Sarah Penner, I owe you.

Have you ever read a book outside of your comfort zone genres, and you loved it and opened your mind to reading more widely?

The Lost Apothecary was one of those books, and so was The London Seance Society. Sarah Penner has done it again with The Amalfi Curse.

The Amalfi Curse mixes past and present, telling the story of the sea witches of Positano, one of the sailors who loves one of them and in the present Haven Ambrose a trailblazing nautical archaeologist eager to uncover the secrets of the shipwrecks off the Amalfi coast.

It’s not ‘one more chapter’ it’s ’three more chapters’ as you get increasingly desperate to read the next part of each thread…And when they start to come together then you’re truly sucked into the whirlpool.

It builds and builds, get better and better as it progresses and the plots twist and tighten.

If you’ve enjoyed Sarah Penner’s previous books you’ll love it. I didn’t think I’d be here recommending a book about 1820s sea witches but the enchanting magic in this book is inescapable.

Very highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Fiction

I simply could not have loved this book more. I absolutely adored Sarah Penners first two books and The Amalfi Curse blows those two out of the water.

In the 1800s timeline, a coven of sea witches use their magic to protect their village from pirates and keep their waters safe and prosperous. In present day, Haven arrives in Positano on a mission to finish an archaeological dive her father started before his death. She unravels the mystery surrounding the island as we flash back to see it play out through Maris eyes.

The way Sarah Penner mixes magical realism with historical fiction feels like crack to me. I could’ve read another 300 pages of this beautiful story. This is the type of book you need a sixth star for.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

“The Amalfi Curse” is a historical fiction dual timeline book by Sarah Penner. In one timeline (1800s) the reader follows Mari - a young woman from a village along the Amalfi coast. The other timeline (modern times) follows Haven, an archeological diver hoping to find the last ship her father discovered before his death. This book explores myth and magic. I thought Ms. Penner’s descriptions of both the coast and the research libraries were rather interesting (yes, not every document has been put into computers yet!). While the love stories weren’t my cup of tea, they were minor enough to hold my interest and not take away from the main idea of the story. I did find it interesting that the words “stregheria” and “strega” were unknown to the Americans in the story (haven’t they read Tomie de Paola’s Strega Nona children’s book series? LOL!) but that was more to my amusement. Both Mari and Haven are strong women - who do not become helpless after meeting their partners. And, totally separate from everything else, the cover of this book is beautiful. I enjoyed reading The Amalfi Curse and look forward to Ms. Penner’s next book.

First of all, I'm obsessed with this cover. Second of all, this is Penner's best work. I've never been to the Amalfi Coast but after reading this I feel like I have, she really brought the setting to life. I love her ability to weave two stories together. Overall, incredibly enjoyable.

Absolutely fantastic. Told in the same duel timeline that eventually collides that "The Lost Apothecary" was, this tale feels cleaner and clearer in its telling and so incredibly vibrant ..like you can almost feel the heat of the Italian sun coming off stone and the salt spray on your face. It makes you want to visit Amalfi and Positano and taste lemoncello in your tongue. I know the author visited these coasts in preparation for writing and it shows, rarely have I felt so transported to a location through pages.

The story itself is spellbinding, if I can use such an on the nose term. I fully believed and embraced the possibility of these women defended from sirens for whom the ocean will heed. Both Mari and Haven are characters with complexity you immediately want to root for. I grieved with Haven since I also lost my father very recently, I felt
blistering outrage on her behalf at her professional struggles.

The pace of the tale ticks up about a third of the way through when Mari's "inciting incident" takes place...from there it's a steady turn of the suspense dial up and up til the very end and it becomes that much harder to put down as you go. This is a "stay up past midnight to finish" story so prepare accordingly.

This is a dual timeline book. One story is from long ago about a group of red haired women who can control the ocean. One day, the strongest is seen and everything changes.

