The Curse of the Nightingale

by Amber Ortiz

A cage of silence; a voice that binds

Any man who hears Alana Chastain's voice is cursed with obsession. After a lifetime of isolation, Alana rescues Prince Nicolas Callan from certain death, transforming him from a man who's never felt love into one consumed by desire.

Convinced he's been bewitched, Nicolas drags Alana from her woodland sanctuary to the serpent's nest of Castle Altaigne. His price for marriage: she must become his personal sorceress, using her alleged magic to eliminate his enemies.

Alana soon finds an unexpected ally in her protector and the prince's best friend, Viscount Quinn Navarro. But as political conspiracies deepen and forbidden love beckons, Alana faces an impossible question...

How much of herself will she sacrifice for power?

Genres: Fantasy, Amazon

429 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2026

About the author

AMBER ORTIZ writes from the coastal plains of North Carolina.

Amber is a wife and a mother of three with a passion for coffee, cuisine, and wine. When she isn't writing, Amber enjoys drawing, singing, and dancing. A lover of the arts, she serves as a judge for the North Carolina Film Festival.

Reviews

[Kristie Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this was really great. Alana was cursed before her birth, any man who heard her voice would fall in love with her. Kept in the woods with her parents, she avoided society for most of her life, until she decided to save someone else's from a snake on a hunt, by shouting.

When Nicholas hears a shout and avoids being bitten by a deadly snake, he can't help but be drawn to the speaker. He is drawn to her, not knowing about her curse. He also happens to be the prince. Speaking only to women and the prince, Alana has a whole new world to navigate. And a potential love that is not influenced by her curse at all.

This built and built and then turned absolutely everything on its head. I absolutely love the end of this and cannot wait for more!

[buppyspek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of ARC copy provided by the author.

After a little bit of a slow start, this ended up being such a good read that by the end, I couldn't put it down.

I am coming at this as primarily a romance genre reader, so I'm pretty much always reading through a romance lens, especially with a story like this where one of the main threads is rooted in romance. The premise is simple. Our protagonist, Alana, is a victim of a witch's curse. Any man who hears her voice will fall in love with her. It's a simple premise, but it becomes complex almost immediately - this curse has been on her since birth, so even her cries as a baby would have made a man fall for her. Her family lives in a secluded hut in the woods and her father literally made himself deaf so he wouldn't hear her. She has never met anyone other than her parents, then one day while she is out foraging, Alana encounters a man from a hunting party, and he ends up hearing her voice.

I'm not going to reveal any more details than that (that's all in the first chapter). There's so much more to it. There's an amazing love triangle that kept me in suspense for literally the entire book. There are political plotlines, too (assassination attempts, economic issues, famine, social dynamics in the royal court, etc). But overall it's the characters who make this book shine. Alana, Quinn, Nicolas, Winnie, Marcy, Florence, and everyone else. Especially Alana. She is so strong, and only gets stronger as the story goes on.

I'm going to go into spoiler territory now. Don't read on unless you've finished the book! I'm going to talk about the ending!


...


That ending!

At first I hated Quinn for leaving (or at least leaving when he did - why not take Florence with him before her execution). I was shipping Quinn and Alana for pretty much the whole book. It took me a long time to warm up to Nic. But I understand why Quinn had to leave.

I loved when Alana took charge and got revenge on Angharad. Fully embracing her power? Perfect, no notes. But then ending with making a pact with the Lord of Night to truly hold power and essentially become a goddess? Even better.

If she's not going to end up with Quinn, this was the next best thing, and I gotta say, I never saw it coming, and I loved it.

[Tyler Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantasy is usually not a genre I gravitate toward, however, from the moment I read the prologue, I was hooked. Alana's curse, that any man who hears her voice falls in love with her, is presented in a unique way with high stakes. She is thrown from her rural, commoner home into the high stakes world of politics in Prince Nicolas' court.

There is so much to enjoy in this debut book. Alana's curse leads her into a compelling love triangle between Prince Nicolas and Lord Quinn, but there is also politics, witchcraft, friendship, and so much more. The romance is a slow burn, but every bit of it is earned. When there is action, you are thrown right into it with compelling descriptions. The author had a clear vision of her world and fleshed it out with her brilliant prose.

