I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did a great job. I was drawn to this book by its description. I was intially captivated by the gothic atmosphere within the castle and Estela’s nightly explorations of it. The writing is beautiful and descriptions of the architecture, of the looming gargoyles within the building, a mirrored wall and a purple room where something horrific took place all add to the novel’s gothic mood.
Unfortunately, the romance between characters, the execution of certain aspects of the story and the ending made it difficult for me to enjoy Castle Of The Cursed as much as I wanted to.
Estela is intially presented as being wholly mute and suffering from the severe trauma of her experiences, yet due to most of the story taking place rapidly over the course of thirteen days, she is dealt blow after emotional blow and yet is able to function and even fall desperately in love with the morally gray, memory-challenged and shadow-controlling vampire Prince Sebastián.
Because Castle Of The Cursed is meant for a YA audience, Estela is young and experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, I could almost excuse her shift from fear to overwhelming attraction.
The revelation of the main antagonist being Estela’s twin sister Antonela felt very jarring and while her background is somewhat sympathetic, her overall behaviors lack nuance.
I honestly stuggled with this review as I know that authors put so much time and care into their work and I loathe being negative. But perhaps I was just the wrong reader for this novel. I will probably purchase this book for our library because I think there will be students who love it.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for providing access to this audiobook.

Thanks to Macmillian Audio for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I loved Garber's Lobozona series so I was excited to see what new unique fantasy world she had dreamed up in this one. Estela is suddenly orphaned after a strange attack that kills both of her parents. She is sent to live with a mysterious aunt in Spain who lives in a castle. The castle is responsible for the well being of the whole town but demands blood. Estela is curious to know about this family she never knew, this home that seemingly has a mind of its own and a mysterious boy of smoke that appears and she can't get enough of.

The magical world in this one was very unique. I loved the world building most of all. There is the fated mates, love triangle business that is so common in these types of stories but it does not play out in a predicable manner. I also felt in this case that the narrator was fabulous and kept me engaged even when the story had lulls.

This book had the beginnings of a great horror story. It was atmospheric with the descriptions of the Villa and the town. It was rich in lore and background. It was creepy and mysterious. But the last 20% of the book completely lost me. Adding the element of different dimensions, with a magic school that used blood and people as a power source was a lot. And the insta-romance was a lot, borderline toxic. It was not a simple horror story, it was a lot.

#CastleOfTheCursed:

In all honesty, I wanted to DNF this several times. But, something in the back of my mind kept saying, “just wait and see what happens” so I never did. Do I regret it? No, it was an overall good read.

Estela becomes an orphan thanks to a black smoke. She’s the only survivor, and they don’t know why she did. She finds out her past was not what her parents said it was, and she’s off to meet her living relative in Spain. She lives in la Sombra, a beautiful gothic castle, where everything also is not what it seems. She needs real answers about the past before it catches up to her.

There’s a lot of back and forth between timelines and places and piecing things together from the past and present to make sense. It was choppy in a sense that I don’t think it flowed well to really give it the effect we needed for surprise. Also, the romance was.. different? I felt like it was very fast and it was a “oh, we’re in love now?” I just didn’t feel like it fit with the plot tbh.

Ana Osorio is such a good reader, I loved her narration. She just gets the vibe and does it right. She brought the soooky, the creepy, the unsettling perfectly.

Definitely a slow burn gothic horror, I still wouldn’t sleep on this one. It’s different from Garber’s previous work, and I loved her previous work. But different isn’t a bad thing. This was a lot darker, more menacing, and Garber masters that kind of writing for her readers to truly feel the horror. Out now!

I was provided an ARC & an ALC of this title for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Castle of the Cursed was a decent almost edge of your seat paranormal gothic romance. The spooky vibes are very much giving, but the romance just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Overall I enjoyed it but it wasn’t a standout for me.

Thank you to the author & NetGalley for the opportunity to read & listen early!

Would upgrade my rating to 4.5 stars. This audiobook was a lot of fun! Great narration and easy to follow. So many twists and turns that I couldn’t believe but in a good way! This book was a combo of Mexican Gothic and Belladonna which are two of my favorites. Very atmospheric. I will be doing a review post on this one within the next week on my Bookstagram and will update this with the link.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the e-arc!
This is coming out at the absolute perfect time because the Castle of the Cursed is exactly what I want on a Gothic fall read! Play I already know that people are going to go absolutely nuts for this book! It has a bit of everything, such as horror, romance, fantasy, and mystery. Estella journeys to her family's ancestral home to figure out what happened to her parents and discover the secrets hidden inside.
This book really brings the Gothic atmosphere and mystery to life by toe-ing the line between reality and hallucinations. Sebastian is a really interesting character, with his dynamic in the house and Estella creating such an intriguing history. This is definitely a twisting and complex narrative to follow but it is extremely mesmerizing! There were parts of the families of struggling but I'm so glad I continued as the themes throughout the story really hit hard.

Thank you to NetGalley, Romina Garber & MacMillan Audio for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

The cover art & synopsis intrigued me, but sadly, the story that was delivered fell a bit short for me. This was one of those stories that was just so-so for me – I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t really like it either. Therefore, my rating is straight down the middle at 3 Stars.

I read 400+ books per year & I will have forgotten this one by the time I am done typing this review. It just wasn’t a standout story that will stick with me.

Normally, I really enjoy gothic, atmospheric stories with paranormal/supernatural characters. This should have been a slam dunk. The dual timelines were confusing at times because there really wasn’t any break informing the reader of the switch in timeline. The pacing was also much slower than normal for a book of this type & I felt like I was trudging through to finish it.

The narrator was amazing & the best part about his audiobook.

