I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I'm struggling with rating this book because I felt like during the first 70% nothing happened - it was all set up for the story. The last 30% were really suspenseful and fast-paced. If the first part of the book hadn't been quite so long I could see this being a much better overall rating. Once it picked up, I really liked the twists and turns!

4.5 stars rounded down

Well, this was a really nice surprise! This was an absolutely amazing read. I literally loved ever second of it!

Italy seems to be a popular destination for a lot of the novels I've been picking lately and so far this is the one that has stood out the most to me & the one that will best be remembered. The perfect blend of modern day reality & old Italian nuance.



Another absolutely fantastic narrator that really helped bring this book to life. I LOVEEEEE that she kept an Italian accent for the Italian members of the family throughout the book. It really helped bring this book to life. Normal I only get hardcopy "book trophies" of fantasies that I love but I will definitely be purchasing a book trophy for this little golden nugget

Anna grew up in Tuscany in her family villa. She had night terrors as a young girl and believed she was responsible for her mother’s death. Years later, after living abroad, Anna returns to her family home but is greeted by the locals with disdain. Anna wants to understand what happened to her mother and determine whether or not she has fallen to the family curse. This was an immersive mystery with an unbelievable atmospheric setting! I loved the gothic vibes, buried secrets, and twisty plot!

I really enjoyed The Medici Curse. The setting - an old, grand Tuscan family estate with hidden rooms, dungeons, and secret passages - was moody and vivid, and it gave the whole story an eerie gothic, unsettling feel. The main character, Anna, returns home after years away and is immediately pulled into a mystery surrounding her mother’s death and a missing necklace that might be cursed. From the start, you can feel that something’s off, and that tension just keeps building.

I liked how the story played with memory and trauma, and how Anna wasn’t even sure if she could trust herself. The flashbacks and dreams added a psychological layer that made the mystery even more interesting. The pacing was pretty solid, though there were a few slow chapters in the middle where not much happened. I also would’ve liked a little more development for a couple of the supporting characters. The entire book is written from only one POV - could’ve been a little more interesting if it were multiple POVs.

Still, the ending delivered. I had some guesses along the way, but there were enough twists to keep me hooked, and the final reveal was satisfying. Definitely recommend it if you like dark family mysteries with an old-world vibe.

The Medici Curse, set in Italy. Anna returns to her family home many years after she was involved in the tragic death of her mother. What she returns to is lies and deceit, who can she truly trust as despite the curse on the necklace everyone is still trying to get their hands on it. Is the necklace cursed or is it a powerful amulet.

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and found it very engaging although for the male characters it was a little wooden, however this did not distract from the overall feeling of the story. I can’t say that I felt a connection to the characters so although I was keen to know what happens I wasn’t worried about something bad happening to them.
There were many twists along the way to keep me interested so I would say it’s a 3.5/4 star read.
I would recommend this story to anyone wanting a nice little mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for offering this ARC in exchange for my personal thoughts.

This one moved differently. It wasn’t racing forward the whole time — it took its time, building this layered feeling like something hidden was always just under the surface, both in the past and the present. I could feel the weight of everything unsaid in both timelines. And somehow, even though I knew they were connected, I kept second-guessing how.

The setting helped a lot — Italy wasn’t just background here. It felt lived in. You could smell the dust on the old stone, feel the quiet corners of rooms people had left things behind in. The past chapters had this heavy atmosphere — not dramatic, but dense, like history that never really settled. The present-day parts felt sharper, like someone digging up something they maybe shouldn’t.

There are secrets in both timelines, and the way they mirror each other added to the tension. It’s not loud suspense, it’s the kind that sits in your stomach while you read. You don’t even realize how much it's building until something clicks, and then you can’t stop flipping pages just to see if what you suspected is actually right — or way off.

The Medici Curse by Daco S. Auffenorde was an entertaining and thrilling book, although a conundrum, especially for a linear thinker like myself. Anna de Medici Rossi has returned to her villa in Tuscany sixteen years after her mother had died; the consensus was that Anna had killed her by pushing her down a flight of stairs. The villagers avoided her but she had family who seemed to accept her and she had her loyal houseman, Eduardo, who took exceptionally good care of her. She came needing answers. She had no memory of the night of the accident, but she did remember the bad dreams and the night terrors. She had the reputation of being a difficult child. Her mother had been a famous opera singer, known to all. Her father, a man with no money and no apparent way of making a living. But, they went to America together. Now, he was dead, and she was home. She needed to find out the truth and she needed to locate the Medici heirloom necklace that had disappeared that night.

Anna seemed fine, determined, even. She did not appear to be suffering the mental illness many ascribed to her. She liked her “aunt” Francesca and her three cousins, Antonio, Paulo, and Jonna. Antonio was a bit of a rake but easy to get along with sometimes. The other two were friendly and supportive. Excellent character development from all of them. The mystery of the necklace and the locked door to the caves beneath the house continued to haunt her as she slowly unraveled the mystery of who pushed her mother down the stairs. It was an excellent listen, something confusing at every turn. Terrific, complicated discoveries at every turn.

The reader is Cassandra Campbell, who did a wonderful job keeping it all on an even keel, even as the words said other wise. I recommend her.

I was invited to listen to The Medici Curse by HighBridge Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #HighBridgeAudio #DacoSAuffenorde #TheMediciCurse

I received an advance copy of the book for review. The cast of characters is a seemingly crazy family with more drama than most. I was shocked by the many twists and turns exposed throughout and really enjoyed the story. I was most happy with the ending and appreciated how the author wrapped up the story. Would definitely recommend you give this one a chance.

