Review--Druid Cursed by C.J. Burright

 

One week of freedom. One cursed druid. One woman who could break the spell or doom them both.

Every fifty years, Kellen Ravenwood escapes his magical prison for seven days. This Samhain is his last chance to break the curse, or he’ll be bound forever. All he needs is a sacrifice: the blood of Maggie O’Malley, the last living descendant of the witch who cursed him.

Maggie, desperate for cash after a brutal divorce, jumps at the chance to win a $500,000 prize at a mysterious Irish estate. She never expected ancient rituals, strange magic, or Kellen, the dangerously charming man who claims she’s the key to his freedom.

But Maggie won’t be anyone’s sacrifice. And if there’s another way to break the curse, she’ll find it.

Because some destinies are meant to be rewritten.

And some love stories are worth defying fate for.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Druid Cursed is my first book by C.J. Burright but it will not be my last! This was just want the doctor ordered for a paranormal fantasy lover like myself. I loved that Burright took on a lesser seen character type for this story, that along with witches and century long curses this is a book sure to delight every paranormal reader!

Maggie O'Malley is coming out of a rough divorce, so when her best friend, Wendy, decides to take her to Ireland for a contest/competition, Maggie sees this as her chance to get her life back on track. She's about to lose the house her father built because of her ex and she wants to open up her own business to help her start over and the cash prize that comes from this competition will help do just that.

Then we have Kellen Ravenwood, the man of mystery and a Druid at that. He's been cursed to a dark place for centuries now, only being released for a week every fifty years thanks to a spell his brother concocted. This year will be the last time he can taste freedom unless he can break the curse placed upon him by a witch. The only thing he has to do is kill a witch of his curser's bloodline, which should be easy since she just walked into his brother's mansion to enter a competition for a cash prize. The next kicker is that he is completely infatuated with her.

I initially thought that Kellen was going to be this big brute who would stop at nothing to break his curse, even if it meant killing an innocent. But as it turns out, Kellen is a big ol' marshmallow! He wasn't keen on killing an innocent just to set himself free, so he was ready to resign himself back to the darkness that he lived with for years, but his brother is determined more than ever to help set him free.

The storyline was very intriguing. I enjoy a good simplistic goal but with many twists and turns and that is what we got here. A curse needs to be broken, hopefully without death and dismemberment involved. And then we have Kellen and Maggie...sigh...

Maggie had decided to swear off love entirely after her nasty divorce but of course meeting Kellen changes that, but not right away. Again, we're dealing with a week of time for the most part, so yes, in a handful of days the two are falling for each other, but we get reasoning for that but you'll have to read this to find out because I'm not saying what it is! Lol. But needless to say the brief time the two spend together was hot and fierce!

There were plenty of secrets and puzzles to solve in this one and I get the sense that Burright is leaving a tiny crack in the door to lead us to a possible companion novel. While things wrap up nicely in this one leaving us with a satisfying ending, there was definitely room for more with the other characters and I am salivating to find out what that could be! I have guesses, but as to the next heroine, I'm left with two possibilities and I cannot decide which one I want to see more of! So a third book may even be possible! Lol.

If you're looking for a read filled with paranormal goodness, mystery, romance and incredible characters than Druid Cursed is the read for you! This was a breath of fresh air for the paranormal community and I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Druid Cursed releases October 7, 2025