Overall, this book had so many positives going for it, but the execution & delivery fell a bit short.

I loved the setting and the family secrets. The creepy dark gothic castle was a great setting for a family that is unwilling to share their knowledge with each other. I like Estela’s determination to solve the mystery even if her family is lying to her. I didn’t really like the romance and the epilogue made it worse. Maybe this kind of supernatural romance isn’t for me.
So if you like a dark gothic everyone is lying type book with some steamy romance, you might like this one. I would definitely recommend this for older YA readers only.

I really enjoyed this one! Gothic fantasy… a bit of mystery. Who dunnit? Loved it. Definitely check it out. Adding the physical copy to my shelf soon, The cover is to die for,

This was a dark tale about a creepy castle and family secrets. This one sucked me in quickly. I listened to an ALC of this book and highly recommend the audiobook. It was really good.

This work started off quite strongly. The setting and castle were written well, creating a strong and gloomy atmosphere that had me excited. There were also several spooky and mysterious things happening that kept me waiting to see what would happen next. By about halfway through, these elements had completely disappeared, including the atmosphere, which was massively disappointing. The work then took a weird, multi-dimensional turn that felt out of place and odd.

The characters were very YA. They fell into standard tropes without adding anything new or interesting to the mix. Unfortunately, there’s also a standard YA romance that is massively insta-love (13 days from not knowing each other to being the only thing worth living for). There were also some explicit on-page spicy scenes that felt out of place and added nothing positive to the read.

I did love how the author chose to end this one, but it and the strong beginning weren’t enough to save the other 80% of the book. Read this if you’re looking for an odd YA read with insta-love and standard characters. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work, which will be published July 30, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is definitely not my kind of book, but I know many teens who will devour it. It's exactly the sort of dark, paranormal romance a lot of kids are looking for, and it has a little more substance than a lot of other books in that category. My biggest complaint was the ending where they decide criminals are okay to sacrifice for blood. Maybe readers who are in favor of capital punishment will have less of an issue with it, but that really ruined the book for me.

Castle of the Cursed started a bit slow, but once it set the stage and got our protagonist to Spain, it took off.
This gave me vibes of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Roshoni Chokshi, two of my favorite authors, and I loved the gothic meets campy meets vampires meets mystery blend.
Ana Osorio is a new-to-me narrator and she NAILED this narration. I was enraptured as she brought all of Estela’s emotions to life. I’m glad I was able to read this on audio instead of with my eyeballs because the narration absolutely enhanced the reading experience for me.
Castle of the Cursed absolutely worked for me, and this is one of my new favorite paranormal gothic mystery/thrillers. It was suspenseful and intriguing and just so fun.

I love gothic tales so I had to pick this one up. The story starts out with a bang and the pacing never really let up until the end. Normally that's a good thing but here, I kind of wish it was a bit slower so I could have digested it fully. I had to stop periodically to try to wrap my head around the "how" and "why." Maybe it's just one of those books that needs a second read through in order to pick up on all of the little details?
Despite that, I did enjoy Castle of the Cursed and the last paragraph left me reeling. Definitely one to add to your spooky season TBR!

I love anything and everything Romina releases, and this book is no exception. It’s dark and spooky, it’s fun and adventurous, and it’s full of secrets and silver eyed men. Loved it.

This book sounded really great. Who wouldn't want to read a gothic YA? This book had some good qualities. I think the mystery was really intriguing. The fact that the castle is a living entity, different realms, and vampire prince was really cool. The magic was really interesting too. You have dark fantasy romance aspects and the book does begin with trigger warnings.

The narrator did a great job. She didn't fall flat and even though it was one narrator I still felt like the characters were distinguished. I also appreciated that she explained the sentences in Spanish afterwords since I only know minimal.

The only thing I didn't really care for was some of the structuring in the book. It's dual timeline so some of the chapters jump right into it which can be a bit confusing. Also, there is some info dumping in some parts too which I think could have been better if it was sprinkled throughout the book. I wish it was a bit longer and more developed.

I recommend if you liked dark fantasy romance. While this is YA due to the themes and some content I'd hear more towards NA.

Thank you to macmillian audio for the gifted listeners copy

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁
✨Gothic, Paranormal Romance
✨Supernatural Mystery
✨Atmospheric + Dark
✨Slow Burn, Tension
✨Dark Secrets
✨Hidden Agendas
✨Past Comes to Light

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 👍🏻

“Castle of the Cursed” unfolds as protagonist, Estela grapples with the aftermath of a mysterious attack claiming her parents’ lives, propelling her to Spain to live with a long-lost relative, and plunged into the depths of her ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

The castle cradles dark secrets, supernatural forces, and a family curse. Garber paints a vivid, gothic portrayal of la Sombra; both atmospheric and dripping with suspense. The vibes we love!

The introduction of Sebastián, a silver-eyed, shadowy enigma confined within the castle, put a fascinating supernatural element into the narrative, while seamlessly weaving in a tantalizing, slow-burn romance suffused with mistrust, tension, and the tantalizing thrill of the unknown.

Garber crafted a captivating tale that will immerse readers in a spellbinding paranormal world of shadows, curses, familial legacies, sacrifice, and love.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I finished this audiobook a while back and I sat hoping I had words to express better than I do on my opinion of this novels. Ana Osorio The narrator did a fantastic job of capture the author’s intensions of this “dark” gothic romance.
But overall I struggled following the plot, I am not bilingual and with many sentences in Spanish and the FMC also didn’t understand I felt myself drifting from the audiobook in places because things that were being said I had no answer to what it was. Which I would assume is sorta the point of the mystery of finding out about the secrets of herself but it made for a hard time for me as the reader.