{"id":17843,"date":"2024-06-04T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=17843"},"modified":"2025-09-26T22:12:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T02:12:58","slug":"book-cursed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-cursed\/","title":{"rendered":"Cursed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-2733\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_cursed.png?fit=250%2C413&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Cursed\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> Cursed<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/leigh-kenny\/\">Leigh Kenny<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2023-12-15\">December 15, 2023<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/self-published\/\">Self-Published<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 121<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/horror\/\">Horror<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/paranormal\/\">Paranormal<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/ebook\/\">Ebook<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/kindle-unlimited\/\">Kindle Unlimited<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/1\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/201576919-cursed\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>Have you ever agreed to something without understanding the consequences?<br \/>\nWhat would you do if a cursed object came into your possession?<\/p>\n<p>Burn it?<\/p>\n<p>Seek spiritual help?<\/p>\n<p>Pass it on?<\/p>\n<p>This is the impossible choice Curtis must face as a sinister entity is thrust upon him. As the walls close in and the evil takes hold, he must act before his life is forever altered.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis is haunted.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis is afraid.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis is... Cursed<\/p>\n<p>The ideal read for fans of horror, mystery thrillers, possessions and supernatural beings.<br \/>\nThe Grudge meets Drag Me To Hell, Cursed is the story of one man's relentless journey through darkness and isolation, as he discovers how far he's willing to go to save himself and those closest to him.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4eDJEH5\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-06-04T05:00:02+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"Cursed\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-cursed\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Cursed\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Leigh Kenny\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/leigh-kenny\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 121,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Self-Published\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/book_cursed.png?fit=250%2C413&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2023-12-15T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/201576919-cursed\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Horror\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 1,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m bummed when I end up disliking a book to a degree that I struggle to come up with much to say that doesn\u2019t feel too critical, especially when it\u2019s indie and a debut. <strong>Cursed<\/strong> is a cursed object horror story that borrows heavily from the films that inspired it but lacks several writing components to make it fresh. Curtis is an unassuming trashman who finds himself in possession of a box haunted by a ghostly woman with long black hair, reminiscent of Sadako (<strong>Ringu<\/strong>) and Kayako (<strong>Ju-On<\/strong>). I\u2019m a big fan of J-Horror, so I was intrigued by the premise, and the cover is fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>The plot follows many of the story beats from <strong>Drag Me To Hell<\/strong>. I think what didn\u2019t work for me is that the story lacked cohesion and a solid story structure. The first few chapters were interesting, but I found myself feeling worn down with scene after scene after scene of the ghost appearing with very little lasting impact. Many of the scenes would be fantastic in any story, but no one scene was given any time to sink in and crawl under my skin. These scenes were more like stringing together jump scares, the way they would appear in cinema.<\/p>\n<p>The use of an Asian ghost was also a bummer. The ghost is aggressive and constant, grinning and banging on doors, the complete opposite of the way that onry\u014d are typically portrayed. Asian horror is quiet. There is no mystery and no substance to this ghost. The most lore you get about the box is, I quote, \u201cShe got it from Asia or something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I liked Curtis at the start; he seemed like a genuine everyman with some faults, but I ended up feeling unconvinced by him. One scene he\u2019s freaked out, and then his narration switches to thinking about romance and seems to forget about the ghost, killing all narrative tension. He acts in ways that don\u2019t make any sense for someone that\u2019s being haunted. Supporting characters didn&#8217;t leave much of an impression, and relationships were more tell than show. There were scenes where Curtis was having a conversation that would describe the conversation without actually including much dialogue at all, and it made the scene feel flat. The ending was almost good, but the build-up to it doesn\u2019t feel earned.<\/p>\n<p>An interesting premise that unfortunately felt underdeveloped, a sad miss for me. I think there is some promise in Kenny\u2019s writing; she can write a good scary scene, and that\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n<h2>Quote<\/h2>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Then he quickly stepped around the corner and into the room. A <strong>flap<\/strong> on the cardboard box <strong>moved slightly<\/strong>, then stilled as he entered. <strong>The box<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Content Warnings<\/h2>\n<span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Leigh Kenny<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_leighkenny.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_leighkenny.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_leighkenny.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leigh was born and raised in the beautiful garden county of Wicklow, Ireland. She is the mother and proud protector of two wonderful boys, a black Labrador, and a three-legged cat that hates people. Her partner James is also part of the family, but she&#8217;s not his mother, so he gets his own sentence! <\/p>\n<p>Leigh has a fierce love for all things morbid and macabre, and like many of her peers, she&#8217;s a horror junkie! She cites Ronald Malfi, Kealan Patrick Burke, and of course, Stephen King, as her most favoured authors and sources inspiration. <\/p>\n<p>Cursed is Leigh&#8217;s debut, and though she hides it well, she is very proud of herself. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/p\/Leigh-Kenny-Writes-100094667448504\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/46183807.Leigh_Kenny\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3XJ5dz9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/LeighKennyWrites?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2k595ZY3_hK5rv50brXU5o5CMjWESmEGdxCWlKwywB0JEtpHUNsC960DM_aem_AS7UR1uPS7Ye927ONZEFqcrDGhc-jKu0cBg28O1SSql1HFZcYrmQjHqM6lEhhrJttvgCY_gG5W_GnX6v1a4_1nnZ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review I\u2019m bummed when I end up disliking a book to a degree that I struggle to come up with much to say that doesn\u2019t feel too critical, especially when&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[3946,5220,4032,2393,248,246,333,1896],"book-author":[3957],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-17843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-2024-boh-indie-brawl","tag-cover-by-grim-poppy-design","tag-cursed-and-haunted-objects","tag-curses","tag-european-literature","tag-ghosts","tag-irish-literature","tag-urban-legends","book-author-leigh-kenny"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_cursed-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17843"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23493,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17843\/revisions\/23493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=17843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}