The present day story involves a women who is leading a drive team to do research near the Amalfi coast where many ships have sunk. Secretly, her father found treasure there, but died before he could go back for it.

This is clearly Sarah Penner's best book. She does an excellent job weaving the present and past together with a PERFECT seal as the last paragraph in the book. I thought she did a good job with the storyline lining up in The Lost Apothecary, but even that book had one storyline that was more interesting than the others. I was equally as invested in Mari as I was with Haven. I could feel the urgency to find what Haven was looking for and could feel the disappointment and hurt with Mari's experiences. It will be the book I recommend to people when it comes out in April and beyond. Thanks for sharing your gift with the world, Sarah.

The Amalfi Coast is truly the most beautiful place in the world, and it is hard to capture that beauty without seeing it. That being said, Sarah Penner has done a wonderful job of bringing the region to life. A captivating story set in a stunning landscape, The Amalfi Curse is a must read.

This was such a good and fun read. Siren descendants and water magic and a picturesque Italian setting! This story was just so beautifully written. A curse, Forbidden love, and ancient magic...I couldn't have asked for me!

Sarah Penner has created an amazing, adventurous, romantic tale of the sea set along two timelines that are always yearning to converge in “The Amalfi Coast.” Of her three novels, I think this is her best.

Two timelines: One story is about the 19th century sea witches of Positano on the Italian Amalfi Coast, known as streghe del mare “with unparalleled power over the ocean. They boasted a magic found nowhere else in the world, a result of their lineage, having descended from the sirens who once inhabited the tiny Li Galli islets nearby.” The present story is about modern nautical archaeologists, often seekers of underwater treasures, trying to discover the reasons that ships were sunk and using modern day technology to extract secrets.

The 19th century women used many incantations that can protect the coast for a period of time (calm seas for their fishermen husbands, dissipating storms that could cause damages, vortexes and eddys to repel marauders). Only one single spell, the vortice centuriaria, endures for one hundred years. “It could only be recited if a strega removed her protective cimaruta necklace. And the cost of performing such magic was substantial: she had to sacrifice her own life in order for the spell to be effective”.

At the start of each timeline, each main character is the leader in her group of women. Mari, the strongest streghe del mare/sea witch, leads eleven other sea witches who secretly protect the coast in the 1820s, but their numbers dwindle via kidnappings by pirates and village traitors. Present day Haven, a top underwater photographer, leads four other female nautical archeologists in Project Relic (investigating age-old ship wrecks, possibly sunk by Mari!), but soon has her project pulled out from underneath her and her team sent home by unscrupulous rivals and financiers. In both stories, we watch strong women being diminished by men as we hope for the tables to be turned. Sea magic and karma are closely related.

Penney’s descriptions of the Italian seaside now and two hundred years ago will have you craving ricotta cookies and limoncello spritzes. Her women characters are complicated, both experiencing familial grief and hints of romantic entanglements. The story is brilliant and there are twists in both of them. I didn’t want this book to end! Bravo! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO One might think that the women with hair colors of vermillion, persimmon and blood have green eyes, but we never get to know the sirens’ eye colors.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES It’s June and crocus (a late winter/very early spring flower) would be long out of season and never blooming at the same time as chicory. Otherwise, the floral descriptions of the Amalfi coastline have you ready to book a trip even if Mt. Vesuvius is grumbling.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade/Park Row and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Sarah Penner is a treasure to the book world. She strikes gold with this gem of a tale, her third book not disappointing. Once again, Penner creates a strong female protagonist, one you will cheer on from the first page until the last. The setting is exquisite and immersive, making you feel like you're right there, along with the characters, drinking in the coast's beauty. The mystery draws you in and holds your attention with shocking secrets revealed, ones you won't see coming. Is the Amalfi coast cursed or is there more to the story? The answer will shock you! A page-turner you won't want to miss out on!

