Cursed by Contract: A Paranormal Romcom Standalone

by Piper May

Genres: Paranormal Romance

518 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2026

Reviews

[Dennis Wayne]

Make sure you read before you sign a contract because you might just find a fae enforcer lol,great book

[Kerrie]

If you're looking for a cozy fantasy romance that feels like wrapping yourself in your favorite blanket with a cup of tea, "Cursed by Contract" by Piper May is exactly that kind of book. This charming human-and-fae romance has just the right balance of whimsy, humor, heartfelt moments, and a touch of spice. The story follows Mara, who has spent so much of her life believing that her worth comes from working hard and constantly taking care of everyone else. Watching her slowly realize that love isn't something you earn through endless sacrifice, but something you deserve simply because of who you are was such a beautiful journey. Then there's Rowan. At first, he's wonderfully rigid, awkward, and unintentionally hilarious. His serious, rule-following personality makes for some genuinely funny moments, but beneath that reserved exterior is a deeply caring man whose quiet devotion completely won me over. Seeing his walls slowly crumble as Mara entered his life was one of my favorite parts of the story. (And her purple weapon of defense) The romance develops at a lovely pace, filled with sweet banter, tender moments, undeniable chemistry, and just enough spice to keep things exciting without ever overshadowing the heart of the story. The fae world is enchanting without feeling overly complicated, making it easy to sink into and simply enjoy. This was such a comforting read. It's the kind of book that leaves you smiling long after you've turned the last page. If you enjoy romances that are full of warmth, healing, laughter, and characters who help each other become better versions of themselves, I highly recommend picking this one up.

Tropes:

Human and Fae romance
Forced proximity
Magical contract
Opposites attract
Grumpy & sunshine
Slow-burn romance
Found family
Emotional healing
Cozy fantasy
Light spice

5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A delightful comfort read that reminded me sometimes the greatest magic isn't found in spells or curses: it's learning that you don't have to earn love by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

[Jenntleh]

Cursed by Contract by Piper May
I picked this up purely based on the cover and skipped the blurb, so I had no idea I was walking into a fae story.
Mara Kline is busy doing what she does best—keeping her town running and preparing for its biggest event of the year, the annual fair. She’s juggling permits, vendor disputes, logistics, and the thousand little crises that come with organizing something that big. So when a strange contract crosses her desk, she treats it like just another piece of paperwork and signs it.
Unfortunately, it isn’t ordinary paperwork.
The contract binds her to the fae, who are obsessed with maintaining “balance.” The problem? Mara’s emotions are now magically tied to the town itself—during the most stressful week of the year. Staying perfectly balanced while running a chaotic town fair is… unlikely.
Enter Rowan, a fae sent to supervise once Mara’s imbalance sets off alarms. Much of the humor comes from how completely clueless the fae are about the human world they’re making these contracts with. Rowan casually moves into Mara’s house, struggles with things like toasters, and generally highlights how little his people understand the lives they’re meddling with.
As Rowan spends more time around Mara, he begins to realize that expecting perfect performance from someone who didn’t even know what she was signing up for might be a little unreasonable. Unfortunately, his people aren’t interested in nuance—they want results. If Mara can’t maintain balance, the consequences are very final.
What makes the story fun is that mix of stakes and comedy: a stressed-out event organizer accidentally bound to fae magic, paired with a supernatural supervisor who’s slowly realizing the system he works for might be wildly unfair.
A cute, funny story that ended up being a unique surprise compared to what the cover led me to expect.

[Vinoshini Nedincheliyin]

Cursed by Contract by Piper May
This was such a fun, cozy paranormal romance with plenty of charm, banter, and magical chaos. The contract trope mixed with paranormal elements kept the story entertaining, while the chemistry between the FMC and MMC developed naturally and felt believable.

The heroine was relatable and quirky, and I loved how the relationship evolved from obligation to genuine affection. The humor balanced the supernatural elements well, making it an easy and addictive read.

While I wished for a little more depth in the world-building and higher emotional stakes, the sweet romance, witty dialogue, and lovable characters more than made up for it.

✨ Tropes: Contract relationship • Paranormal romance • Forced proximity • Slow-burn feelings • Workplace vibes

A light, magical romance that's perfect when you're looking for something cute, low-angst, and bingeable. 📚💕

[Siobhan D]

Mara has the world on her shoulders. Her mother, brother the town folk all looking towards her for answers. I am not going to say tricked but duped into signing a contract brings her more work and oh a guide to help her. Rowan is part of the fae not a fairy but an enforcer to keep the fae and human world knowing or destroying the other. He lives by rules and sense of humour he doesn’t understand.
Not allowed to be to far from another one. Oh I did love Rowan he may never have experienced love or family but with Mara feelings seem to appear and truth about his last human contractor. Let’s not forget Gabe the fae who follows the rules no matter what. I found myself laughing reading how Rowan moves around the human world and a printer that loses the battle to live. One kiss and the world changes. These two bounce off each other and grow together. Rules that need to be broken, to souls that find a gentle touch can save the world.
The chemistry, spice, drama , humour and romance is perfect.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[S Lynn]

I didn’t finish this book. There were sections tripping my AI radar and I couldn’t tell if I was being paranoid or if this isn’t a real book/author. The author’s Goodreads page is really weird—they have this book, a non-fiction book about animals and then some erotica (without reviews) that were published at the same more than 10 years ago. Also, this author doesn’t have a website or any social media pages. Which is really strange for an Indie author—they need a web presence for marketing and Piper May doesn’t have anything.

If I’m wrong and there is an actual human author behind this book then I will gladly delete this review.

[Neale]

DNF - felt artificial

Lots of quips throughout the first several chapters, reading more like internet captions than descriptions of real people or places or fae, as it were. The plot’s compelling and the characters are worth exploring but the humor gets repetitive. No typos, but definitely a few words used incorrectly enough to pull me out and leave things feeling a little like AI.

[Maureen Trussell]

This book surprised me! I thought it was very cute, funny, and a little spicy. It was also very cozy vibes. I think that there are some things in the plot that could use more development and the world building (in terms of the fae world) was very much lacking, but the chemistry and the banter between the FMC and MMC often had me giggling and laughing out loud at times. A very easy, cute, and cozy standalone romance!

[sandra]

good story

Interesting concept for a human to be in charge of keeping a super natural “thing” secure or die for being inept. The male main character is Fae, rye female is human. It was nice/funny seeing him integrate to human culture. He is suppose to be unemotional to do his job right, but it’s obvious he cared for the last guardian, and now has feelings for her. Good story

[Michalle]

This was a very cute and humorous book. Mara is an overwhelmed community coordinator that everyone relies on. She signs a Fae contact unknowingly and Rowan is there to train her or possibly eliminate her. This was a fast paced story and made me laugh out loud. This was a fun read and I recommend it.

[Lindseyrenee]

Overly optimized and not enough logic or charm to keep me reading. Everything is done quietly. Dialogue is so snappy it no longer makes sense. It’s not a charming paranormal romance—it’s a nothingburger wrapped in a cute cover and enough details to make you feel like there’s something there but there’s not.

[Samantha Glass]

Quite a fun book, and by a debut author too. I hope there are more tales to come. Paranormal rom-com including divergent family dynamics, burnout, small town background, with a couple spicy scenes.