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Sword Woman, Princess, ... Cursed Witch

Tradition holds that a mother who commits a mortal sin against the gods will be cursed with a daughter born a witch. Stephenie, the youngest princess of Cothel is just such a curse.

Hostage to her mother's will while her father and older brother fight a war two countries away, Stephenie must overcome her mother's plots if she is to save her father, brother, and the many soldiers she trained with.

Fearful of her mother's growing traitorous behavior, Stephenie must escape Antar Castle. But to do so, she might have to rely upon her hidden powers, risking others discovering she is a witch...a risk that would most certainly result in her death by burning.

With the help of a select group of soldiers and an unexpected ally, she just might survive.

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2012

4 people are currently reading
182 people want to read

About the author

Thaddeus Nowak

9 books93 followers
Thaddeus (or Ted to those who know him) has always been interested in fantasy and science fiction. Early on, when just starting high school, his avid reading grew into a desire to write. A desire which has turned into a life long pursuit.

When not reading or writing, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, landscape photography, and spending time with an overly intelligent, but wonderful horse.

He has degrees in Chemistry, Computer Information Systems, and Business Management and has held a handful of jobs: some in retail, some in healthcare, but primarily in the technology fields.

Thaddeus currently lives in Kansas with his wife and horse, but wishes there were more mountains visible on the horizon.

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5 stars
17 (30%)
4 stars
20 (35%)
3 stars
14 (25%)
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3 (5%)
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2 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa Storm.
Author 165 books3,767 followers
Read
May 20, 2013
Mother's Curse is a fantasy novel for reluctant readers of the genre--like me. Usually when reading a fantasy book, I get mired in the world, race, and language-building details and give up before the story even gets started. While Thaddeus Nowak has created a rich world with his Heirs of Cothel series, he never sacrifices character or plot to tedious descriptive narration. I was hooked!

Our hero Stephenie is a strong, complex character--it's hard not to root for her. Born into the ruling family as a princess, though she'd much more prefer to hang alongside her brothers and do princely, warrior things, Stephenie is also a witch as the result of a curse placed on her cruel, distant mother, who's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. When her loyal guards go missing, Stephenie is sure her mother is behind their disappearances and sets off to the front lines to warn her father and attempt to save the kingdom from her mother's sure-to-be-evil plot.

Though a princess, Stephenie is smart, strong, brave, and handy in battle. Think Merida meets Mulan for all you Disney fans. She is a great role model for young girls and easy to identify with for all the not-so-young readers. Word of warning: There is some use of foul language, but its infrequent and helps build some of the minor characters.

All in all, Mother's Curse is a great read packed with memorable characters, exciting action, and clean, concise prose. Enjoy!

NOTE: Since Thaddeus Nowak is a Novel Publicity client, I cannot ethically assign a star-rating. Hopefully, my textual review speaks for itself!
Profile Image for Michelle.
701 reviews
May 8, 2017
Mother's Curse

Wow, so much went on. For a 17 year old girl she has done much. Well written book. So can't wait to see what happens next
Profile Image for Andrea Ika.
423 reviews24 followers
May 19, 2013
Review : Mother's curse

Thaddeus Novak

Publisher:Mountain Pass Publishing LLC
Release date:February 14, 2012
language : english
Pages:280 pages
ISBN-10:0985285109
ISBN-13:978-0985285104
Format: kindle Edition
Rating : 4 stars of 5

Synopsis
Heirs of Cothel Series, Book 1 Sword Woman, Princess, ... Cursed Witch Tradition holds that a mother who commits a mortal sin against the gods will be cursed with a daughter born a witch. Stephenie, the youngest princess of Cothel is just such a curse. Hostage to her mother's will while her father and older brother fight a war two countries away, Stephenie must overcome her mother's plots if she is to save her father, brother, and the many soldiers she trained with. Fearful of her mother's growing traitorous behavior, Stephenie must escape Antar Castle. But to do so, she might have to rely upon her hidden powers, risking others discovering she is a witch...a risk that would most certainly result in her death by burning. With the help of a select group of soldiers and an unexpected ally, she just might survive.

