A review by amandaventure
A Cursed Bloodline by Cecy Robson

5.0

Ok… the first word that comes to mind when I think about A Cursed Bloodline is “OUCH!” I’ve grown rather fond of and attached to these characters and currently they are all in a hurricane of crushing despair. It’s like every time a glimmer of hope popped up a big old kick to the metaphorical nuts was right around the corner. Can’t anyone just catch a freaking break? I’m so emotionally drained from reading this one. That’s the main reason it took me so long to finish it. As I was reading I kept getting to the point where it was just too much and I had to go calm down for a bit before I could continue. I don’t know how Celia handled it.

The thing I really dig about Celia is her strength. Not necessarily physical strength (although she does kick some major ass in this one) but her inner strength. She has been beaten down (and up for that matter) so many times that it’s amazing she gets back up at all. How can everyone be so continually cruel to her? I really love the girl so it’s like torture porn to have to watch her get kicked in the teeth every day by her enemies and by those who she cares for. Even in the end she finally got a little bit of happiness and even that was tinged bittersweet. If this were almost any other heroine I think they would have gave up already. That’s why Celia is so amazing. She endures and chooses to fight and thrive.

O Mischa. While it’s always been Aric for Celia ever since the beginning, Mischa has been there every step of the way. If things really never worked out between Aric and Celia and they were irrevocably severed, I think Mischa would be the only other man who could possibly love her as much. In another life maybe Celia would have been with Mischa and been happy but that’s just not how this story is going to go. I love Mischa in all his cocky glory and I really want for him to get a HEA of his own.

Here’s an idea, why don’t Aric and his warriors form an independent pack? They will lose their standings and finances from the pack but who cares? They could start a private security firm or something and make their own damn money! Seriously, FUCK the weres. The wolves and weres in general mostly suck. They are a group of controlling and vindictive pricks and I hate them with all of my being. And everyone gives the vamps a lot of guff for being assholes! They may be assholes but it’s never anything especially personal. That’s just how they are to everyone. Personally, I’d rather hang with someone who’s jerky to everyone rather than someone who’s specifically only jerky to me.

I’m not going to sugar coat things… this book is devastating and dark. The abuse meted out to Celia and her loved ones is horrendous. I won’t get into specifics because of the spoiler risk but… wow. The sheer magnitude of the hurt is astounding and I can’t even begin to fathom how everyone will continue on. But on the bright side, A Cursed Bloodline is somehow still rather funny. I think it was the contrast between all the despair that made the bright spots brighter and the funny parts funnier. The Catholic Schoolgirls were hands down my favorite in this one. Every time they showed up it was just so funny, especially Edith and her roaming hands. Also, slight spoiler, Celia gets a surprise enema at a spa. You have to read it to get the full effect of the comedy there but I think the phrase “surprise enema” is funny enough all on its own.

In the end, good prevailed and Anara got annihilated. OBVIOUSLY! That’s not a spoiler! Good always wins in a book and there’s no way anyone could think that Anara was just going to get away with everything. So for that I was grateful. However, Cecy Robson just had to slip in one last emotional dick punch at the end there. Why can’t it just end on a nice note? DAMMIT CECY! You had better put a big ass freaking rainbow at the end of the next book or I will never forgive you!

P.S.
BREMME! I had a wild prediction that maybe there could be a Bren and Emme situation and then laughed because I thought it would never really happen. It still hasn’t happened but I think it’s fairly obvious that Emme is Bren’s mate. I mean he popped a million boners for her while he was in a coma and she was taking care of him. All he needs to do is just freaking realize it and stop banging random girls for a minute! START MATING!