Cursed for Keeps

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the premise at first—*another* cursed duke? But *Cursed for Keeps* won me over in the first chapter with Robert’s sheer, stubborn *competence*. This isn’t a man who moans about his fate; he’s the guy who’d research curse-loopholes while bleeding from a hex-induced paper cut. E.J. Kitchens writes banter like a fencing match, and Trista Shaye’s narration makes every parry land. Her Robert is a masterclass in deadpan delivery, but she really soars with the female lead, whose exasperation with his antics feels *earned*. The chemistry between them crackles, though I’ll dock half a point for a mid-book lull where the political subplot threatens to smother the romance. The real standout? The *curses themselves*. Kitchens treats them like a darkly comedic inventory—one turns Robert’s hair into snakes (he shaves it off), another makes him compulsively honest (hilarious in a duke). Shaye’s timing here is *flawless*; she sells the absurdity without undermining the stakes. My only gripe is the pacing in the final act, which rushes a few emotional beats after such a deliberate build. Still, the epilogue is worth the price of admission alone. If you love romance with bite, fantasy that doesn’t drown in lore, and narrators who *get* the joke, this is your next listen. Just don’t blame me if you start side-eyeing every suspicious-looking trinket in your house afterward.