rare items, artifacts and creatures. A gift of a pair of red satin dance slippers imbued with magical yet deadly powers from an unknown benefactor finds Peeraphan beholden to her would-be rescuer, ancient vampire Bennet Andrews, as they search for a cure to the never ending dance. With the help of several members of the Darke Consortium including vampires, witches, shifters, fae and sidhe, Peeraphan must venture onto a journey of truth, a journey in which Peeraphan’s legitimacy and certainty will free her from the ‘dance of death’. What ensues is the building relationship between Bennet and Peeraphan, and the potential fall-out as the collector makes good on his desire for our heroine, and Bennet must come to terms with the past.

The relationship between Peeraphan and Bennet begins as a rescue but Bennet is gravely injured and our heroine must ‘donate’ blood in order to save his life. Connected at a visceral level, Bennet and Peeraphan must search for a remedy or fix to remove the red satin slippers that are controlling our heroine’s life. Bennet struggles in the wake of losing someone he loved, someone whose life span was limited, someone he compared to Peeraphan Rahttana. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate without the use of over the top,sexually graphic language and text.

WINGS ONCE CURSED is a story steeped in Thai and Asian mythology with a large number of supernatural beings including dragons, vampires, shifters, fae and witches. We are introduced to several members of the Darke Consortium, responsible to locate and retrieve objects of myth and magic: Werewolf Thomas, witch Marie, Bennet’s personal assistant Duncan, winged Fae Ashke-the head of security for the Darke Consortium, Asamoah, and Peeraphan’s sugar gliders Toby and Cori. The requisite evil has many faces


WINGS ONCE CURSED is a story of power and control, obsession and greed, magic and the supernatural, acceptance and understanding. The premise is intriguing and enchanting but the early chapters were more telling than showing, often to the point of discomfort. The romance is fated and tender; the characters are edgy and spirited.



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This books was a wonderful mix of romance, adventure, and Thai mythology. This is my first time reading anything from this author and it was a pleasant surprise. I was liked the tie-in of fairytales and foklore of other cultures. It was so easy to all into the story. I do wish for a bit more romance, but it was sufficient as I'm a huge fan of having a chance to experience folklore and fairytales in a different way. I def give this a 4/5 and can highly recommend this one! Thank you to NetGalley, Piper J. Drake, and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the chance to review this lovely book. I look forward to the next adventure in the series!

First off, I have no idea what is going on with that marketing. This is a straight up paranormal romance, urban fantasy set in Seattle. It’s also the most refreshing vampire and werewolf book I’ve read in a long time.

Peeraphan is getting ready to resume rehearsing for a community dance recital when an acquaintance offers her a beautiful pair of red dance shoes. Enthralled by them, she can’t help but put them on – and ignore the niggling sense of disquiet she’d felt a few minutes before. Unbeknownst to her, she’s now become involved in a power struggle between two groups of supernatural beings: one who wishes to locate and safely store magical artifacts, and one who wishes to sell them to the highest bidder. Both expect her to now be cursed to dance until she collapses, except that’s not what happens because Peeraphan has a secret of her own. And for someone who for so long has been the only supernatural being among humans, suddenly being embroiled in their world – even with a deadly curse hanging over her head – may be what she’s been waiting her life for.

“There are no hand-me-down notes for the self-taught diaspora, especially when one is a supernatural no one realized actually existed[.]”


The book is told in the third person and from multiple POVs, but the most common one was Peeraphan’s. A child of Thai immigrants, very little is known about her own kind, the kinnaree, even by her own family, and it reminded me of real life issues faced by diaspora kids. Peeraphan’s also acutely aware of how different she is. I felt her frustration, her need to prove herself independent from her family, how even as a child she preferred to hide away and read rather than spend time with them. But while that could make her bitter, instead she’s left yearning to fit in somewhere. Which means that once she encounters Bennet and the rest of his organization, well, let’s just say they’re not getting rid of her easily.

