Listened this on audio and it was just okay. I feel like the story had promise but it fell flat for me. Bria was incredibly frustrating, naïve and a little childish. I did not feel any connection with the characters. Overall it was a short and pretty entertaining read but just not my favorite

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book from start to finish! I thought the concept of having charms/marks. This was a straight to the point forbidden lovers that was very well written. At first I didn't enjoy Bria's love interest Weston as he didn't seem to care about her or want to protect her. He absolutely redeems himself as the story progresses and I believe that there is nothing he wouldn't do to see her happy and safe.

One thing that I would have loved to learn about was if there were other curses/charms/marks besides the two that were displayed in the story. I think that would have been interesting to add and maybe had the antagonists with different charms.

I strongly disliked Bria's family and how their love and affection seemed solely based on her luck charm. Her brother tries to sell her off for a large amount of money despite not needing any more money. Her family lacks any kind of compassion or empathy and I think they were partially the true villains in this story. What her family lacks, thankfully Weston makes up for.

I think the narration in this audio book were well done and portrayed the characters accurately. Thank you to Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and Shaylin Gandhi for an ARC of this audio book. This review is my own honest opinion.

Curses, Forbidden love, Brothers Best friend, Awful families

Very cute love story! I really enjoyed my listen

A fun adult dark fairy tale, mature themes, with an I nteresting, original magical moral conundrum. I listened to the audiobook, which was entertains. There isn’t a wicked stepmother, but Bria’s family more than make up for that. A Bria besotted Prince Charming, Weston, who isn’t a prince, and is unlucky in the extreme. But Bria doesn’t care because she has more than enough luck to make up for that. But good luck is really at the centre of all her problems, and giving it away doesn’t seem to be a possibility. Will there be a fairy tale ending? Bria can hope! Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I thought this audiobook was very well done. The narrators did a good job on it. I did DNF only because I got to around 65% done and I just wasn't super invested in the story itself.

It was good for a stand alone. The pacing was a little weird. They would slow down on the parts that weren't important and they would speed up on the the parts that could have benefited from a slower pace. For example, whenever it came to Weston she would explain everything in great excruciating detail, and after the 4th time it got a little old. For the time she was locked away in the room to submit to the duke, it would have been nice to linger on her thoughts and feeling on the whole process. I was hoping that whole thing would give her the balls to push and ask for the things she wanted and become an immovable force when it came to not getting her way, but no she still was a push over.

Don't get me started on Weston just rolling over like an injured dog whenever the moment presented itself. He was so wishy washy, like dude pick a lane. This story had two main characters that were so wishy washy you had no idea what would happen next because neither would stand up for themselves.

I did appreciate the princess bride inspiration, but the execution could have been better. Also, where was the world building about the charms and fortuna? That was super interesting but ended up being nothing other than a plot device. I wish that would have been expanded upon a little more.

All in all, an entertaining read. Would I read it again? Ehhh...

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for early access!

The narrator did a phenomenal job. Easy to understand and follow along. I was captivated, truly.

Okie so this was a super quick read!

The characters were not overly complicated and it was extremely easy to follow.
This book would be good for someone into romance and not yet entered the fantasy genre with this book they are able to dip their toes without overwhelming them.

For me this was all a bit predictable and boring, I felt like I was always waiting for something big to happen and yet nothing did.

This could be because I am a fantasy reader so I am always expecting some epic twist or turn and this didn’t feed that want in me.

So I will give this 3 stars because the plot was good the characters was easy to follow. I just lacked the disruptive side and the world building.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

This romantasy book is a classic with common tropes that aren’t hinder by the limited world building in favor of focusing on the connection between the main characters. Bria, with a gift of good fortunate, and Weston, with the ability to nullify another’s gift, are star crossed want to be lovers with many obstacles in their way. This is a quick read that is full of heart and leans more romance with a fantasy topping.
Pros
- Lovable characters
- Friends to lovers
- Unrequited love
- Standalone read

Cons
- Foundation for an interesting fantasy world without the depth
- Feels somewhat dropped into the narrative/missing details
- Felt like something was missing


Overall a quick and easy read for someone who likes a romance with a female lead who knows what she wants and a love interest who is denying what he wants.

Spice level - 2

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of the book sounded interesting and I was so excited to read the book. However my excitement ended with the summary. Once I got into the book, I was bored and annoyed listening to the FMC. She was whiney and so so weak. She never once actually fought for herself. Every chance she had, she just gave up and let other people fight her battles and just expected that other people would save her. I finished the book hoping that it would become this empowering story of her taking her power back by giving up her luck. Instead her head was still only focused on a boy and not actually about her growth as a person.

This fantasy is set in a world where some people are blessed with good luck (charms) and some with bad luck (nulls) whose luck effects all those who around them. The catch is, that if a null and a charm touch then they both will loose their mark, and their luck.

