Author: Emma Hinds
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's |
Synopsis:
Cursed with eternity, haunted by love–discover the truth about living forever in this achingly atmospheric dark academia fantasy
Emrys Swift is so dead. One hundred and fifty seven years worth of dead, to be exact. He’s a Revenant, nightcursed, destined to be stuck being seventeen forever. Hidden away, he spends his infinite days as an undead librarian of witchlore at the NeverEnd library–until a new Revenant arrives and magical artifacts start going missing, jeopardizing his beloved home.
Emrys’s mortal enemy and annoyingly attractive shapeshifter Aubrey Vale is determined to solve the mystery – with Emrys’s help. Suddenly Emrys and Aubrey are magically bonded together on a quest into the dark and frost-bitten world of night-kin. But as Emyrs and Aubrey interrogate ghosts and face drowning by mermaids, deathly creatures aren’t the only spectres haunting them. With the ghoulish Night Hunt chasing them down, can they outrun the secrets of Emrys’ death and Aubrey’s life? And if they can save NeverEnd’s future, can they have a future together?
Hauntingly gorgeous and tender, Emma Hinds’ Nightcurse is both a Gothic mystery and an enemies-to-lovers romance about navigating life and love in the face of death.
Emrys Swift is so dead. One hundred and fifty seven years worth of dead, to be exact. He’s a Revenant, nightcursed, destined to be stuck being seventeen forever. Hidden away, he spends his infinite days as an undead librarian of witchlore at the NeverEnd library–until a new Revenant arrives and magical artifacts start going missing, jeopardizing his beloved home.
Emrys’s mortal enemy and annoyingly attractive shapeshifter Aubrey Vale is determined to solve the mystery – with Emrys’s help. Suddenly Emrys and Aubrey are magically bonded together on a quest into the dark and frost-bitten world of night-kin. But as Emyrs and Aubrey interrogate ghosts and face drowning by mermaids, deathly creatures aren’t the only spectres haunting them. With the ghoulish Night Hunt chasing them down, can they outrun the secrets of Emrys’ death and Aubrey’s life? And if they can save NeverEnd’s future, can they have a future together?
Hauntingly gorgeous and tender, Emma Hinds’ Nightcurse is both a Gothic mystery and an enemies-to-lovers romance about navigating life and love in the face of death.
This is a tough book to review. There are things in this book that kept me interested, but more in a "where is this going" way than it having me on the edge of my seat to find out. This book took me quite some time to finish.
It was not enjoyable to be stuck in Emrys' head the whole time for this book, I think if it had been dual POV with any of the other characters it could've added some complexity or nuance to the story. Emrys was a little annoying for most of the book, and often only thought of himself and how things were affecting him. Him being tasked with being Sosa's mentor for him had little to do with helping her adjust, and more to do with proving himself to other people to benefit himself later. And when he messes up and losing that position, in stead of apologizing to Sosa for neglecting his duties, he finds a way to make it about himself.
Aubrey wasn't any better, they really are two sides of the same coin when it comes to things. Everything is also about what can benefit himself, and who is the most useful. But since he's the other Main character, or the main side-character, I think POV chapters from him could have been useful.
As for Sosa, her presence at the start of this book made it seem like she was going to be more involved with the plot, but she was hardly there for most of the book. I think she was supposed to represent the sister Emrys lost when he died, but I don't think it did the leg work to get there. Tommy and Madeline are the other younger revenants in this book, and they almost don't matter for the plot of the book until the very end of the story.
Just a lot of this book felt a little all over the place. I feel that there are a number of loose ends, but I also feel like there isn't any more story to tell. I just don't really know how to feel about this book. I think if I liked the characters more, I could forgive the things parts that I didn't enjoy as much.
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