PHENOMENAL!! Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Penner, and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Just PERFECTION!!! What a beautifully written and captivating historical fantasy filled with forbidden love, powerful magic, sunken treasure, mysterious shipwrecks all set along the Amalfi Coast.

After devouring The Lost Apothecary, I eagerly anticipated Penner’s next adventure—and this one soared beyond every expectation. It’s her most dazzling work yet, and easily one of my top reads of 2025.🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

The novel’s dual narratives, one unfolding in the vibrant streets and coves of modern day Positano, the other in a storm battered 17th‑century village, are woven together with flawless precision. Each chapter in the past mirrors and magnifies the mysteries Haven Ambrose faces in the present.

Haven, a fearless nautical archaeologist, arrives in Positano determined to recover the priceless gemstones her late father nearly found, and to probe the string of bizarre shipwrecks plaguing the coast. As she dives into sunken hulls and braves treacherous maelstroms, she uncovers an ancient legend of stregheria, a sea‑based magic once wielded by a woman desperate to save her love and her community. Could this same sorcery be the source of Positano’s latest disasters? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before nature’s fury, and something far more sinister, devours the region.

In summary, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea. I am utterly enchanted and wholeheartedly recommend it!! Infinite gleaming 🌟 ✨⭐️💫🌟!!!!!

I've found a new favorite Sarah Penner novel. When I read The Lost Apothecary, I recommended it to everyone I knew and it quickly took a place in my top reads of all time.

Then came The Amalfi Curse. This novel had everything I love in a Sarah Penner book (or any novel really)... mystery, magic, a dash of romance and feminist undertones. (Not to mention the dreamy Italian seaside that played as much of a role in the novel as the characters themselves.) And now it's taken its own place in my top reads list.

Haven is a nautical archaeologist looking to establish her career on a once-in-a-lifetime project, while also setting out to fulfill her late father's last wish...to find treasure in the waters off the coast of Positano. But the Amalfi Curse might have other plans for her.

And Mari is a young "strega del mare", a sea witch, doing all she can to keep her seaside town of Positano prosperous and safe from pirates and the Mazza Brothers in the early 1800s.

I absolutely loved the dual timelines, following not just Haven's journey toward undiscovered shipwrecks and treasure, but Mari's journey toward love despite her own life of tragedy. And Penner's writing had me hooked from the beginning, curious how the two women's lives would intertwine and overlap.

I couldn't put the book down and picked it up every chance I got, devouring the story in just a couple of days. My only complaint is that the ending was a bit underwhelming. But what the ending lacked in power, the rest of the story more than made up for.

Thank you to Sarah Penner, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row, and NetGalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5 stars rounded up

I really lucked out with timing on this one… I read this on our cruise vacation and it was the PERFECT setting to read this book! The ocean was front and center in this story- and the Positano setting was beautiful and really complimented my vacation vibes.

Having enjoyed all of Penner’s books previously, I feel like this is my favorite one of the bunch! The historical mystery and fantasy elements were so well done here. I enjoyed both timelines equally and loved how they came together. I also really appreciated how the sea was front and center in both timelines; it really helped the whole book feel cohesive! There were a few questions left unanswered by the end of the story, but these were minor things that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

Overall this was an excellent historical fantasy/mystery with a strong sea theme I highly enjoyed! If you’ve liked Penner’s previous books I think you’ll really love this one.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars rounded up

4.5 rounded up bc it doesn't deserve to be brought down!

The Amalfi Curse is told through two timelines and three voices; Have in the present time, Mari in the the 1800s, and letters from Holmes's journal, also in the 1800s. This type of dual timeline with the addition of "found" material has got to be my new favorite. It was so engrossing I couldn't put it down for a moment and finished it in under 24 hours.

The story has magic, rebellious women, shipwrecks, Italian coasts, stunning scenery that will make you want to pack up your passport immediately. Everything in this story wove together so beautifully, it's definitely one I will remember for quite a while. The last book that I felt this connected to was Weyward, and I do feel some similarities (like the magical realism for starters!) Highly highly recommend The Amalfi Curse if you like magic, revenge, and love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade for the chance to read this early!


I had a fun side quest while reading this arc (that obviously did not impact my review) but I'd like to share here briefly. There was a glitch in the file where any time the letters "f" and "l" were next to each other, there would be a space in between. Not a huge deal, but did cause a couple moments of confusion before I realized what was happening. The lesson I learned here is that I have never realized how many words contain "fl" together; it's a lot! Floor, seafloor, inflator, fleeting, flying, flapping, flipping, flopping....

an entire book set on the Amalfi coast and not once did anyone eat Amalfi Gelato or Gelato in general. I mean, did you even go to italy?!

In all seriousness though, I feel like the author is not great with endings. I feel a little let down by what could have been a great ending but instead was just meh.
the over all story was intriguing though, and both time lines were equally fascinating.

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner follows Haven Ambrose who is a nautical archaeologist and looking to use new technology to uncover information about centuries old shipwrecks on the coast of Positano, Italy. The book also has the historical timeline that follows Mari, a streghe from the 1820’s.