Despite, ya know, having a pair of really awesome MURDEROUS shoes stuck on her feet, she still exhibits a child-like wonder and excitement about each new supernatural experience, whether that’s flying or meeting a sidhe or commenting on how vampire’s fangs work. And that last one – there were so many times I wanted to yell “Girl, PRIORITIES” at Peeraphan, but rather than being frustrated I was honestly amused. Another usual source of frustration – the insta-lust between the main characters – was also assuaged by the humor. Peeraphan herself comments on how quickly she’s falling for Bennet, frequently reminds herself not to make “Too Stupid to Live” heroine mistakes, and generally seems to not take herself too seriously.

Refreshingly enough, everyone acts like grownups. All of Bennet’s colleagues accept Peeraphan and treat her with a sort of briskly efficient “well, let’s see how to solve your problem” with sympathy but no pity. It’s delightful found family goodness, though given the amount of characters introduced and the obvious focus on Peeraphan and Bennet, not enough of it. There’s no jealousy, no love triangles, none of that. The closest is Bennet and Thomas’ alpha grumpiness at each other, which Peeraphan hilariously pegged from the first minute. There’s some particularly adorable bonding over food.

Another thing I really liked is the blending of lots of folklore. While the red shoes are Western European, Peeraphan’s origins are obviously Thai, as is Thomas the werewolf. Marie the human witch is part Chinese and part Korean, there’s a sidhe butler, and some other southeast Asian-inspired creatures. There’s also a particularly ingenuous and thought-provoking take on how only a person “free from sin” could remove the red shoes. And overall the plot, if a bit predictable, is enjoyable enough that I basically read this in a few hours because I couldn’t put it down.

There are some places were the book goes off the rails and it’s obvious that Choices Were Made. Peeraphan literally calls Bennet out on his straight-from-the-movies “come with me if you want to live” introduction. She muses about comparisons to another book containing vampires and werewolves. There’s a scene where Peeraphan schleps a wounded Bennet through Seattle on an electric scooter. The book doesn’t take itself too seriously. The whole book is sort of relaxing, which is perhaps not the word you want applied to, you know, a book involving cursed magical artifacts and heists and possible death. It sometimes felt like a tonal mismatch, but on the whole I enjoyed the whimsy.

There are some giant plot holes, most of which can be hand-waved away, but the ending frustrated me. There were several bits of what seemed like very important information dropped by the villains. And then good guys don’t even mention in passing that they’re going to follow up those leads. I mean, it’s perfect sequel bait right at the end of the book! I really do hope there’s a bit more information about supernatural society in general in the next book.

Needless to say, I want more stories about magical artifact retrievals and can’t wait to see what happens next in this series (and if Marie happens to see a certain pair of kitsune again!).

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The concept of this book is very interesting and I really enjoyed the variety of creatures included in this story; some I already had heard about but some were new to me so that was very fun! I do however feel like the author tried to achieve a ton in one book and as a result, the story and characters as a whole were not as fleshed out as I would've liked. Because of the latter, I also felt less attached to the characters/less invested in the relationships in this book. For example, certain key moments in the relationship between the two MCs felt a bit like just checking boxes instead of the significant moments they were supposed to be.

Content warnings: sexual content, violence.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this! It has a huge cast of fantastical and mythical beings that work together to find magical artifacts. This follows Peeraphan aka Punch on a magical adventure after she steps into the famous cursed "red shoes" from the Andersen fairy tale at dance practice. Punch is able to resist the curse of the shoes for a time, but they begin to take a toll on her and no one is sure when she will break. Enter the Dark Consortium and their representative Bennet, who not only wants to collect the shoes but is also interested in protecting Punch and help her explore her not quite human side. Bennet agrees to help Punch break the curse of the shoes and in doing so he introduces her to a world filled with magic, supernatural artifacts, and beings she never knew existed.

