I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Curse and Craving was a fun book that gave King Arthur retelling vibes. And by vibes, I mean there was a Queen Guin, Morgan, and a Merlin. Not so much an Arthur or Lancelot, but beggers can't be choosers. Anyway, in this you will meet Rebecca. Now she just moved to Ireland for her dream job. She is also with her best friend Ashley for the first few weeks.

Let's just say this new adventure of hers was not boring for one second. She starts running into some men who were a bit mysterious. They said funny things to her, which made her question so many things about her life and Ireland. Then she actually met Lochlan; well, I guess she met Ronan first, but details. Either way, they both work together, and one of them is an obvious traitor. The other is kind of her mate (in a way).

The romance was romantic, but of course our girl was stubborn as hell and tried to dance around the relationship. Then, of course, she gets betrayed by someone who was close, and then things went downhill after that. On top of all that, we get the drama with Morgan and how there's this epic battle coming for Rebecca.

Oh, did I forget to mention that she is slowly turning fae because of a necklace that Merlin gave to her when she was a kid? Oops.

Yeah, things were wild, and I really liked how it was never super easy for Rebecca to learn and manage her powers. At times she thought it would be, but she was struggling with dangerous opportunities. At least until Lochlan came along and trained her. As for that big bad battle? Ugh, it was over so freaking quickly, and that's all I'm going to say.

I don't think the battle is quite done, but I do know that the next book will be about her best friend Ashley. Super excited to see what's going to go down in that one. I'm dying to know about the first night between her and Casek.

I really liked how this book included mythology, those kind of books are always a huge plus for me. To be totally honest, I don’t love the cover. Like if I saw the cover alone it wouldn’t have drawn me to the book, but I did enjoy the book!

Okay so, I originally read this as Shadow Play, back in the day. I didnt really realize this was a rewrite, I didnt look at the description, I just saw Jill Ramsower and I was liek YES GIVE ME!

I loved the rewrite, the start is way different, not sure how I feel about the start but overall I loved the the fairy tale/folklore concepts that are twisted into this novel and the mixture of Arthurian legends, it's not often that different myths are combined and done well. I loved we get to learn about the fae alongside Rebecca, which makes the world the author created feel really realistic. Honestly the story falls together really neatly, the plot was interesting, and the world building equally as intriguing.

This wasn't for me unfortunately! The pacing felt off for me. A shame because the premise sounds like something I'd normally love.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Interesting take on Arthurian legend, but there was so many boring points to the book that I just felt dissatisfied in the end.

I thing the characters were a little under developed, however I really liked the interesting mix of mythology mixed in with the story.

I think the book was easy to follow along with, I just wasn’t absolutely devouring the book like I thought I would

There were a few things that I liked about this book but sadly there were more that I didn't like. The actual book was far too long - much longer than it needed to be and the final battle! Well, what the hell was that? We had been working up to this battle throughout the book and it just seemed to be over a bit quick and was very anti-climatic. I can't help wondering if perhaps the author completely changed her mind about it and just kind of tacked this one on.

2.5 stars

I have to say, the pacing was a lot off on this one, which ruined the reading experience for me.. I felt as if the ending was a bit of a bust. Might work for a light lower-YA fantasy novel, but not for the new adult/adult romantacy novel this claims to be.

I didn't know until after I requested this arc that it would be compared to the Fever series by KMM. I DNFed the first book in that series, so had I known this, I might not have requested to read it.

Great concept for a fae fantasy romance, just didn't love the execution.

I have a weakness for any dark romance and fantasy books. Curse and Craving kept my streak alive and well. This was a wonderful New Adult book that I can't wait to share with our patrons.

Great start to the series and phenomenal world building in this unique fantasy romance. I studied Medieval Lit in college and love when I see stories that incorporate Arthurian legends. And meshing with a contemporary urban setting is definitely a unique spin for me.

I'm a hug fan of the grumpy sunshine trope and doesn't get grumpier than Lochlan. His character definitely takes some warming up to but develops into one I enjoyed reading. Becca's journey from an almost naive museum curator to navigating this complex fantasy world is fun. I enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them as well as the other characters in the book. I think the set up for Ashley's story was great and I look forward to reading that as well!

Curse & Craving is an adult Paranormal fantasy romance set in Ireland, where our Maine character travels for a job and pretty quickly gets immersed in a world of myths and monsters.