Penner expertly weaves these two storylines together and I loved the unique premise of the shipwrecks and the ancient sorcery. I have read both of Penner’s previous books and this is definitely my favorite! Looking forward to any of her future books as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted ARC of this novel!

I am a huge fan of this author’s writing, and this book is no exception. Instantly, I felt transported to the setting of this book, which remained consistent until the last page. I felt invested in all of the main characters as well as their stories, rooting for them every step of the way. Through both the setting and the characters, it is incredibly evident that the author does a vast amount of research in her writing. To me, this ultimately creates that transformative feel that makes her writing unique. When reading, I consistently felt that this would be a great summer read! I am forever a fan of this author and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. Another highly recommended book by this author for me!

4.75⭐️
🌶️

Witchcraft, forbidden love, and an ancient curse that ties two women's lives together despite being over two centuries apart.

Haven Ambrose is a nautical archaeologist, working on a project to explore the sunken wreckage hidden along the Amalfi Coast. What she doesn't expect to find is the story of forbidden love and magic that dates back to the 1800s.

Mari DeLuca is a streghe, a sea witch, who hates the ocean. Despite being the source of her powers, the sea has stolen both her mother and her sister from her. After falling in love with a sailor named Holmes, she plans to run away with him, refusing to let the sea take him too.

Set on the stunning Amalfi Coast, this book transported me on an Italian adventure. This is one thing I LOVE about Sarah Penner’s writing. She transports you to the destination, and before you know it, it feels like you're walking the streets of a coastal Italian town.

As someone who loves history, this was such a fun read for me! I highly recommend this book to fans of The Lost Apothecary and historical fiction.

Sarah Penner’s The Almafi Curse might just be her best story yet!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

SP is a must read author for me. I just love her themes and style so much. The Almafi Curse drifts a bit from her first two novels but in the absolute best way. There was not one dull moment in this dual-timeline mystery. The present day story introduces us to Haven, a nautical archaeologist, who is on a mission along the Almafi coast to locate the shipwreck and gemstones her late father discovered on his final dive. Meanwhile, Mt. Vesuvius threatens to erupt and strange tragedies force Haven out of the water and into the archives. The archives bring to light events that occurred in the same region in the early 1800s. Mari is a streghe that will do everything within her power to protect her friends and the women of her village from the men that seek to harm them. Both timelines build on themes of love and loss, hope and resilience.

The nautical themes were so interesting and well researched. From diving ancient ship wrecks to being immersed in nineteenth century fishing villages, every page was filled with new concepts and interesting facts. The mystery unraveled beautifully and the Almafi Curse stood as the ominous culprit throughout but I was so pleased with how everything was resolved in the end.

If you enjoy dual timelines, nautical themes, or ancient magic, this one is for you! I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an immersive adventure read with a hidden treasure twist.

This one should have checked all my boxes with the Italian setting, magical realism witchiness, and dual timelines. And yet, it didn't come together for me, and I found myself unable to connect with either the past storyline or present day characters. Haven is a marine archaeologist, who is trying to find the site of her late father's last dive off the coast of Positano, where he believed to have found sunken treasure. In the early 1800s, sea witch Mari and her coven of streghe are trying to protect the same village from the pirating Mazza brothers, while Mari also makes plans to escape with her lover who is part of the crew. In the present day, Haven discovers how past actions are impacting her current dive, and finds a very surface level romance with dive shop owner Enzo, who has more of a connection to the streghe than he knows. I really enjoyed the author's first book, so I'm a little surprised by how little I connected to this one, which didn't capture my interest or imagination to the same degree. It was a bit of a slow burn, which may have had something to do with it, but I was hoping for a little more excitement and emotion shown from the characters.

For the love of all that is holy, what's a girl gotta do to get authors to stop with the head hopping?? Do Italics or quotation marks cost extra??

Obviously one of the glaring issues I had with this was the headhopping. It's dual timeline, which is totally fine! In the "past" timeline, we also get the views from the MC reading letters or experiencing memories/flashbacks with absolutely no punctuation or formatting to indicate it's separate from her thoughts--it was absolutely maddening.

Secondly, as an archaeologist, this was....rough. And inaccurate with a lot of things, and I just couldn't do it. I'm convinced a basic "What happens during an excavation" wasn't even googled once and knowledge was based off of old movies. Yikes on bikes. This is why I don't read a lot of historical fiction.

If you can overlook that, the story is interesting and...fine. It's well written and flows really well, I didn't have any issues with the pacing, and was invested enough to finish the book. It just took a lot longer than it should have. I think if you're a fan of historical fiction and don't have any prior knowledge with archaeology/Italy, you'll find this a lot more enjoyable than I did. I was really bummed, because I wanted to LOVE this one. On paper it's everything I wanted out of a book. But this just didn't work for me, and I don't think I'd pick it up again.