I thought this was a fun take on a retelling mixing the Red Shoe fairy tale with a bit of urban fantasy. mythology/folklore, and some paranormal romance. This sets up a solid foundation for the series and I'm excited to see where the author takes Punch and Bennet next. There are quite a few side characters to keep track of, but the main focus is on Punch and Bennet. I look forward to getting to know all of the characters more as the series develops as we only get to know them on a surface level.

This has some mild steamy scenes toward the end. They aren't super graphic and detailed but they aren't closed door/fade to black either. You certainly know what is going on. I actually thought this book was fine for a YA audience until we got to those parts then it was definitely suited for the more mature/adult reader. The romance between Punch and Bennet does develop kind of quickly, but that isn't uncommon in urban fantasy type of books.

I love anything with a mythology and folklore background and I hope to see more of Punch's kinnaree heritage explored and explained in the next book. I haven't come across Thai myths previously and I'd really like to learn more about the kinnaree and the bird princess lore. We get a bit of it in this book, but I hope the author delves more into it as Punch learns more about herself and her abilities as the series progresses.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more books in the series!

First thing first, the cover of this book is gorgeous, and I requested this book just for that. When the description said Thai princess, myth, and cursed red shoes, I couldn't resist. I definitely applaud the author for bringing in so much diversity in the characters and the South Asian folklore.

This book has every supernatural being in it. A vampire, a witch, a werewolf, a fae, and more. A world of humans and supernatural beings living together is a fantasy that I think could be possible. Punch is a dancer who is from Thailand but settled in the United States, knows that she has magic. This magic is undeveloped because her parents have never told what exactly she is. Enters the red shoes and Bennet with whom she finds new friends and herself.

The concept is amazing, and I enjoyed some portions of this book a lot. The camaraderie between the characters together was excellent. However, there were places where the novel falters. Especially the dialogue delivery in some places was stilted and very childish. Punch saying Oh and Wow for everything was getting to me. Having said that, I am really interested in seeing how the characters are fleshed out in the future series.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley, for this book.

This cover is gorgeous!!!! Incorrectly advertised as a comparison to SJM, Wings Once Cursed and Bound is an urban fantasy with little to no worldbuilding other than mythological creatures exist (vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc) and exist alongside us in secret. Punch herself is a being from Thai mythology (a kinnaree) although she doesn't really understand it in the beginning. I think it is important to understand that Drake's past books have been contemporary romance. Wings is her debut into the epic fantasy series genre. This definitely has a debut vibe with so much potential, however has other parts that needed work. Once I switched my expectations to romance, I enjoyed this a lot more. Spicy scenes were spicy and the plot moved along enough to keep me interested. I'm also a sucker for anything with vampires in it. I liked how it all wrapped up and left the story open for more in the series. I will likely read the next in the series.

This book was definitely something else.
I'd start with the writing, the way it blended a writing quite out of style, polished, even, and it took me a while to get into the story, despite it starting right away.
I feel this story reads more like a fairytale, perhaps that's the way it should be read, and while it's weird, I'd say there's also a good balance between the little plot and the small character development (which, while present, was sort of lacking).
The shock value is probably given by the way things get steamy: that made me arch my brow several times, even if, of course, it's not the kind of smut you find in romance, just the new adult smut (so don't get your hopes up).
Punch, our protagonist, is quite interesting, which is a shame because I would have loved to see more of her. Her journey is, dare I say, too easy when it comes to character development, a real pity because she has so much potential in every way.
Bennett is on the same boat as her, the infamous guy with a broken heart… ah, yeah, this is basically instalove, something not much heard of in fantasy. But anyways, Bennett has so much more to say. I'm glad both him and Punch had what I'd call the same screen time: while she did have a major character development, in a way, he brought on the plot, so there's a nice balance.
I'm honestly happy with this ending, it makes room for more without being needed, a good way to end this adventure with the feeling that there might be another around the corner.