My thought
This is a story of a young woman growing into adulthood and her responsibilities to her family and country. Her unique skills aid her on this journey while also forcing her to question herself, her beliefs and the culture in which she lives. Along the way she meets some colorful companions and learns how to be a bit more pragmatic about her situation.
I have to be honest though I didn't expect it would be that good. The first few pages of reading I kept over analyzing it and looking for issues with it. Then it captivated me and I couldn't put it down. Is it Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings? However it was a good read and I felt an emotional attachment to the characters.
My problem was the author's vocabulary choice in places. I was so surprised into the princesses language that used modern slangs.

Summary
This book will give a great story that will leave you wanting more

About the Author
Thaddeus has always been interested in fantasy and science fiction. Early on, when just starting high school, his avid reading grew into a desire to write. A desire which has turned into a life long pursuit. When not reading or writing, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, landscape photography, and spending time with an overly intelligent, but wonderful horse. He has degrees in Chemistry, Computer Information Systems, and Business Management and has held a handful of jobs: some in retail, some in healthcare, but primarily in the technology fields. Thaddeus currently lives in Kansas with his wife and horse, but wishes there were more mountains visible on the horizon.



Profile Image for Amy_Read to My Heart's Content.
307 reviews13 followers
May 24, 2013
Full Review here: http://readtomyhearts.blogspot.com/20...


My Thoughts:
I am a huge fan of fantasy and I also love historical fiction. For me, Mother's Curse was kinda of blend of the two genres. Yes, I know that Cothel is a completely different history from what we are used to; it is more of an alternate history if you will. But it really read like a cross between a Young Adult fantasy and historical fantasy...and that is a good thing.
This is a great story! I really got sucked into the turmoil that the princess Stephenie has to go through to try to do the right thing in the plot lines. Even though this is considered fantasy, there is a moral to be had in this story. The emotions running rampage through these pages, especially the ones toward Stephenie, are something we can all learn from. The people of this story had sterotypes just like people in this day and age do against others that they didn't understand. I love how our heroine doesn't break down from all the hatred that is thrown her way, but instead learns from it and still finds herself allies. But most importantly, she finds the strength she needs inside herself to overcome all the obstacles she comes across.
There is a slight lag time while she is in the underground area of the castle. This time does go a bit slow, especially with all the explanations she gets from Kas. But at the same time this is a crucial part in the story and we are introduced to another important character from the story, Kas.
Stephenie goes on an epic journey searching for her brother and father and in the end finding herself too.
I really enjoyed the magical aspects of the story and thought the battles between the mages and Stephenie's new found skills were very exciting. I also liked the supporting characters that showed their loyalty to Stephenie no matter what she was inside.
There is a bit of heartbreak in it, especially, when we find ones that would become a traitor to Stephenie all because of her extra abilities.

I truly enjoyed Mother's Curse and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a fantasy with magic, castles, princesses, princes, evil and ghosts. The writing flowed smoothly and besides the small part that was a wee bit slow for me, this was an awesome book that kept me highly entertained. There is a little bit of a romance in it but it wasn't overwhelming like some YA novels tend to be and this love match was a bit surprising.
I give it four hearts!
Profile Image for Andrea.
27 reviews4 followers
May 22, 2013
I got this book as part of a blog tour.

The sins of the mother....

Have you ever blamed your mother for passing along some undesirable trait? We all get unwanted habits and traits from our parents (my mom gave me fine, straight hair that can't hold a curl), but I think we can safely say that our mother's didn't "curse" us. For Stephanie in a Mother's Curse by Thaddeus Nowak, she can trace the blame for her curse back to her mother's sins.

There's a war raging in neighboring lands that has Stephanie's father and brother, the King and Prince of Cothel, on the battle front. Stephanie has been trained by her father and brother in combat, since they are the only ones who truly seem to care for her. Her mother hates her and locks her up in the castle tower believing that the sin she committed caused Stephanie to be cursed as a witch.