Set in the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy, Sarah Penner’s “The Amalfi Curse” elaborately entwines together two unique narratives—one from 1821 featuring the powerful strega, or Italian witch, Mari DeLuca, and the other from modern day, following Haven Ambrose, a nautical archaeologist on a special project to uncover the secrets her father left behind. This novel is unlike a typical fantasy, as it is a realistic portrayal of historical events with magical elements. It is not only about secrets and sorcery—it explores the lengths people will go for the ones they love.

Mari, as the most powerful of the streghe, acts as a leader, embodies strength and resilience, and is willing to sacrifice her desires for the safety of her community. Her journey is wrought with challenges and loss, but despite it all, she fiercely fights to defend the other witches and is willing to sacrifice everything for love.

In present day, Haven’s quest to recover lost treasure highlights her desire to connect with her late father, who encouraged her to return to Positano in pursuit of jewels. As she dives deeper in the history of the local shipwrecks, she discovers more than she bargains for.

The parallel tales are intricately crafted, weaving together with themes of empowerment and ancestral legacies. Penner's lyrical writing immerses readers in the rich culture and magic of the sea. The vivid imagery brings the picturesque Positano to life, making the ocean itself feel like a character in the narrative.

The suspense builds beautifully, and while I had some suspicions on how the story would unfold, the journey was anything but predictable. Penner's skillful storytelling captivates, making it near impossible to put the book down.

Overall, "The Amalfi Curse" is a spellbinding tale of enchantment, betrayal, and the treasures that remain unseen. I was left with an appreciation for the mysteries that transcend time, connecting us with the reminder that some curses may only be lifted through love and sacrifice. This is a must-read for anyone charmed by magic and the picturesque Italian coast.

What a beautiful, enthralling read! I was pulled in at page one and didn’t surface until the last page (water pun intended). I can’t remember that last time I was this invested into a story and its characters. I loved every single page of this beautiful, heart-pounding, heartbreaking, and hopeful story.

“Magical Realism, sunken treasure, dual time lines, in an epic setting on the Italian coast mixed with mystery, love and adventure…Sarah Penner has outdone herself in The Amalfi Curse!”

If you loved The Lost Apothecary and The London Seance, The Amalfi Curse is a book to be added to your TBR for April of 2025! Sarah Penner is a master of dual time lines that collide and create a story that is complex with relationships, history, love and so much more! In the Amalfi Curse we meet Mari from the 1800s and Haven from the present time. The story weaves together Haven’s modern day nautical quest as an archaeologist with Mari’s ancient magic in the strenghe, a magical group of women with a strong connection to the water.

This story will captivate you from the beginning with these two powerful women, but Penner also incorporates unique male characters, such as the 1800s Mazza Brothers (gangsters) and the present day Enzo who’s caught Haven’s eye!

You will be immersed in this addictive story along the Amalfi coast until the very end! Thank you to HTP for the opportunity to read this adv

Sarah Penner is in a league of her own with her enchanting, historical tales. I feel like I am a part of her books, watching everything unfold. This is exactly why she's one of my very favorite authors, and I leap for joy at the opportunity to read and review The Amalfi Curse.

The Amalfi Curse is a spellbinding tale that is told between the past and present. We have two fierce FMCs whom I absolutely adored. We explore the rich and ancient history of this coast in Italy that is truly remarkable. I know this took the author some time to write, and I feel tacky saying I read it in a day - but I devoured this book in a day, and I am devastated that it's over.

Sarah Penner knocked this out of the park. This will be your favorite book of 2025, I promise.

The Amalfi Curse
Rating - 4⭐️/loved
Genre - historical fiction

Brb... running to figure out how I can become a nautical archaeologist. (Yes, I did a deep dive - no pun intended!)

Part mysterious, part historical, part witchy, part treasure hunt, all unputdownable. This was an engaging, well paced novel, with so many different elements weaved in. Readers follow dual points of view and timelines with Mari from the 1800s, a young woman learning to harness her magical abilities with the sea, along with Haven in the present day, a nautical archaeologist leading a dive. Set on the Amalfi coast in the small town of Positano, this novel added to my travel bucket list. Not a place I’ve read much about previously, but had me making a deep dive (again). Wow!