Peeraphan (Punch) is a dancer who is not quite human. She can sense when Bennett, who isn't breathing walks into her dance hall while she is practicing. While at practice Punch is shown a red pair of dance shoes that had been donated and she just happens to try them on first, feeling the pull to put them on. Bennett was also there for the shoes but he got there too late, Punch already had the shoes on. The red shoes are a cursed, magical object and he was sent there to retrieve them. They compel the wearer to put them on and dance until they die from exhaustion.

So Bennett was waiting there now to see if she would die and then he would take the shoes before anyone else could touch them and make sure they were locked away. Once a human puts the shoes on, they almost always killed them. So when the dancers stopped for a break, he fully expected Punch to keep dancing or at the very least to not be able to keep her feet still. So when she sat down and didn't look the least little bit compelled to move, he was shocked to say the least. The fact that Punch kept glancing in his direction and knew he was there when no one should be able to notice him since he was a vampire and was hiding in the shadows, just made her even more of a curiosity. He knew she must be some sort of supernatural but couldn't figure out what.

When another non-human shows up at her rehearsal that also wants the shoes the danger spikes. Francesco is the other non-human, a vampire who knows Bennett and they fight. Francesco works for another faction but he wants to red shoes for bad purposes, which puts Punch in danger. But she sees that Bennett is hurt pretty bad and helps him get to one of his teammates, Duncan. They take her to an island where his home is and where she'll be safe.

Bennett works for the Darke Consortium and so do his teammates. The Darke Consortium locates and retrieves objects of myth, magical objects and they put them in sanctuaries around the world for safe keeping. In the home they all stay at, there's also a werewolf named Thomas, as well as Duncan and some other supernaturals and they are all part of the Darke Consortium.

Punch is a mythical Kinnaree, a bird person. Her people must be very rare since Bennett being a very old vampire doesn't know anything about them. When they find out what Punch will have to do in order to get the shoes off and where she'll have to go, they need the help of a witch to get there. All the while Punch and Bennett are getting to know one another better and end up getting closer. I liked their romance and how Bennett was wary of getting into a relationship because of his past and not wanting to be hurt again.

Punch also has two sugar gliders who were absolutely so cute in this book. I love it when animals are a big part of the story. This was definitely a fun read and I loved the secondary characters. I'm looking forward to reading more and getting to know then better.

Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bennet is hunting for a dangerous magical artifact called The Red Shoes. Any human who puts them on is trapped by a curse and forced to dance to their death. He traced the shoes to a community center where a group practiced a traditional Thai dance. He gets there in time to see Peeraphan, also known as Punch, slip the shoes on her feet. What Bennet wasn’t expecting was Punch to be immune to the curse. Bennett is surprised to find out that Punch is a kinnaree, a Thai bird princess. Aware of her heritage, Punch is surprised to discover a world she didn’t know existed. A world where vampires, dragons, sidhe, and werewolves live and protect (for the most part) humans from beings and artifacts that will hurt them. Punch and Bennet look for a way to release the curse while battling a rogue vampire and a human collector of magical artifacts. Will Punch be able to release the curse and remove the shoes? Will she fully accept who and what she is?

Wings Once Cursed and Bound is a fast-paced book in and around Seattle, Washington. There needed to be more exploring of the city or the islands where Bennet took Punch, and I would have loved more description of the city/islands. But that was a minor quibble because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Wings Once Cursed and Bound main storyline centers around Punch, Bennet, The Red Shoes, and the search for how to release the curse. I wanted to know if the author would let Punch remove the curse on the shoes. I admit I knew nothing about Thai (or any Eastern Asian mythology), and the kinnaree legend fascinated me. I also liked that the author included several urban legends/myths from around the world.

Several side storylines fed into the main one. Fransisco’s evil, devious plan to sell Punch to the collector was a major sub-storyline. Fransisco was a nasty dude, and I wish Bennet had ended him in that significant fight scene. But if Fransisco continues to be a problem in the series, I see why the author let him live. I liked that Punch blossomed in this storyline. And when I mean blossom, I mean she came into her powers. It was beautiful to see.