The story focus’ on Bria, a charm who is in love with her brothers best friend, Weston. Bria’s brother Brendan is attempting to arrange a marriage for her with one of the 101 men who have proposed, but the only man she wants is Weston. However as Weston is a null, and would steal her luck if they touch, their marriage is not one that Brendan will consider.

I felt that there was a few issues with consistency of plot in the last quarter of the book which is why I took one star away from the rating but overall I really enjoyed the story.
While it’s not a very spicey book - the spice was amazing!

Troupes:
-brothers best friend
-insta love
-forced proximity
-forbidden love

I received an ALC of the audiobook narrated by Kimberly M Wetherell. I really recommend this audiobook as the narrator did a great job of bringing all the characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley for an honest review!

“There's only one man I want to marry, and he isn't one of the ninety-nine who have proposed.”
Once Charmed, Twice Cursed, by Shaylin Gandhi

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bria is marked by a charm, one that makes her desirable, but she only craves one man: Weston. She needs him with her very marrow. Yes, he is inspired by Wesley, wears a mask, and their story unfolds with a ton of tension and UNBEARABLE (but delicious) longing. The audiobook does a great job between the characters, and the rest of the characters too!

- 🖤Forbidden Love
- 🖤Friend's to Lovers
- 🖤Brother's Best Friend

Kimberly M. Wetherell's narration of "Once Charmed, Twice Cursed" succeeded in making the book a very quick and easy romantasy read. Despite my initial difficulties following along with the plot, I found Kimberly keeping me interested and engaged with the story because of their enthusiastic delivery, which drew me in. Kimberly read with passion, bringing the fantasy and world-building magic to life. The plot started to solidify around 40%, and I began to enjoy both the characters and their journey. The theme of good luck versus bad luck was a wonderful concept in this fantasy, adding a forbidden love element to the romance. All in all, it ended with a HEA, so that's always a win for me.

3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 stars.

First, I want to say this was not my cup of tea but I still think it has a target audience who will love Brie and Weston’s story! This was a fun, quick romantasy that checks a lot of boxes. The narrator was great and really brought the story to life.

This felt a little too instalovey for my liking. We jump in at a good time for the events relevant to the plot. I just wish we had gotten a little more backstory on the couple and how they fell in love in the past before everything happens.

Bria has been magically lucky her entire life—which sounds great until you realize that even divine favor comes with strings. The setup of this story is genuinely fun: a cursed love interest, a heroine everyone wants except the one man she does, and a magical system based on charms and nulls. It had all the ingredients for a great romantasy.

Unfortunately, around the 60% mark, the story veers hard into overly sweet romcom territory. The plot gets repetitive, the stakes fizzle, and the fantasy elements take a backseat. Bria’s passivity becomes frustrating, and I kept hoping she’d take more control of her situation. The worldbuilding—particularly the goddess Fortuna, the origin of the Mark, and the social implications of charm vs. null—remains surface level, which feels like a missed opportunity.

That said, the audiobook narration is a standout. Kimberly M. Wetherell delivers a smooth, expressive performance that keeps things engaging, even when the pacing falters. Her tone and clarity hold up well at higher speeds, which I really appreciated.

Best for: Fans of sweet, low-stakes fantasy romance with a romcom vibe, a touch of magic, and solid audiobook narration.

This was a cute romance with some fantasy elements.

I listened to the audiobook which I really enjoyed. The narrator did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life and really elevated the “reading” experience. I thought their pacing, intimation and cadence was perfect.

The story focuses around a woman, Bria, who was born blessed or charmed by the goddess of fortune which gives her luck beyond what you can imagine and a man, Weston, who at birth was cursed by the goddess of fortune who has the worst luck. They cross paths when they are teens but because of the opposite blessings can never touch or their blessings would be removed. Now for the poor boy with the worst luck that sounds great but he doesn’t want Bria to loose the amazing luck that she has so they keep their distance.

This is a story of really learning who you want to be and not letting others decide for you. Even with luck on your side you may be just as unhappy as the next person.

Again this book is first and foremost a romance. There is no big fantasy world building the story focuses on our two lovers and them overcoming what luck has or hasn’t granted them to be together.

It’s an easy fast read and I loved every minute of it!

I got to listen to this just in time for publication. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I really loved all the characters and the author did a great job keeping me hooked throughout the story.

The growth of the fmc is nice but the story was predictable. I wish there was more information on the magic system. Overall a good story.

I loved the premise of this, but not the execution.

Things happen exactly the way you'd expect. It's quick, easy, and well narrated by Kimberly M Wetherell, but the plot unfolds in such a predictable way.

There's some good narrative on forced marriage and warped tradition, but everything else felt shallow. The romance was instalove, and the villain lacked complexity.

Overall, it's entertaining enough but lacked the depth needed to make it anything more.

Thank you to Netgalley and rb media for the ALC

This wasn’t the book for me unfortunately. The concept and story were very simplistic and felt like a young YA read (minus the sex talk).