Cursed Moon (Prospero's War, 2)
Cursed Moon (Prospero's War, 2) book cover

Cursed Moon (Prospero's War, 2)

Paperback – August 12, 2014

by
Price
$21.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
400
Publisher
Orbit
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0316228466
Dimensions
5.5 x 1.01 x 8.25 inches
Weight
1.1 pounds

Description

"A fresh, magical world full of potion junkies and alchemists that promises to break new ground in paranormal thrillers."― Laurell K. Hamilton "Wells does an exceptional job depicting the hard choices and struggles caused by addiction, while also delivering a gritty and exciting procedural thriller. When it comes to crafting outstanding dark urban fantasy, Wells is fast becoming a master!"― RT Book Reviews on Cursed Moon (Top Pick!) "Jaye Wells raises the urban fantasy bar with Dirty Magic, a hard-boiled series debut as unique and surprising as the creatures and characters peopling it. Kate Prospero is charged with policing the Cauldron, a magical world so fully realized, and so gritty, it gets under your nails. Wells is known for deftly weaving non-stop action with no-holds barred humor, but the unique and deeply drawn relationships are the real alchemy here. Dirty Magic showcases seasoned pro, Wells, at the top of her game, and establishes newcomer Kate Prospero as the urban fantasy heroine to beat."― New York Times bestselling author Vicki Pettersson on Dirty Magic. "Kate Prospero is my new favorite heroine -- imperfect, haunted, driven, and dangerous."― New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne on Dirty Magic "Hold on tight -- a gritty new heroine has joined the pantheon of shoot-first, ask-questions-later protagonists."― RT Book Reviews on Red-Headed Stepchild "A fast-paced fun book"― New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris on Red-Headed Stepchild "Last year, I wrote that Jaye Wells had the potential to be the next coming of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison. This year, I'll amend that slightly: Jaye Wells is the next coming of LKH and Kim Harrison."― www.bn.com on Green-Eyed Demon Raised in Texas, USA Today bestselling author Jaye Wells grew up reading everything she could get her hands on. Her penchant for daydreaming was often noted by frustrated teachers. She embarked on a series of random career paths, including stints working for a motivational speaker and at an art museum. Jaye eventually realized that while she loved writing, she found facts boring. So, she left all that behind to indulge her overactive imagination and make stuff up for a living. Besides writing, she enjoys travel, art, history, and researching weird and arcane subjects. She lives in Texas with her saintly husband and devilish son. Find out more about Jaye Wells at www.jayewells.com.

Features & Highlights

  • Magic is a drug. It'll cost more than you can pay. . .
  • When a rare Blue Moon upsets the magical balance in the city, Detective Kate Prospero and her Magic Enforcement colleagues pitch in to help Babylon PD keep the peace. Between potions going haywire and emotions running high, every cop in the city is on edge. But the moon's impact is especially strong for Kate, who's wrestling with guilt over her use of illegal magic.When a rogue wizard steals dangerous potions from a local coven, Kate's team must find the thief's hideout before the vengeful coven catches him. But the investigation uncovers the rogue's dangerous plot to unleash chaotic magic on the city. Once the Blue Moon rises no-one's secrets will be safe. Not even Kate's.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(134)
★★★★
25%
(112)
★★★
15%
(67)
★★
7%
(31)
★
23%
(102)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Sets the series up for a better book three, but CURSED MOON is not particularly satisfying on it's own.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

The Prospero’s War series inhabits a world where magic permeates the landscape of chemistry and pharmacology. With hints of allegory to our own reality’s war on drugs, the fundamental difference is how those born with magical potential have an advantage when it comes to cooking, but no additional defenses against the powerful high such activity creates.

As an Adept trying to go cold turkey off cooking, Kate Prospero has all the hallmarks and emotions of an addict. This concept is introduced in book one, but the true focus of CURSED MOON is on her struggles with addiction and recovery. Guilt, anger, self-destructive behavior, Kate experiences it all. Though an understandable consequence of the events in DIRTY MAGIC, I didn’t find Kate’s emotional outbursts or self-righteousness to make for particularly good reading. I lost interest and patience for Kate’s emotional issues early on in CURSED MOON, leaving the Batman-esque super villain, Dionysus, as the only element pulling me forward through the story. This guy escaped from a mental institution, personally mailed the police and his victims pretty much every piece of evidence used to catch him, and engages in all sorts of flamboyant criminal behavior, so his presence in the story really doesn’t do anything to promote a “police procedural vibe” so much as a “when will he and the police stumble in to each other on a street corner” type deal.