The paranormal angle of this book was excellent. I read about lesser-known supernatural entities, such as the kinnaree, karin puksa, kraisorn rajasri, tsurubebi, and the will-o’-the-wisp. I liked that the author mixed lesser-known mythical figures with the regular ones (the werewolves, fairies, sidhe, and vampires). At the end of the book, she included a section called Field Notes on the Supernatural and the Paranormal. The author incorporated all the entities and artifacts (such as Bluebeards Bloody Key, the Noose of the Phayanak, and The Red Shoes)mentioned in the book in the field guide. I hope that she includes this in the other books in the series.

There is a romance angle to Wings Once Cursed and Bound. It starts as Instalust (Bennet was very attracted to Punch but held off because he thought she was at least half human) but soon morphed into Instalove. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not, to be honest. It felt a little forced. I would have loved to see Punch and Bennet’s relationship blossom slowly instead of falling head over heels within a couple of days of meeting each other.

The end of Wings Once Cursed and Bound was interesting. I can’t get into what happened, but I will say that I liked that Punch and Bennet were able to help some of the paranormal entities they found at the mansion. They also found several supernatural artifacts. I was a little grumpy with how Fransisco’s storyline ended, but I am sure he will turn up in the upcoming books, so I wasn’t sweating it. I also liked the insights into the winged fairies, the sidhe, the brownie, the witch, and the werewolf living on the island with Bennet. I wonder if the author will feature one of them in the next book!!!

I recommend Wings Once Cursed and Bound to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and sexual situations.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca, NetGalley, and Piper J. Drake for allowing me to read and review Wings Once Cursed and Bound. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Fantastic 1st book in a new series by Pipe Drake. Great blending of multiple genres: paranormal, urban fantasy, mythology, and of course romance. Punch (FMC) receives a new pair of shoes at dance rehearsal and chaos ensues. The shoes typically harm their wearer; however, something makes Punch resistant to them. And of course this attracts attention from Bennett (MMC) who is part of a society trying to get the shoes back before anyone else is harmed. Action packed with romance and danger. I look forward to next installment of this series.

A mind-meld of folk tales superimposed on monster tales. A retelling of the story of the red shoes, dancing slippers that compel one to dance to death. But that folk tale is told in a milieu of vampires, werewolves, the fae, and a number of other monstrous species where cross-species coupling may occur and longevity is counted in centuries rather than years. The first 2/3 of the novel is focused on surviving the compulsion of the red shoes. Once they are removed, the focus turns toward internecine battles amongst species powering toward a resolution sparked by acceptance of ‘the truth. It makes for an exciting conclusion.

Title: Wings Once Cursed & Bound
Author: Piper J. Drake
Pages: 304
Source: NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Fantasy
Intended Audience: Adult
Star Rating: 3.25
Setting: Seattle, Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest
Recommended for: This is a perfect pick for fans of paranormal romance who don't mind a couple sex scenes

Why I picked it up: It started with the cover (as always), but then I was intrigued by the idea of a girl who didn't know that she was supernatural, and I really wanted to know what kind of curse ended her up with a vampire to fix.

What it's all about: Punch, as she is known to most people, is different from everyone else in her family. She can sense water and air and can manifest wings on occasion. While rehearsing for a dance performance, she finds herself in a pair of shoes that have been cursed to force the wearer to dance to their death. She has been in the shoes for all of ten minutes when two different vampires, representing two different magic item retrieval agencies, appear in the theater ready to watch her die and claim the shoes from her corpse. Choosing one, Punch run to him, then away with him. She finds herself in the midst of a consortium that includes a vampire, a dragon, a werewolf (who happens to be a distant relative), several fae, and a witch. They work together and find a solution, but Punch is still in danger from the other vampire and his colleagues. Will she find her way home and will there be a home left to find? Will she trust her instincts or run for her life? And just how far is she willing to take this tension between herself and a vampire. 
tl/dr: Supernatural girl finds herself immersed in the supernatural world through a pair of cursed shoes. 