As a bonus, the novel had major girl boss energy with two women that are easy to root for - especially Haven with her ambition, caring, and boldness. Overall, an intriguing story with the most picturesque setting that you won't want to miss. If you loved The Lost Apothecary, just wait until you read this one!

I have a thing for pirates and a thing for sea witches and a thing for timeline jumping! I adored the movie Luca and couldn't help picturing that adorable Italian town in my mind while reading this!

I loved traveling to Italy through this story!

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
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Haven is a nautical archaelogist, who is anxious to dive in one of the last places her father dived: off the coast of Positano, Italy. While there she becomes roped into a decades old mystery involving a shipwreck, treasure, magic, and love.
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First of all, I loved this story so much!
Haven and Mari are the sort of brave, passionate, and stubbornly loyal women that I LIVE to read about.
The “decks” (pun intended) were stacked against them both, and they each had to deal with rude people who tried to take control away from them, but they remained true to themselves and those they loved.
This beautiful story goes back and forth between the present timeline and a timeline from the 1820s. I was engrosed in both and couldn’t stop reading to see how each played out.
I especially loved Haven’s detective skills and all the karma we saw in the last few chapters.
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5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Such a lovely and captivating story, if you are a fan of The Lost Apothecary, then you will enjoy The Amalfi Curse for sure.

Oh my heart! What a wonderful storyteller Sarah Penner is. I inhaled this book in less than a day and the emotional journey it took me on will long stay with me!

Dual timelines. Multiple points of view. History. Beautiful backdrop. Mystery and adventure. And love. Reading about Haven’s modern day nautical (mis)adventures in Positano and Mari’s plight in the same place 2 centuries before left me with so many feelings and thoughts! The first was that the ending made every moment of rage I left worth it. The second was that so much of these stories encapsulates why so many women today would choose a bear!

I especially value stories that not only entertain me but that also teach me something and after finishing The Amalfi Curse I immediately fell down the rabbit hole of researching stregheria in Italy. The author brought to life Positano and The Amalfi Coast but also the legends of sea witching and science of nautical archeology. To this reader, a chef’s kiss.

Thank you to The Hive and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early advance copy of The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner.

Our first pov is Mari, a young woman from 1821 who is from a small village where they practice magic known as stregheria, a magical ability to harness the power of the ocean. Think adjacent to a siren, not the same, but similar. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story and the incantations throughout. Mari was planning to run away with her lover who is a sailor aboard a ship, but the Mazza brothers who are dangerous ship merchants find out about the women of Potisanto and plan to kidnap some of Mari's friends. Mari is faced with an impossible choice: choose between saving her fellow witches and villagers or the man she loves.

We have a present-day pov of Haven, a woman in Positano who is an archeologist following in her father's footsteps. She is secretly looking for gems that her father believed he encountered on his last dive. When Haven arrives mishap after mishap occurs. Is nature the cause or is there magic to blame?


In typical Sarah Penner fashion, we start the novel with dual pov's from two entirely different timelines that cross at the end of the story. I have come to love this style of storytelling from Penner. She does a fantastic job telling the story of adventure, forbidden love and magic through the eyes of Mari and Haven. The sea is a third character in this story, it is both magical and beautiful with the ability to give life. Lest we forget how the sea can be dangerous and deadly at the drop of a hat. Haven's father met an untimely death at the hands of the water and yet this does not deter her from trying to finish what he started. I found that to be so beautiful and and daunting, such as the sea.

Penner has a way of writing that truly is so magical, I find myself being completely wrapped up in the story and devour the story. The Amalfi Curse is no different, The Lost Apothecary is the book that reignited my love for reading and The Amalfi Curse should be my 100th finished book of 2024. I am very excited for you all to fall in love with this story once is releases in April 2025.