With laugh out loud humor, ‘Cursed Under London’ is a wonderful reprieve in a genre that often takes itself too seriously. In an alternative version of 1500’s London where the magical ‘undead’ and the living coexist peacefully, our trio of Lazare, Fang, and Nell threaten to upset the balance after they die, but come back as something not quite dead, not quite living. All of this leads to a fun, compulsive read, that highlights Hutchinson Crouch’s mastery of satire through mocking dialogue during battles, a bisexual William ‘Bill’ Shakespeare and Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, but also twists around who’s plan they’ve all been tangled into. I loved nearly every character we meet, all of whom are LGBT+ and have greater banter between one another. There are layers to each character too; clearly haunted by their individual pasts, which they lean on each other as a found family to overcome. This reminded me of an adult version of ‘House by the Cerulean Sea’, same level of lightheartedness, but a pitch or two more violent & spicy.

What Hutchinson Crouch Get's Right:
• Loveable, found family of characters with unique abilities I hadn’t read before
• ‘Will they, won’t they’ tension between Fang & Lazare! UGH just kiss already!
• Little touches in the story that make it London- mentioning of a tube system, diplomatic subplots, and familiar landmarks- but we get to explore a whole new London too with the undead

"One thing about haunted houses was, it was never the house’s fault that it was haunted. It was just a vessel, into which the ghosts of years of sadness were poured and trapped."

Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is a novel about the London that humans inhabit and the "Under London" that non-humans live in.

Lazare and Fang have somehow died but haven't turned into the creatures that inhabit Under London - be it any number of supernatural beings, but they aren't quite human either. To try and find out why they haven't turned and to reverse the curse they are under, they find themselves in all sorts of situations along with their newly found friends Amber, who is a dragon, and an apothecary, Nell.

I enjoyed the secondary characters and the way that Lazare and Fang handled themselves - the humor that all of the characters displayed was natural and not forced, truly funny, and it made the book speed by.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this most enjoyable book, I hope to read more from the author. All opinions are my own.

set in london but instead of humans it’s mythical creatures, however the main characters seems to be a hybrid. are there others like him ?

i’m rounding this up to 3.5

the characters in the book are really unique and you cant help but love them. the dialogue between everyone is an easy read and makes you laugh, as it has an air of wit at times.

the writing is fast paced in tbe perfect way, there’s plot twist after plot twist. it’s a superbly refreshing

this book is perfect for fans of peaky blinders and anything supernatural.

"Cursed Under London" is a cozy fantasy novel centered around two men living in the 16th century London, Lazare and Fang. They both seemingly meet their demise but miraculously avoid death or transformation into vampires, werewolves, zombies, or other supernatural beings. To unravel the mystery behind their peculiar circumstances, they join forces with a charming dragon named Amber and a witty Apothecary named Nell. As the story unfolds, the characters find themselves entangled in increasingly complex situations, while a budding affection develops between Fang and Lazare.

The premise of this book is quite intriguing. I enjoyed the concept of Upper London, where regular humans reside, contrasting with Deep London, inhabited by supernatural beings. Additionally, the novel is fast-paced, with a dynamic plot that keeps the characters constantly on the move. However, what truly sets this book apart is its humor. The dialogue between the characters is infused with so much wit that I found myself giggling throughout. The banter between Fang and Lazare is particularly delightful. Additionally, I appreciated the other characters, especially Amber the dragon. It's not easy to weave together a romantic arc and a found family trope seamlessly, but the author executed it magnificently in this case.

I have two small issues with this book, which are probably personal preferences and may not be a bother for other readers. Firstly, as it's a cozy fantasy book, I felt that the stakes were a little too low for me to become fully invested. The fact that the main villain turned out to be a caricature did not help in this regard. Secondly, I didn't quite connect with the fact that the world depicted was modeled on Elizabethan England. While I understand that it's a fantasy and historical accuracy isn't necessary, I would have liked to feel more of the spirit of that era. It felt like the setting was chosen primarily to feature specific characters living in 16th-century England, such as Kit Marlowe or Elizabeth herself, rather than for thematic or world-building reasons. This universe could have been modeled on any other period of history, or even the present day.

Still, I very much enjoyed this book because of its humor and excellent writing. I would recommend it to urban fantasy lovers, as well as readers seeking books similar to those by T. Kingfisher, but with even more humor.

Oh, this book was everything to me.

The little band of main characters were incredible. I mean, seriously could not have been any better. I was dying laughing at the dialogue going on between our core four throughout most of it (except, of course, when we did a real quick 180 and I was having my heart shredded to pieces). Biggest shout out my girl Amber, aka the tiny dragon who showed up to help in every single combat scene but promptly dipped when the dangerous situation is, in fact, dangerous. She's so me. The most iconic dragon to ever dragon.

Also, Kit Marlowe is canonically a horny zombie in this book. Which, like, is insane and also quite possibly one of the funniest running bits I've ever read in a novel before.

But as for the story itself, I loved it. It was fast-paced enough to keep me engaged throughout, and still never felt like things were being rushed. I was so incredibly curious about what the hell was going on with Larzare and Fang and their whole 'undead but, like, also not' thing and, while I'm satisfied with the answers I've gotten, there's still so much to expand on and I am already fiening for book two.

I enjoyed the found family aspect and especially loved Amber (and the kitty)
I did find it was a bit hectic for me - the large cast of characters along with the fast paced narrative with comical aspects culminating with the over-the-top villain was a bit much. I didn't feel like I had a good grasp on the magic system etc
It was reminding me a bit of Un Lun Dun/Neverwhere- and I liked those world building aspects.
But I think perhaps I am not the right reader for this novel.

Cursed Under London is the first book in a historical romantasy series set in an alternative Elizabethan London. In Upper London, home of humans, Fang and Lazare both wake from their untimely deaths to find themselves no longer fully human. Fang and Lazare team up with Fang's friend Nell (a Welsh apothecary) and Amber the tiny dragon to try and reverse the curse upon them. The mystery takes them down into Deep London, home of everything distinctly not-human!

I loved the Discworld/Rivers of London tone to this book. The blurb isn't exaggerating when it says that this book is hilarious - I laughed out loud many times, and even had to read out quotes to my Terry Pratchett-loving husband to explain my outbursts. My favourite quote is probably:
'They were masked, but we do have a physical description of John,' continued Peanut, quickly. 'Um... "Gorgeous, just really nice eyes and hair, fit arms, bum like two tennis balls squeezed into a sock".'

It was just so easy to read, and the humour never felt forced. I read this book in one go, just hours after getting the ARC because a historical paranormal romantasy is like my holy grail, and as soon as I started reading it, I was sucked right in. The plot was super strong - there is absolutely no filler in this book and so it's just comedy, heart and action all the way through.

I am so glad this is a series, because I can't wait to see more of the alternative/fantasy Elizabethan world, and I definitely need to see what happens with/to these characters next! The central group were all interesting and fully fleshed out and they weren't just caricatures which could have easily been done. I loved how inclusive the world was, and it was just so heartwarming even with all the death and chaos happening around the characters. To say I am rooting for Fang and Lazare is an understatement. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.