My thoughts: As much as I thought I came to this book without any preconceptions, that was clearly not true once I started reading it. The mythology in the book drew me in immediately. I had heard stories similar to the one of the red shoes, but I have no knowledge of Thai mythology and was excited to learn a bit. I did get it in my head that this was a Young Adult novel, and so was a bit surprised at the level of graphicness during the more heated scenes. I got over that quickly. The story is fast-paced and full of action. The characters of the consortium had a great dynamic of both working well together and irritating each other that felt like a real chosen family. Punch quickly fit in, smoothing out many of the edges, and I hope there are more books coming to see how it all works out. I did think that the issue of consent was hit a little too hard at times (though obviously consent is important, the numerous mentions of it which were much more telling than showing, seemed unnatural). Much of the story was plot driven, and the characters did not evolve much. I think that with a different cover and different comparison authors, this book would have portrayed itself more accurately and not caused the dissonance at the beginning between what I expected and what the book was really like. Steller idea with okay writing. 

Favorite Character: I loved Asamoah! He used his culinary abilities to make people feel at home (even if he did make his own versions of favorite flavor combinations). At the end, when he invites the others into the kitchen with him to teach and share their own comfort foods is the sweetest start of what will clearly be a great bonding moment for the entire consortium. 

Favorite Moment: The escape. It was unexpected and spectacular! 

Memorable Quotes: 
"but she was, he thought, giving him the most epic side-eye he had ever had cast in hi s direction. And vampires at their most arrogant made disapproval and scorn and art form."

"Predatory and powerful, he took pride in the simple fact that he was one of the most dangerous creatures in existence, even among his own kind."

"It wasn't the time to be silly, but honestly, if Peeraphan [Punch] didn't hold on to the wonder of everything happening around her, fear of imminent death was going to drown her. So damn it, she was going to find the silver lining in all this and soak in every drop of dream worthy experience while she still could."

"Once somebody could claim they were centuries old, it wasn't particularly interesting to count how many centuries."

"'I never thought I'd live to witness the genesis of Bennett the lovestruck vampire,' Thomas muttered."

"When one lived as long as any one of them did, it was in everyone's best interest if they didn't let themselves get too bored." 

"'While we're making adjustments, I need a corgi,' Ashke announced. 'If I'm to properly see to the security of this island, I need a battle steed.'"

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I wish I could have said that this story drew me in and I loved it. But I struggled to get through this story and had a hard time finishing it. While I respect the author for writing this book, and probably making this a series, I did not connect with the writing. It was more telling than showing. I have a hard time also with POVs that aren't first person.

The characters come across as childish sometimes and I didn't feel chemistry between the mains. I do like dual POVs, though, so that was nice to see. Give this book a try and see what you think. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the free eARC. I'm leaving my honest review.

This is a very fast paced book (entire book takes place in less than a week) featuring lots of different mythological creatures from all over the world. I loved that the characters weren't teenagers, that they were all mature, consenting, intelligent with moral compasses that fit their myths. The central characters are Peeraphan and Bennett (you get perspectives from each character, plus a couple of side characters) Peeraphan (or Punch) is in her 30's when she is entranced by a pair of red dancing heels with a deadly curse attached to them. Bennett is trying to get them off the market, but is too late to prevent Peeraphan from donning the shoes. There is so much more depth to the characters when they aren't literal teenagers.

This reads kind like the beginning of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or maybe more Angel Investigations) of a variety of supernatural characters are joined together to track down cursed and mythical items and secure them so they can't harm others. This is an adult romance with sex on page, there is a little bit of insta-love but the characters talk through things so miscommunication is minimal, and the romance is mature rather than horny 20 somethings.

4.25 out of 5 stars, spice rating is more like 1-2 (on page, coitus interruptus, banter, teasing).