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Paranormal Romance #3
Once Upon a Curse for True Love
Who knew the real curse would be falling in love?
In the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, fall means three pumpkin spice lattes, tourists in witch hats, and more magical crimes than local ghost tours. For hacker-witch Andromeda Swan, life is supposed to be simple—keep her magic off the radar, dodge trouble, and leave the mug shots to reality TV. Easy… until a digital prank spirals into a supernatural murder investigation, complete with cursed emails, unfair magical bureaucracy, and one aggravatingly gorgeous detective who’d rather see her in handcuffs (the not-fun kind).
Detective Donatello Malatesta has no time for reckless witches, even if Andromeda’s snark is almost as distracting as her smile. But when the case forces them into an uneasy alliance filled with late-night stakeouts, cursed evidence, and magical mayhem, their chemistry is suddenly more than just criminally good banter.
With the fate of Salem on the line, Andromeda and Donatello must crack the case, outsmart the evil lurking in the dark, and survive each other long enough to figure out if what’s brewing between them is more than a side effect of their forced proximity.
Because love may be the most powerful magic of all… and the hardest curse to break.
In the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, fall means three pumpkin spice lattes, tourists in witch hats, and more magical crimes than local ghost tours. For hacker-witch Andromeda Swan, life is supposed to be simple—keep her magic off the radar, dodge trouble, and leave the mug shots to reality TV. Easy… until a digital prank spirals into a supernatural murder investigation, complete with cursed emails, unfair magical bureaucracy, and one aggravatingly gorgeous detective who’d rather see her in handcuffs (the not-fun kind).
Detective Donatello Malatesta has no time for reckless witches, even if Andromeda’s snark is almost as distracting as her smile. But when the case forces them into an uneasy alliance filled with late-night stakeouts, cursed evidence, and magical mayhem, their chemistry is suddenly more than just criminally good banter.
With the fate of Salem on the line, Andromeda and Donatello must crack the case, outsmart the evil lurking in the dark, and survive each other long enough to figure out if what’s brewing between them is more than a side effect of their forced proximity.
Because love may be the most powerful magic of all… and the hardest curse to break.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2025
2 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Camilla Isley
55 books2,937 followers
Camilla is an engineer who left science behind to enter the whimsical realm of romantic fiction.
She writes contemporary rom-coms. Her characters have big hearts, might be a little stubborn at times, and love to banter with each other. Every story she pens has a guaranteed HEA that will make your heart beat faster. Unless you're a vampire, of course.
Camilla is a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She's a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn't want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 24, 2025
Cute and fun. I have enjoyed three books. I’ve listen to in the series and it is my first experience with this offer. I definitely will get more.
October 12, 2025
I love a nerdy heroine! A great wrap up of the trilogy…read the other first though!
October 8, 2025
On the surface it’s actually pretty good, the idea the premise of combining magic and coding in a modern day setting was really cool, but ultimately I think there was just too much that wasn’t executed well.
The majority of the plot is solid, like the investigation and the switch from hostile to flirty banter between Andromeda and Donatello. What ruined it for me though was that they fall in love incredibly quickly. This actually could have been very easily resolved by expanding on another plot device that is relegated to a very background support character, and is not even explained.
Otherwise I thought the pacing was pretty decent, and there were only a few errors that pulled me out of the story.
Although, one major plot point that is severely underdeveloped from the very beginning is the familiars. We see that Andromeda and Sarah Michelle as witches have them, but not Donatello, who is a wizard. Are these two magic classifications just gendered terms for magic users? How are familiars acquired? What makes them familiars? Quill mentions being able to legally represent Andromeda in a court of law, how?
There’s so much that is just offhandedly mentioned and never brought up again unless necessary, and even then it’s treated as a catch all.
Unfortunately this does fit the requirements of it would be so good if it were just good.
The majority of the plot is solid, like the investigation and the switch from hostile to flirty banter between Andromeda and Donatello. What ruined it for me though was that they fall in love incredibly quickly. This actually could have been very easily resolved by expanding on another plot device that is relegated to a very background support character, and is not even explained.
Otherwise I thought the pacing was pretty decent, and there were only a few errors that pulled me out of the story.
Although, one major plot point that is severely underdeveloped from the very beginning is the familiars. We see that Andromeda and Sarah Michelle as witches have them, but not Donatello, who is a wizard. Are these two magic classifications just gendered terms for magic users? How are familiars acquired? What makes them familiars? Quill mentions being able to legally represent Andromeda in a court of law, how?
There’s so much that is just offhandedly mentioned and never brought up again unless necessary, and even then it’s treated as a catch all.
Unfortunately this does fit the requirements of it would be so good if it were just good.
November 19, 2025
A wonderful conclusion to a 3 book series of paranormal romance. I loved the characters (he's haughty and she's full of snark) and their ability to be direct and say what they want. The tension (romantic and job related), innuendos (but mutual respect), and genuine delight in their relationship was a winning combination.
Fast paced and horrific at times, this book made me want to revisit Salem in person.
The author is a fantastic story teller who always delivers top tier stories! Definitely a favorite author of mine!
Fast paced and horrific at times, this book made me want to revisit Salem in person.
The author is a fantastic story teller who always delivers top tier stories! Definitely a favorite author of mine!
November 18, 2025
this felt extremely cut and paste from the first two books. the character relationship dynamics are very very similar. also God did i hate the fight they had at the end and how it was resolved felt unsatisfying and rushed.
November 26, 2025
3.75 Stars…Again, like the other books in this series, I really liked the story. I loved the dynamic of this couple. I like that Andromeda is intelligent and cheeky. She doesn’t need to downplay anything.
December 12, 2025
I liked this but it wasn't as good as the previous books in the series. The story was interesting but way too insta-lovey for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews