The Cursed Series, Parts 1 & 2

If I'd Known/Knowing You

By: Rebecca Donovan

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole

Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

“Trust no one. Everyone lies. You can only save yourself.”

It was supposed to be a Friday night like any other for Lana and her best friends. Three girls out to cause a little trouble. Break a few hearts. And try not to get caught. Except on this night, Lana Peri is the sole witness to a horrific crime, and she can’t say a word. Not if she wants to protect her friends. No one will believe her word over his, so he gets away with it. And she’s forced to pay for her silence.

Instead of serving time in juvie, Lana is sentenced to a boarding school for privileged teens. Removed from everyone she knows and cares about, she’s abandoned at Blackwood School in Vermont, where everything is an illusion, including the lives of those who attend the elite institution. Lana isn’t wealthy or privileged. The only thing she has in common with the sons and daughters of celebrities and politicians is that she’s a delinquent, just like them. And they’ve all been forced to grow up much too fast.

Just when Lana begins to feel accepted, mysterious notes start showing up in her belongings and ominous threats are painted on her wall. Only someone she knows could have done it. Someone she thought was a friend. As the pieces fall into place, secrets begin to emerge, leaving Lana with too many questions and not enough people to trust.

The Cursed Series is a thrilling and tangled mystery that explores the sacrifice of love and the secrets kept to protect friends. How do you know who to trust when no one is telling the truth?

©2019 by Rebecca Donovan. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

The Cursed Series, Part 1 & 2

First things first I knew going in it was going to be teenage dramalama. So I am not mad about that in fact I don’t know if it is because I did a re-listen of Rebecca’s other series but I was looking forward to this audio.
I really like Lana and her curses, the way she looks at the world and tell the truth it’s refreshing. I like that if she isn’t willing to say the truth she doesn’t speak at all.
There is some mystery going on and we don’t ever really get “answers” just more questions and I will admit it is frustrating but also I get it we have 2 more books to get through what fun would it be if it was all given away in the beginning of books 1 and 2.
So I will continue listening because I have to know!!
Great narration too, I like that she sounds young but not too young that wouldn’t fit Lana at all.

Honesty is her curse

Part one:
In one unexpected cursed night Lana finds herself at the mercy of the truth. Just in one night her entire life was upended. Telling the truth should set Lana but free instead it binds her to a curse.

Overall:
If your expecting this book to be anything like The Breathing Series you will be disappointed. This is nothing like that series. The Cursed series is about a young girl who is cursed with the ability to lie. She identifies individuals by their curse. It’s these curses that define an individual. When she meets someone she immediately labels them by their curse. Being cursed is a flaw. These flaws will lead to their demise.
The Cursed series is written into four parts. This was part one where Lana witnesses a girl getting pushed down the stairs and a robbery all in the same night. Her curse is Honesty and it’s up to Lane to tell the truth to help herself from being an accomplice to the robbery, but at the same time she needs to protect her friends who were with her that night.
I have to admit it was difficult to read each part individually as they were released. Now that the series is complete I’m revisiting this book in its entirety with no interruptions. It’s much better received as one long read.
This was a character driven story with Lana guiding the journey.

It was intense, clever, and shockingly addictive. It’s a story like no other, very original. It was suspenseful.

Tropes: high school years, young adult, drug use, and opposites attract

Part two:
Lana is forced to make an impossible decision that challenges her curse of Honesty. Her curse is that she either tells the truth or keeps it locked inside. Since she chose to keep it locked inside Lana pays the price of her silence with being sentenced to Blackwood private school. Lana doesn’t come from money so being at this boarding school raises all kinds of questions. Being sentenced in the summer limited the number of students living on campus. Lana meets some new people. She defines and labels them all by there curse.
Lana meets Grant while on assignment. He’s a lifeguard. The small circle of friends play detective by helping Lana solve the mystery behind some mysterious messages.

Overall:
On one hand I’m curiously fascinated by this unique story. On the other I feel the execution is taking too long to reveal its motives.

An interesting twist for a summer fling during the high school years. In some ways I find the story fascinating and intriguing. Other times I question the point of Lana’s ability to find trouble.

Couldn’t figure out the Thaylina passages prior to each chapter. Obviously it’s about someone hurting Lana, but I’m trying to decipher the relevance of the words in correlation to each chapter.

Book two had an entirely different vibe than book one. These two books are so different it’s almost like they aren’t connected. Book two centers around the students that attend this elite boarding school during the summer. While book one centered around Lana getting caught up in a robbery and accident at a nightclub. With the way book one ended I had envisioned an entirely different outcome. I had other preconceived ideas about this book. I wasn’t expecting this to become a discovery of love book. I kept waiting for something significant to happen regarding the curses. Instead I found many examples of trust. What am I missing about these curses? I felt like I’m missing something vital. This book didn’t help connect me to these curses.

Narrator:
Phoebe Strole was the solo female narrator for both part one and part two of the Cursed series. Her performance was superb. She brought these characters and the story to life.
This was an unabridged copy with a few minor tweaks here and there.

Very enjoyable read.

Loved the first 2 parts and I can’t wait to see what happens in parts 3 and 4!

4 stars

f I'd Known (Cursed #1):

4 stars

AHHHHHH, the drama! I was not expecting these chain of events. Onto the next one!

Knowing You (Cursed #2):

4 stars

Of COURSE there is a cliffhanger of sorts. I sorta guess by the end where this was going. Lana for me at times was getting annoying. Just got to stick with it to find out what happens next.

Narrator Phoebe Strole is actually doing a great job. I believe this is also my first listen by her.

Great story-terrible narration

The story was intriguing, and really the only reason I kept listening. Phoebe strole made it nearly unbearable to listen to because of the long, drawn out pauses between literally every sentence. I had to speed it up, and even then it was dragging.