Once Charmed, Twice Cursed

By: Shaylin Gandhi

Narrated by: Kimberly M. Wetherell

Bria Radcliffe is Charmed, blessed at birth with the Mark of the fortune goddess. Armed with divine favor, Bria has survived freak storms, unearthed buried treasure, and secured her family's fortune. Now she has no shortage of admirers clamoring to share her magical luck—of her hometown's hundred eligible bachelors, ninety-nine have proposed.

Only Weston Wildes, her brother's best friend, remains silent. He's the only man Bria wants, but he bears the Mark of a Null—one whose touch can permanently negate her luck. Bria suspects Weston distances himself to protect her, but he doesn't realize her "blessing" feels more like a curse, and that what she craves most—even more than him—is freedom from her Mark.

When Bria's brother arranges her marriage to a reviled duke, a masked highwayman kidnaps her en route to the ceremony. It's then she realizes Weston isn't the only Null in town. Now Bria's captor holds the key to the life she's always wanted—one that includes Weston and normalcy—if only she can convince the masked man to touch her before her luck runs out for good.

Contains mature themes.

©2024 Shaylin Gandhi (P)2025 Tantor Media

Loved the romance!

My quest for romantasy without wars continues. This was one of my August Deck of TBR picks, and I am so glad that I finally read it!

In Once Charmed, Twice Cursed, some people are “Charmed” and blessed with good luck. Where they go, good luck follows. But others are “Null” and cursed with bad luck, which follows them as well. But if a Charmed & a Null touch - their luck cancels out, and is gone forever.

Bria is Charmed, but wishes she wasn’t. She doesn’t appreciate the way people only see her luck, and not who she really is. And she hates that her brother gets to choose who she will marry, especially when the one man she wants refuses to offer for her. Instead, he arranges her marriage to a duke whose previous wives have died under mysterious circumstances.

This book has plenty of action, including several kidnapping plotlines, but the romance is the central story. Bria has wanted Weston, her brother’s best friend, for years. But he’s a Null, and doesn’t want to take her luck away from her. This tension between them was so much fun to read.

I listened to the audiobook, and felt like the narrator’s performance really brought the story to life!

I highly recommend this one to readers who enjoy more fairytale style romantasy, with some light magic, steam, and a compelling romance.