The Curse of the Wretched

An ancient witch with a vendetta against his kingdom
An earnest prince charged with breaking her curse

Five hundred years ago, the Legendary Balfour vanquished the evil witch Ophesia, saving Genad Kingdom from her heinous curse. So when that same witch crashes his father's coronation and revives the curse, Prince Thom is charged with finishing what Balfour started.

Thom is more diplomat than warrior, and if a throne room of soldiers can't kill the shadow wielding menace, he has little hope of success. Armed with Balfour's ancient journals, Thom hopes to convince Ophesia to free his people with charm instead of steel. But his plan goes sideways when the beautiful and mysterious woman imprisons him, vowing he'll never leave her magical castle hidden in the mountains.

Thom's new prison is much friendlier than he'd expected, with a quartet of enchanted housewares at his beck and call. As Thom learns more about his mysterious captor, he discovers Ophesia's not just an evil witch, but a woman who sacrificed everything for the man she loved once upon a time. And saving his kingdom might just mean mending her broken heart first.

The Curse of the Wretched is the first book in the Wretched Curse series, a spicy, gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling with forced proximity, hidden identities, shadow magic, and slow burn yearning. Perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent's Daughter of No Worlds, Alix E. Harrow's The Everlasting, and Rebecca Ross's A River Enchanted. This is the first fantasy romance from award-winning cozy fantasy and young adult author S. Usher Evans.