Curse of the Marhime by Dayana Knight
The Wild Rose Press, Black Rose
Contemporary, Paranormal
Full Length, spicy
Review by Snapdragon

♥ ♥ ♥

‘Curse of the Marhime,’ blends a strange, almost magical aura to contemporary times.

Pita Sedgwick has no need of fortune-tellers, but the one that accosts her so adamantly in the grocery store fills her with questions and foreboding. In moments, her ho-hum life begins to change. Ominous symbols reach out from her mostly hidden past. There is no doubt she is being warned – and perhaps called – but why? From the first moments, Pita’s life is intriguing, and the tense aura that builds around her is inescapable

Rich, sensual descriptions fill this work – from admiring the beautiful Montana sunsets to scrambling through dark forests – and Pita’s experiences are incredibly real and in the present. The sounds of crickets and tree frogs fill the night…as if it is any ordinary night – but the darkness will swell with possibility, and somehow, you will know something more is to happen. The first sign – a wolf – is a foreshadowing readers will grasp in a sensory, not so much cognitive way. The evocative quality of events, and sometimes just circumstances in this story, are exceptional.

Curiosity drives Pita (and the reader) to the fortune teller. She can only tell Pita so much, but undeniably, she can point her to old Romanian traditions – and a tale that Pita must uncover. Malevolence washes through these pages, as Pita – genuine in friendship, kind and believing herself to be from perfectly ordinary parents – sets off on a quest. She must rely first on her friends, but also, heavily, on a very special guide.

Throughout, Pita has a valuable friends, unexpected guides… and the love of her life (And he truly is a dream lover: wonderful heroic, and so much more than merely human – but I refuse to give away the magic of this particular secret!) But, will her quest supersede all?

This is not entirely a dark, sinister tale.  There are some lighter moments, and certainly some wonderful, heartfelt and heartwarming moments: one of the most heart-wrenching is when Pita discovers the photographs of herself as a baby, with her family. She will remember the amazing blessing that her adoptive parents felt her to be. She will also feel that loss of family, and empathize with those who lost her.

In this unpredictable novel of love, desperation, and triumph, Dayana Knight has woven a thrilling and unpredictable tale. The pace is fast, descriptions clear, and the characters – even secondary characters – are wonderfully developed.