But as much as I didn’t like Kate’s drama through out the book and just wanted Dionysus caught, these two issues completely switch places when it comes to end game satisfaction. Dionysus going down was a forgettable check mark, but Kate’s growth at the conclusion was extremely satisfying (if a bit abrupt). Though CURSED MOON suffers from a lot of the same issues I had with DIRTY MAGIC, this series still seems to be building an upward trend. Here’s hoping book three is the one that delivers.

Sexual Content: References to prostitution, sex, and sex acts. Rape scenes.
2 people found this helpful
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"Moon"-struck

I'd be tempted to say I enjoyed this sophomore effort more than the first book, Dirty Magic. The most of the characters introduced in Book 1 continue to be developed, fleshed out, given more personal backstory. The pace of the plot seems to flow more steadily than it did first time around. I find myself beginning to see certain actors in some of the roles, such as David Zayas (a great character actor) as Morales. This would make a great TV series, somewhere between Gotham and Constantine. I am definitely ready to pick up the third book, Deadly Spells.
1 people found this helpful
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dark and gritty urban fantasy

This was a very dark and gritty urban fantasy story. With the main characters trying to stop a rape bomb, this story features quite a few elements that a lot of readers will not enjoy. If you can get past the unpleasant elements, the character develop does advance the series arch enough to make the story worthwhile.

Kate spends a lot of the book dealing (or not dealing) with the events that happened in the first book. Her continual internal debate is both nice to see and annoying. It’s nice in that she’s not the typical overly confident and competent UF heroine. She has doubts and issues and has to work through them like everyone. But at the same time, it’s annoying because it seems like a waste of page space. Just get over yourself already!

My main issue with the first book was understanding how the magic in this world worked, but I didn’t have that issue this time. Everything seemed straight forward, and I liked that I didn’t need to spend a lot of time rethinking everything, I could just get on with the story.

Overall, while I didn’t love the focus of this book, I still enjoyed the characters and the world. I hope the next book is less offensive and crass feeling as I really do want to love this series.
1 people found this helpful
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LilyElement Book Reviews - Cursed Moon

Kate Prospero returns in book two of The Prospero's War series. Kate is a detective for the Babylon PD, but is working for the Magical Enforcement section to take down people abusing magic. Everyone is on edge in this book due to the Blue Moon coming up, it messes with the magical balance and there is a ton of crime. We've all heard about people acting crazier during a full moon, well this kicks it up a notch.

The main case that Kate has to figure out throughout Cursed Moon is a crazy dude stealing dangerous potions from different people/Covens. With the crimes occurring almost daily, Kate has to figure out who this guy is and why he is stealing potions. This is all happening while trying to race against the clock to find him before the Blue Moon, because Kate knows something big is going down.

JWells weaves exciting stories that keep you flipping the pages until you've devoured the entire book. The characters are engaging whether main or secondary and each pulls their weight in the story. While the book does mainly focus on finding the bad guy, there are bits sprinkled in that reveals layers of Kate's character. She's taking care of a teenager all by herself. She has a bit of help from a neighbor and a friend while she's working, but the bulk of the responsibility is on her. She's not perfect, and I think that is why I enjoy Kate's character so much. She tries her hardest, but she's human, she makes mistakes just like everyone else.

I'm a fan of a bit of romance tossed in my Urban Fantasy, sadly there isn't any really to speak of in Cursed Moon. It's getting there, and you can tell that there's not quite a love triangle, but there is a strong possibility of one in the near future. Until then I'm content with the tension building, because you know it will be oh so sweet when it finally happens. I highly recommend The Prospero's War series if you are a fan of Urban Fantasy. This is my favorite read so far this year, and I cannot wait on book 3, Deadly Spells, to be released next year.
1 people found this helpful
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Have to say this is very enjoyable. I'm going to need more!

I have to say I am really enjoying this series. I read the first book and went straight for the second. Love her writing style and characters.
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Five Stars

sent as a present and she enjoyed it
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Great resolution--thankfully.

Loving this series, but ye gods, this book was stressful. Great resolution--thankfully.
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Amazing world building

This review is long overdue! What a great book, the series gets better and better as Kate's past keeps screwing with her future. I can't say enough about how well the world building is done, just drives the storyline without flaw. Great book!
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Five Stars

Great book, great service!
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Five Stars

Looking to buy the 3rd book.

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