Darkly atmospheric and rich with Gothic intrigue, The Medici Curse swept me away to a haunted Tuscan villa full of secrets, suspicion, and sinister family history. Anna’s return to her childhood home is laced with tension as old traumas resurface and whispers of a long-standing curse close in. The blend of psychological suspense, eerie visions, and unraveling family mystery kept me on edge. Hidden rooms, missing jewels, and a past too painful to remember—this one is for fans of moody thrillers with a supernatural twist.

Thank you Draco S. Auffenorde, HighBridge Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

#themedicicurse #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreview #netgalley #arcreview #arc #arcreader #review #somanybookssolittletime

DNF. I was ready for a gothic thrill ride, but while this one started strong, it petered out. The tone was very YA-ish, which led to me losing interest. At nearly 2/3 of the way through I realized I did not care what happened to any of the characters, and decided to move on to the next book. I thought the narrator was good, and she was not the reason I did not want to finish this book.

I received an ALC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the premise, but ultimately nothing about this particularly grabbed me. The pace was slow, and I felt like we could have done without most of the middle of the book. I didn't care about the characters, so the various reveals didn't have an impact on me. I do like a spooky house, but we didn't get much of that. The audiobook narration was fine, but a bit flat, so unfortunately it didn't help make me feel any more invested.

The action picked up towards the end, with one last little twist. That part was pretty competently done, but by that stage I lacked the emotional investment to care.

Without giving too many spoilers, there's also a prominent pregnancy plot, which is not my thing at all.

Audio Book Review - the story telling of Cassandra Campbell is superb - offering careful pronunciations of the Italian language, a smooth and hypnotic tone with a generous portion of calm and serenity. The clever twists and turns lead you on a wonderful adventure in the Tuscan hillside with a medieval curse haunting all those around! Wonderful concept

2.25 🌟 rounded down

Honestly, this felt like an Italian soap opera (are those a thing?) and I don't mean that as a compliment. The main character, Anna, is well-developed, but I found her unlikable. Anna makes numerous foolish decisions throughout the book, some of which seem nonsensical. It just creates unnecessary drama. The first ~60% was too slow going for me, and the plot seemed disjointed. I enjoyed the descriptions of Tuscany, Italy, and the Italian language sprinkled throughout. (Though...the plural of bambino is not bambinos, it's bambini).

Cassandra Campbell does narration for The Medici Curse. She does an okay job, but almost had a...bored-sounding quality to her reading. It doesn't make me want to listen to other narrations by this particular person.

Thank you to NetGalley & RBmedia for the ALC.

Dark and atmospheric with lots of secrets and lies to unravel, and a touch of the supernatural. I enjoyed listening to the audio version of this one. The narrator did a good job of holding my attention throughout even when the pace of the story stuttered a bit.

I’d truthfully give this less than 3 stars but that’s the minimum I think authors should get because they wrote a whole damn book. Even though the suspense was well written, the reason for my low review is TW: Incest.

The story had potential but was ruined by the unnecessary incest and pregnancy plotline. The author could have had the MC sleep with someone else or make the guy like the ward of the family.

In one scene the MC is saying she doesn’t think she wants kids, then is suddenly firmly on the side of keeping the baby without any qualms. This just wreaks of the stereotype that women don’t know what they want and will change their minds.

It's kind of slow. Had some odd parts. I would have liked more focus on the mystery but overall, it's a good mystery. Good conclusion that I didn't see coming. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job with the Italian accents.

Happy Release Day!!

I received a copy of this book as an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

“As my late father taught me, you can’t trust anyone.”

Anna returns to her childhood home in Tuscany after years away. When she arrives, she finds that all the towns people believe the tragic accident that killed her mother was either Anna’s fault, or due to a cursed family heirloom.

Anna goes on a hunt to find out what happened to the heirloom, and the truth of what happened to her mother. She uncovers lies, betrayals and decades-old secrets that have affected her entire life.

As much as I loved the story and the writing, I did not love the narration. Some parts of this book are full of trauma and emotions and I felt that the narrator was a little flat and emotionless.

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to The Medici Curse!

Anna comes home 16 years after her Mother's death.
Everyone is suspicious of Anna and thinks that she is the one who killed her Mother.
The Medici Falchion is a family necklace Anna's Mother was wearing the night of her death. The ruby and diamond jewelry was said to be cursed, and the family thinks Anna took the necklace.
Immediately after her Mother's death, her Father takes her to the US, where she grows up. Now she is back to face her familial demons and come back to the scene of the "crime".
The family acts as if they are happy she has returned, but of course, they are not.
As Anna tries to find out more, she begins having night terrors again, like when she was a child, and visions. The more she looks for answers, the worse things get.
This psychological thriller had such a great gothic atmosphere.
There is tension, secrets, curses, tension, lies, and trauma.
A quick thriller read. Great atmospheric thriller.
The characters are fairly well-developed.
The plot is fairly well structured. The pace was a bit slow in a few places but always recovered.
I think this is a fun read for the dark this summer.
Add this to your TBR!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Happy Reading!

I loved this book! A well written novel that weaves a brilliant tale of deception, murder and mystery. The characters are engaging and each character introduced adds to the plot. It really keeps you guessing right till the end and is a proper page turner.

The narrator in this audiobook version is excellent and does the book justice.

Many thanks to Highbridge Audio and Netgalley for my gifted copy. The book started off good. Great narrator and I couldn't wait to hear more about this cursed object. Without spoilers I will just say, that hook up between those 2 characters knowing their connection gave me the creeps. The mystery was a little lackluster.