The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner


 Witches, magic, the sea, kidnapping, murder, and romance, what more could you ask for in a novel! I thoroughly enjoyed this dual timeline novel that takes place on the Amalfi Coast in the early 1800s and present day.

Mari is a streghe or sea witch in Positano. Mari and other women from her village use the power of the sea to protect their village and help them be prosperous. The only problem is Mari hates the sea and wants to leave her village. The sea took her mother and sister and she no longer wants any part of it. She has a plan to escape and find happiness when things go horribly wrong. In the present day, Haven is an underwater archaeologist. She has been exploring sunken ships since she was a little kid with her father. Before her father's death he thought he found a big find that might include treasure. Haven is determined to continue his legacy and find that treasure. What she does not expect is that bad weather will derail her plans and she will be thrown on course to solve a two hundred year old mystery.

First of all, the cover of this book is gorgeous and I felt like that tied in perfectly to the fantastic setting of this novel. I loved that the main character was an archaeologist and I really enjoyed reading about what she was doing. I also loved the underlying message in this book about women having power. I liked that Mari was part of a coven that had power and did what they could to help others. My favorite part of this book was how the author tied everything together weaving in mystery, action and romance. It was a fantastic book and I look forward to reading more by this author!

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