Marvin is initially presented as angry and lashing out for little reason, but soon enough the pieces start to fit together. One of the strengths of Marvin’s Curse is its main character. However, it turns out that Stella may have a lot to do with Moghador, and that mysterious pawnbroker’s. Marvin resolves to help Stella regain her memories, and also keep the truth away from her. The only clue to her backstory is a business card for a pawnbroker’s shop in the realm of Moghador, which happens to have a gateway right in that very graveyard. She carries all the hallmarks of being one of the spirits that bother Marvin every waking moment, but for some strange reason, she has no memories whatsoever.

Oh, and the new house overlooks a graveyard.Īfter an argument with his parents, Marvin storms outside to find a girl his age hanging around in the graveyard.

Or at least make him listen to their woes. Marvin attends a special school, has been in therapy, takes medication, and he has the particular burden of being able to see ghosts, who usually try to attack him. His father died recently, and seemed to be replaced immediately with a new stepfather, who wanted them all to uproot to a new house to make the transition easier. Marvin is supposed to be a kid with a lot of issues. However, while Cas in Anna Dressed in Blood was well-rounded, and Anna was a nice girl who could become extremely terrifying, Marvin and Stella… eh… I bring up these two books because that’s what Marvin’s Curse reminds me of the most – boy meets girl, but the girl is a ghost who must deal with the trappings of Hell. Only a few months ago, I read its less-than-stellar sequel, Girl of Nightmares. And Stella is DEAD! She just doesn’t know it… yet!ĭisclaimer: A digital copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.Ī little over a year ago, I read Kendare Blake’s excellent Anna Dressed in Blood. It says so inside my trousers.’ (!?!)Ī mysterious business card reveals that Stella has lost her memories and all signs point to Moghador, a gateway to hell where a pawnbroker holds the answers. He meets Stella in the graveyard that backs onto the house he’s just moved into. It makes him different and he just wants to be ‘normal’. Bonus, you might think, but Marvin hates it. How would you handle the dead? After losing his dad, 17 year old Marvin finds he can see and talk to the dead, an inherited ‘gift’.

Marvin's Curse by Debra J. Edwards