Witches are turned over to the priests and burned, so Stephanie has been careful to hide her true self from everyone. But she soon realizes that she must do something to help the soldiers at the front because her mother has turned into a traitor.

Escaping her prison in the tower, Stephanie meets an unlikely friend who educates Stephanie on her abilities and encourages her to use them to her advantage. Stephanie must travel with a band of soldiers to save the country, all the while trying to hide who she truly is.

Thaddeus Nowak grabs the attention of the reader from page one and keeps the book going at a fast pace. Stephanie is an amazingly strong character who has faults and weaknesses, but she can still be a powerful witch. Stephanie can at some points can come off as a petulant child, but she is young and insecure in herself so that can be understandable.

Nowak has vivid descriptions of scenery and relationships between the characters. The main characters are well developed and relate-able, even in the fantasy genre.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books about journey, struggles, witchcraft, friendship, betrayal, and finding out who you are...
Profile Image for Daire Paddy.
15 reviews4 followers
May 22, 2013
I'd like to start out by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of Young Adult fiction particularly of the fantasy variety... A lot of these authors treat young adults like idiots... as though we can't appreciate well written prose, or decent character development.

Mother's Curse tells the story of a young princess named Stephenie with a big secret. Fleeing from her really quite evil mother, she embarks on a quest with a mismatched band of followers to find her brother, while trying to conceal her witchiness from the world. I'd describe it as a metaphorical 'coming of age' story with a hyberbolic slant on the typical mother-daughter conflict.

Steph is a really fantastic protagonist. She's a strong female without being a clichéd 'warrior princess' type, it's easy to relate to her too, which for me is the number one most important thing in a novel. There's a fab supporting cast (my favourites are Henton and Fish) and there are some seriously diabolical villains (again, Nowak manages to avoid the cliché).

There are sections of dialogue that didn't quite feel organic... you know when characters try to say too much deep stuff without the more light-hearted chit-chat? Those parts just didn't seem entirely authentic, but that is literally the only negative I have. And for those of you who read my reviews, you know that's a rarity... I'm pretty damn picky!

One thing that I thought was absolutely great is that Nowak explains the minutia of how this fantasy world works... he explains exactly how magic works and it just makes the plot seem much more realistic. He's also a true master of pace. There were parts that were so action packed that I practically dug a hole through my Kindle Touch! I've only read about a quarter of the sequel, Daughter's Justice, and it promises much of the same, I can't wait to get on the bus after work so I can keep going!
Profile Image for Nina.
199 reviews11 followers
July 31, 2013
Here I am again. I didn't finish this one. I felt so bored. So sorry, friends. I just can't go through another chapter that I decided to drop it. Again, the synopsis felt so interesting for me. But I struggled for days that I feel like I can't take it anymore. I swear my life I gave it more than three chances but no can do.

The plot seems unique. Although I feel like Tucker's adventure in knowing her own identity was so boring for me. I didn't feel like it was that strong anyway. You know when a book you're reading gives you that adrenaline rush when they're out having their epic quest finding out who they truly are? Well, this one didn't give me that. It was so, how do I say it? It was kind of flat, you know! There were no adrenaline rush moments and that made me give up. Because I was so unsure whether I'd ever feel so hyped in reading this.

Another thing is Emory's writing. It wasn't that bad. Or I don't know. I just didn't feel something. Whenever I read a book, I'd always feel something through the writing. But it wasn't the case in here. I guess Emory's writing style didn't really get through me then.

I hope in the future, I'll be able to continue and finish this one. Maybe by that time, my preferences would have change.

I also hope that you guys will give this a chance! Remember, what maybe nay for me may be yay for you!

(Many thanks to Green Leaf Book Group for allowing me to read this through NetGalley.)

Originally posted at The Bookish Confections
Profile Image for Trisha.
137 reviews11 followers
May 22, 2013
(From my blog)

I'll admit right at the start that I had a hard time getting into this book. It opens with the protagonist, Stephenie, locked in political machinations with her mother and then literally locked in her tower room of her family's castle. Other than the comings and goings in Stephenie's room, there isn't much action. I perservered though and I'm glad that I did.