There are many characters to appreciate in the book and each goes through their own arcs. The author did not just focus on the primary characters though. You know it's a great story when you find yourself rooting and feeling for a minor character who only made a handful of appearances.

I highly recommend anyone to check this book out, whether you are a hard core romantasy fan, or even someone who primarily reads sci-fi/fantasy like myself. Anyone can find something to enjoy and I can't wait for the next one!

[Nici · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute roller-coaster!! There's magic, love, survival and one woman's desire to have it all. Alana is magnetic even as she struggles and while Nicolas comes off as an ass as often as he's sweet. I can't help but root for him to gain her heart. Quinn is blessed with honor and love, and while they war within him it's the struggle between the two that keeps him tied to Alana and Nicolas. The amount of times I couldn't decide who I wanted Alana to be with should be it's own record. I cannot wait for book 2.
The world of Gallae is rich and well built. The story moves with good pacing and the desire that Alana provokes often left me fanning myself. Highly recommended.

[Rebekah Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"To hear your voice, knowing it would destroy me. I would let you do that to me, Alana. I would let you ruin me."

This book was phenomenal! I enjoyed the slow burn between two potential matches along with Alana's inner turmoil. Yet the romance is secondary to the magical plot shifting from whimsical to dark. I loved the raw emotion with connections to multiple characters. The ending leaves me craving more and I look forward to her future books.

Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this book in advance. I highly suggest this book to anyone looking to support a new author!

[Amber Jolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, where to begin!

I loved this book. The depth of each of the characters was very well done. I genuinely understood their decision making and found myself wanting to be friends with them. The realities of childbirth, marriage, and politics couldn’t be more spot on. Oh and the love triangle! My goodness. Quinn is just all around great, but I still wanted the best for Nicolas as well. The ending was the perfect cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the next one!

[Claire E. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My criteria for a 5 star read are: (1) did it make me laugh?, (2) did it make me cry?, (3) did it turn me on?, and (4) did it make me think?

This book hit all four, to the point where I had to throw my phone down at a certain point and stomp around my apartment yelling about a character's decision. (And, yes, I read it all in a day.)

This debut is probably the best ARC I've read to date, kudos to Amber!

[Brandi Mantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

New author new book. As always I'm hesitant when I start reading a new author. You can never judge a book by the cover or title. This book kept me interested and thinking about it even hours after I set it down for the day. I dont want tonapoil a thing but you should definitely give this book a try.... I cant wait for the next one!

[Coley Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 -A refreshing take on historical fantasy. I love an antihero, and this book provides. I enjoyed the blend of darkness and raunchy humor - funny enough that it got me giggling. The characters are flawed and believable, and the plot is slower-paced, but by no means slow. I really enjoyed this. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

[Kayleigh Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the first Chapter. The world builds around you as you delve deeper into the book. Very descriptive read, the characters personalities are fun to discover and I wholeheartedly agree her king needs a slap. Idiot.
Very much looking forward to the next installment. Well written, full of detail that draws you in.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not stopped thinking about this book since I’ve read it. I am absolutely hooked!

“Lie and say you’ll run away with me. Just this once, have mercy and let me pretend there’s a future where you’re mine."

The yearning in this book is *chefs kiss* and so well done.

[Mariah Scarpellini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want to put this book down! The concept is not only interesting but the characters are relatable and funny, my favorite is Winnie. Amber does a great job at storytelling and immersing her readers into her world.

[Sammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!
I thought it was a little long with the bits of filling, but all in all, a great read. It was different, and I found myself not knowing who I wanted the FMC to be with. Kept me on my toes.

[Werp · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an amazing book. loved it, can't wait for next one!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and thought-provoking curse. I was impressed with how well-written this was.

[Audry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was AMAZING and I had the pleasure of reading it before release!! The concept of a witch curse that causes men to fall in love at the sound of your voice seems awesome but reading Alana’s life with it shows that is very much not the case. Between a man who has heard her voice and a man who hasn’t heard her voice, it makes it hard to discern who really loves her. Her growth through book and friendships she makes along the way is beautifully written and I will be recommending this to people for years to come!!