This book felt like it started off a little bit slow for me but did pick up after a couple of chapters. I liked our main character, though I did always feel a bit of a distance from her throughout the whole book.

I’m a huge fan of Ireland and it’s folklore, so I understandably loved the setting, and also really enjoyed the myths and legends woven into this story. I enjoyed the writing style from this author, as this was my first read from them, but like with our main character there was always a bit of distance or disconnect for me while reading Curse & Craving. This is a slow burn romance, but there is enough action, and intrigue to keep you turning (or clicking) through the pages.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, the plot, and all of the myths tied into the story, but like I said before I just couldn’t fully connect with it all, which is most likely just me. I would definitely read more from this author. If you are looking for a good Urban Fantasy, with lots of action great mythology and some slow burn romance, definitely give Curse & Craving a chance.

**Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

this was the first book i read from this author but the writing was so good and the characters were loveable. also loved the different mythologies.

# Curse & Craving by author # Jill Samsower is book one # Of Myth & Man series. It contains adult themes and content that might not be suitable for sensitive audiences. I've caught your attention now.
Her job is in a new country, an entirely different world. This is a world of magic and secrets. And a dark and monstrous power.....
Thank you for the advance copy,
# Netgalley and # Victory Editing

Wow! I wasn't expecting that!!
I'm going to be honest here when I started reading this book I didn't know it would have some Fae stuff related, I totally picked this ARC because of the cover!

Now I don't usually like Fae-related books, it's my least favorite topic but I actually enjoyed this book. It's my first time reading this author, and it was so well written, all the creatures, and characters are amazing and unique.

The mix between faes, Norse mythology, legends, and more, all together was so beautiful to read, honestly, I cannot wait for the next book!!

The slow burn in this book was just at the right point, not too slow but not too soon either!!

I just hope everyone can give a chance to read this book! I highly recommend it!

The beginning was very slow and hard to get into for me. The second half of the book redeemed itself! I really loved the romance and found it believable. The slow burn was rewarding in the end. Ultimately I took off stars because I wasn't as in love with it as I thought I would be.

Curse & Craving is such a good book, romance, travel, the fae! I also loved how it was a little bit like a retelling of a famous story (read it, you will see what I mean!).

If you like romantic fantasy with angst and twists this is a great book for you!

this book was one that surprised me alot! it is so well written and filled with so much information and world building but it all works without been a information dump and that is just what this fantasy fan wanted in a book.

the characters are likeable and have great growth and for once they have a support system with a mix of personalities which was a great thing to see and one of the side characters seem to be having a great time. the spicy in this book as good and natural not forced like you see in some book recently.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC book

The book is not bad, but I think it might be better with more fighting scenes and further information about Seele’s world. Rebecca begins turning into Fae when she moves to Ireland, meets Lochlan, Rowan; she discovers Fae world, a big mix of Artù’s stories, with Merlin, Morgan and all main characters.
It was a pleasure reading, the writing is fluent and chemistry between Lochlan and Bec is tangible. A good book for fans of S.J. Maas who are looking for a mix of fantasy e romantic stories.
This book tells Becca’s story and next books will have other characters.
I didn’t like some scenes and I would have preferred some situations not to be treated superficially.

This is a big ole book for me at nearly 500 pages for book 1. The premise is a gift was bestowed on a little girl by Merlin which slowly turned her into Fae. So she goes from clueless to I have got this very fast. For me the end of it the big war/fight thats been brewing since before she was born was too simple. So much build up for so little outcome. It appears each book is a standalone or at least the focus is on another character so I look forward to seeing if this changes the book dynamic.

2.75ish stars

Eh. There wasn't a lot of soul in this book. It wasn't necessarily bad. I finished it. But I didn't connect with anyone really and have no desire to read the next ones in the series. The romance was quite forced. The love triangle was not believable. The MC is described to be "timid and conservative," but she still thrusts herself into ridiculous situations that don't suit her described personality. She was quite bland and forgettable. The book did start to get more interesting in the latter half, but not enough to redeem it. There are a couple of relatively meh but not outright awful sexy bits if that's what you're after.

"Even though it was still nearly two months from the middle of winter..." Two months from the middle? Seasons are fucking three months long. Two months from the middle? Ffs.