The Haunted Portal

Cursebreaker #2

by J.T. Lawrence, M.J. Kraus

More girls are going missing, and Asha is ready to crack the case wide open.


When she hears there’s a runaway in the city, the witch chases her down and takes her to the Copperfield Institute -- her alma mater and the best magical academy in the Realm.

Dusty was running away from her abusive parents. She’s thrilled to be able to stay at the academy.

In the suburbs, the cheerful Delport family are moving into their new house. Soon they realize that the house is haunted, and they are terrorized by the childlike ghosts who live there. Asha is called to help them, but battles to find the source of the haunting.

Desperate, the family hire a “ghostbuster” who turns out to be a charlatan.

As the house becomes more dangerous, the children are in jeopardy and the Delports are terrified.

Asha tries to break the curse but succumbs to a magical booby trap and is flung into a surreal hellscape – known as Oblivion -- and almost dies trying to escape.

She realizes that the reason the ghost-children are haunting the house is because there are kidnapped children stuck in the soundproofed cellar. The children that didn’t survive the imprisonment are asking for help for their friends.

Finally, Asha finds the curser – the previous owner of the house – and kills him, breaking the curse. They rescue the children in the cellar.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2022

About the author

Amazon bestselling, genre-hopping, kickass-female-protagonist-loving author.

Follow me here, on Amazon, or on BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jt-la...

www.jt-lawrence.com

Reviews

[Nicole Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeling guilty for racing through this story

Knowing how much time and energy it takes to write a book, I try to take my time reading one and really savor the hard work that went into it. Except, this story grabbed me from the first page and wouldn’t let me rest until I finished reading it. And holy cow, what a ride!

I was a little disconcerted that the first half of the book was about a totally new family rather than our regular main character, but their story was so interesting (and terrifying, TBH) that I didn’t mind too much. Where book 1 kind of alternated between the main character and the secondary character who needed rescuing, the book pretty much focused on the secondary characters for half the story.

But then, when our main characters get going on the rescue part, whew! The race is on and all I can say is I hope you have time set aside to read the second half all in one marathon reading session.

The pacing definitely seemed to be more smooth than book 1, which was my only issue with that story. The characters, world building, and plotting were all well done again.

And now, please excuse me because I need to get going on book 3 RIGHT NOW.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rounding up here - almost a DNF for me. Again, there was way too much going on. I was constantly frustrated with all of Asha's unreasonable promises to people that did nothing but delay things she should be concentrating on. The haunted house was a "priority" and under a huge time crunch but she went out to dinner with friends, played a trivia game, slept at home, and went for a walk in the woods (and picnic) with Merlin and Sam. Do what? The whole time saying oh - I need to hurry back and help the children. She still has done absolutely nothing for the missing girls that 2 different people have assigned to her. Oh, she thinks about it occasionally - that's it. She has done nothing other than moon over Sam. She won't verify what his wedding ring means, and she makes some really stupid assumptions. The Simone POV chapters were way too much, and I basically skimmed them after a while. There were quite a few chapters later while Asha and Steigner are searching for the curse that were just way too wordy to deal with. At this time, it's questionable whether I'll continue with the series. I just don't like the fmc or the writing style.

[Shannon Heck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Haunted Portal is the second book in the Cursebreaker series. In this one, Asha investigates missing girls and a haunted house, and her relationship with Sam takes a few small steps forward. However, this series isn't a romance; it's urban fantasy. Like in the first book, there is a dual POV, with some chapters from Simone's perspective, who lives in the haunted house. I actually enjoyed Simone's chapters more than Asha's, which is why this series still earns four stars from me and not five. A lot happens, and sometimes it feels like too much. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it might have been better if it were a little shorter and more focused. This is one of those series I read slowly—definitely no bingeing—because I think I would get bored; however, I can see myself returning to book 3 later.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

well written, best of free kindle!

You know how sometimes you read free kindle & think, “wow, that’s was free?!”

Well written, well paced, characters have depth & humor to them. With a dash of Slow burn romance that is very sweet.

While not as deep/emotionally wrenching as some stories, I’m totally fine with that. Finding for fun & well written in this genre is hard, this book delivers!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

haunting tale

Missing children lead to a magical runaway who was abused by her parents. Hopefully Dusty can with the case. Across town the Delport family is facing a haunting but what Asha finds in the curse is the most haunting of all. Can she survive oblivion and break the curse in time to save the children?

What a ride! Terrific world building and killer ups and downs. Extremely slow burn romance. A bit of a horror theme throughout this one and a hell of a cliffhanger.

[Sue Stich · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟
The second installment of the Cursebreaker series is as action packed as the first. Asha is still as strong willed as she was in the prior book. I enjoyed the storyline but did feel the pacing was a bit slower than the previous book; and I would've liked to see more development between Asha and Sam in thier relationship. Overall, an enjoyable read wot a HFN ending.

[Rhonda Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

An intense, trip with witches, goblins, werewolves and more. Set in the Blood magic universe( An equally exceptional series FYI) Asha is a green witch, A potion maker, an assassin and The Cursebreaker. Well worth your time. You will be ransported.

[Sarah Metcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off a bit slower than the first book. The plot was even more of a horror type it seemed with the ghosts. But the boom got better as I read it. There was plenty of action and magic to make up for what the beginning was lacking in. I’m already starting the next book!

[Frieda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hectic

Curses, a cliffhanger! Good thing the next is already downloaded.

Lawrence drags you in and pulls you, whether you're ready or not, along a madcap journey to the other side.

[Janine A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still left hanging!

Still left hanging and still a mystery on what will happen next hope it’s not too long a wait because I’m still sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next.

[Julie Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting Series with magical creatures

I'm loving this series and have read the first two books in 3 days. I can't wait to continue on and see what is in store for our Curse breaker. She does need a break to sleep though so hopefully she gets a few days rest in the new book

[Carmel McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

intense

what a story. it was touch and go as whether Asha would save the delports. good triumphed.. being a witch proves she is always busy.

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable action packed adventure.

Very fast paced. It's amazing how much happens in a single day! Perhaps a little unrealistic even for magical beings.

[Lynne Donnelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Loved this! The story moved quickly and had me reading later than I should. Can't wait for the next book!!

[Lilian Lennox · Rating 5 out of 5]

haunted portal

Yes!! Yes!! Yes!!
Another book that kept me turning avidly page after page
On to the next book in the series
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost stories scare the crap out of me.

[Kara Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a DNF for me

[Cedar Grove Public Library]

This is an addicting book series. The characters are fun & adventure awaits. - SN 7/28/25

[Kyra McGuire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made it through book one in a couple nights of late night reading and loved it. Now that I’m in book two I feel myself losing interest while reading 10 straight chapters in Simone’s POV. I’m trying not to skip ahead but I’m growing impatient as I feel not much has been accomplished other than proving the house is cursed/haunted. I’ve been holding out to learn what is going on with Asha’s case as well as how she comes to meet Simone however, I may start skimming due to lack of story development. I’ll update my rating as I go.
Edit:
After making it through the long stent in Simone’s POV the book did get better. The authors are long winded at times when painting a picture of the world around our MCs particularly when something pressing is going on. It feels a bit like watching the movie interstellar while you wait for the important plot points to show up in a 3 hour movie that shouldn’t have been more than 2. Once you get past that, the actual story is interesting and different from a lot of fantasy books I have personally read.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rook

I wasn't sure about this at first but as it seems rook is one heck of a witch. The story flows really well from one to the next. I never want this series to end its that good