I'd classify Sarah Penner books as on the periphery but within the same orbit as my usual penchant for mystery/thrillers. Her books usually have historical and romantic components with an underlying air of mystery and witchcraft. After admittedly picking up The Lost Apothecary on a whim last Halloween, I was HOOKED and subsequently proceeded to tear through The London Séance Society. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to snag an ACR of The Amalfi Curse -- which was as fantastic as I expected!

I loved every single component of this book the strong-willed female protagonists, elements of witchcraft, exotic locations, underlying mysteries, and sweet romances. The Amalfi Curst had it all! 10/10 recommend

True love. Mothers & daughters. Sacrifice. Untamed magic. Secrets. Ancestors. Amalfi Coast. Shipwrecks. Adventure. Revenge. This book feels like The Princess Bride meets Titanic with witches! I was able to disappear into this novel each time I picked it up.

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠
4 ⭐️
Publication date : 4/29/25

💕Thank you to @netgalley @parkrowbooks and to the author @sarah_penner_author for my ARC.

Guys, this was my first book by the author, Sarah Penner, and when I say I devoured this, I was so upset with myself that I let it sit in my kindle library for so long before I got around to it. Books with dual timelines are usually hit and miss with me, but this one worked in so many places throughout the story and some I felt like it didn’t. If you are a fan of :
-historical fiction
-magical realism
-fantasy
-treasure hunting
-romance
-witches
- forbidden love

I highly recommend this book to you. I think it’s important for me to add I finished this book in a little over 24 hours. The main female character, Haven Ambrose is an archaeologist that the reader is introduced to in the first part of the book. We are basically following her on a two fold journey.
1. To have a huge impact on the archaeology world
2. keeping her promise to her father before he died to find the treasure.
Those two things themselves turn out to be one crazy plot That will cause you not be able to put this book down. I have had the authors book the lost apothecary on my shelf for so long. I cannot wait to hopefully get to it before the end of the month.

🏷️#booklover #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookblogger #bookblog #booknerdigans #bookishfeatures #bookphotography #yalit #yabooks #currentlyreading #igreads #instaread #bookworm #booknerd #bookdragons #historicialfiction #fiction #witch #italy #sarahpenner

I don’t think I can accurately portray my expressions for this book.

The Amalfi Curse was perfectly crafted using multiple narrators and timelines to pull the reader into a story of family, adventure, magic, love and heartbreak.

Our Three Perspectives and two timelines with brief summary of their storylines:

We follow Mari, a young woman in 1821 as she navigates her world of magic and the role she plays for making sure that her world in Italy isn’t subjected to pirates, looters and the like. Mari is also madly in love with a ship worker, Holmes. Through Mari we see how the little town navigates with powers and the unforeseen men who look to wreck it.

Holmes, while on his ship ensures that he writes in his daily journal to document the travel and the glimpses of the awful condition of working for the Mazza brothers, the brothers looking to take all they can from the Li Galli area where Mari resides.

Back in the 21st century however, we follow Haven, a scuba diver and researcher. After scuba diving her whole life, she has now been granted a research expedition in the same area that her dad thought he found jewels right before he passed. As she makes it to the Amalfi coast, she is met with a possible Mt. Vesuvius eruption and her dad’s friend coming in to steal her expedition. Conrad is after the jewels, Haven doesn’t know how, but he has found out. Haven refuses to give up so quickly and is hell bent on getting in the water one way or another.

2.5/5

I was genuinely excited to dive into The Amalfi Curse. The premise had everything I love—treasure hunts, sea witches, and a dash of romance—all set against the dreamy backdrop of the Amalfi Coast. It sounded like the perfect blend of mystery, magic, and adventure.

Unfortunately, the story didn’t live up to those promising elements. The pacing dragged and the dual timelines and multiple POVs didn’t do much to help me get engrossed in the story. I would have much preferred the story to be told solely from Haven’s perspective, uncovering Mari and Holmes’ stories alongside her.

It honestly took all my willpower to push through to the end—but I’m glad I did, because I did enjoy the ending.

A little slow to start, and I wish there was more build up with the antagonist, but a solid read overall. The history sections were much more captivating than the current day ones, in my opinion. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sarah Penner has done it again. After reading The Lost Apothecary, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and it definitely did not disappoint. Set in the gorgeous sun-soaked town of Amalfi, we find ourselves on an adventure of a lifetime as we follow Haven Ambrose, a diver who's determined to find the lost treasure her father found on his last dive. Misfortunes persist and detain her however, and threaten to keep her from redeeming her father's legacy. Reading this was a great way to spend a weekend and a great way to escape reality for a few much needed hours of respite.

I love the theme of sisterhood that weaves throughout the story. I enjoyed the alternating timelines and perspectives, and I like how it all weaved together for a complete story. With the addition of magic and witches, this story packs it all.

The Italian setting is idyllic, and Penner has her readers longing for the water. Overall, this was an enjoyable read from start to finish.

Dual timelines can be really tricky to the pacing, but I think Sarah had an excellent balance between her timelines. I loved the magical elements while still being a mystery. The backdrop of Italy is also just perfect for summer.