Nowak pays great attention to setting the scene and the mood in his novels. Once you're pulled into his world, you can't stop reading and want to know what happens next. What's more, Nowak's approach to fantasy is unique. The fantasy genre gets a lot of flack for being formulaic and predictable; you take your prince or princess, throw in some magic and dragons and you have yourself a fantasy novel. Nowak's methods are fresh and it's really hard to tell that this is his first published novel. It's well-fleshed-out and you end up loving the world of Cothel and really caring about the characters and what happens to them.

That being said, I don't think I'd recommend this book for anyone younger than 14 but more like 15 or 16 and older. Nowak is detailed and expressive and some of his descriptions of fights and battles, injuries and casualties are pretty graphic. Other than the younger crowd, I'd recommend this series to veterans looking for a fresh take on the fantasy genre and anyone looking to try something new and different. Mother's Curse was fun and intriguing and leaves you wanting more.
Profile Image for Corey.
40 reviews7 followers
December 24, 2015
I bought this book at a craft fair from the author who was very nice and while sitting next to him all day and listening to him tell the premise of the story over and over had me intrigued. I have to admit that my expectations were not very high as I knew this was his first endeavor but this is a solid book and a good read. I finished it in less than a day. I will admit that I struggled with the character's name. Her name is Stephanie which seems pedestrian for rockstar level magic user and warrior but if you can get past that the adventures of Stephanie and her loyal crew will keep you entertained. The "love connection" between Stephanie and Kas is a little thin, but he is a ghost so and she is young so her pledge of undying love seems a little too over the top, when you don't feel she has much experience. I am anxious to see where the author takes us on this journey and am looking forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Faye Hollidaye.
Author 23 books6 followers
May 16, 2013
This is a great novel! Adventurous, romantic, and entertaining. It's well-written and holds the attention of the reader. I highly recommend for anyone who likes fantastic supernatural stories, as I'm sure this one will not disappoint.

The only reasons I can't allow myself to give this five stars is: "however" is repeated too often, I think, and there is one single typo or technical error every 20-50 pages. I'm easily distracted by these types of things, and I know I'm a nitpicker, but I just have mention them for my own piece of mind.

Also, I feel like this is young adult, but there is some foul language throughout and a little gore, so be forewarned.
Profile Image for Emily  M Genther.
49 reviews10 followers
November 14, 2013
This book took a little bit to get into, but picked up nicely once it got going.

I like the idea of the story with the MC being cursed as a witch and the dynamic it sets up between her and other characters.

I read through it rather quickly, so it makes for an easy read without being too short.

It does have some harsh language in it that those looking to censor young readers may want to look out for (no f-bombs but some other harsh words).

Over all an entertaining read for fantasy fans.
Profile Image for J.R..
Author 9 books59 followers
August 12, 2016
How did I not know about this series? The world is a deep well of fascinating details with characters that are three dimensional and compelling. The main character is a strong 17 year old who takes on the world for her people, and I cannot wait to read the next book to find out what she does next. The magic system is based in physics and its one of one of the best I've ever read.

There are loyal guards, evil queens, and sarcastic ghosts - what more could you need?
1 review
September 26, 2012
For a new author, Ted has put out a book that is sure to catch attention. His attention to detail, the intrinsic character development, and an unusual plot are all worth noting and refreshing.
I am looking forward to his next book in the series and am sure he will not disappoint.
I especially liked the novel approach in the main characters and how they were introduced.
1,676 reviews19 followers
August 19, 2016
Teen butch witch princess is held captive in the castle tower by her mother. She escapes and does some training in an underground city with a ghost. She eventually teams up with Marines in an attempt to save the kingdom. Some violence and tuff talk.
Profile Image for Sheila.
71 reviews1 follower
September 6, 2014
a good book but not something I would read again
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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