The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner

A spellbinding journey along the Amalfi Coast — Sarah Penner weaves mystery, magic, and betrayal into a story you won’t forget.

Publisher: legend_press

Author: sarah_penner_author

Publication: May 1st 2025

Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse...

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artefacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean.

Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever...

My Thoughts

I am absolutely spellbound by The Amalfi Curse!

Sarah Penner has done it again, crafting a story so intoxicating and magical that I never wanted it to end. One of my most favourite parts was her masterful use of a non-linear timeline. The way the story moves back and forth between past and present isn’t just a connective choice; it builds the narrative layer by layer, each chapter reveals new secrets, and when the past finally collides with the present, it happens in such a breathtaking, seamless way, much like what Sarah did in The Lost Apothecary, that it completes the story with an almost magical smoothness.

The tale of the sea witches (the Strega) and their deep, mystical bond with the ocean was completely enchanting. I found myself utterly drawn to their power, their traditions, their fierce loyalty to both family and the elements. Honestly, I didn’t just admire the Strega, I wanted to be one, commanding the tides and weaving ancient magic into the waves themselves.

The characters are richly layered: there’s Haven, a sea diver, the modern-day protagonist whose trip to Positano is shadowed by secrets she doesn’t yet understand, but led by her late fathers wreck discoveries and the looming threat of Mount Versevius and Mari, the 17th-century Strega whose choices ripple forward through time. We also read from Mari’s love interest, Holmes who is a sailer on one of the vessels headed for Positano and lead by the infamous Mazza brothers!

Every character feels achingly real, their hopes, fears, and betrayals binding the two timelines together in a way that feels both inevitable and devastating.

The Amalfi Curse is the kind of book that lingers long after the last page. A story about legacy, power, love, and the cost of secrets kept too long.