They Are Cursed Like You

Trailer Park Witches Book 1

Fiction - Horror
246 Pages
Reviewed on 09/21/2023
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Holley Cornetto is a writer, librarian, professor, book reviewer, and transplanted southerner who now calls New Jersey home. She is the author of They Are Cursed Like You published in 2023 by Eerie River Publishing and We Haunt These Woods in 2022 from Bleeding Edge Books. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines such as Daily Science Fiction, Flame Tree Press Newsletter, Dark Recesses Press, and anthologies from Cemetery Gates Media, Eerie River Publishing, Dark Ink, and several others. In 2020, she was awarded a grant from the Ladies of Horror Fiction. In addition to writing The Horror Tree’s weekly newsletter, she regularly reviews for Publisher's Weekly and The Horror Tree. She teaches creative writing in the online MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University. Find her on Twitter @HLCornetto.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

They Are Cursed Like You is a work of fiction in the fantasy, action, and horror subgenres, and it forms the opening novel of the Trailer Park Witches book series. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience owing to some mild violence and content surrounding death. Penned by author team Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green, this engaging novel takes readers on a thrilling and eerie journey through the lives of Courtney and Loretta, two women whose fates intersect in unexpected ways. Set against the gritty backdrop of Shady Acres Trailer Park, Courtney and her friends long to escape the bleakness of their lives, and their encounters with an older coven of witches seem like a ticket to happiness. However, as their desires come true, they realize that magic comes with a price, and the consequences of their choices unravel with chilling intensity.

Author duo Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green have crafted a brilliant series opener with an instantly engaging atmosphere of dread and suspense, drawing readers into a world where magic and darkness coexist. The trailer park setting adds to the sense of hopelessness and despair, making it the perfect backdrop for a horror tale, yet the story explores themes of magic, dreams, desperation, and female empowerment to offer a light at the end of the tunnel. The construction of dual perspectives, through Courtney and Loretta, offers a striking contrast between youthful optimism and the hard-won wisdom of experience, offering authentic female voices of all ages the chance to shine. Overall, They Are Cursed Like You is a gripping and thought-provoking read that delivers on its promise of blood, guts, and horror while also delving into deeper themes of identity, choices, and the price of magic. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

Pikasho Deka

They Are Cursed Like You is the first book in the Trailer Park Witches series by Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green. When Courtney and her friends stumble upon an ancient spell book, they see a chance to leave their struggling lives in the Shady Acres Trailer Park. They meet four older witches of a coven experiencing the last vestiges of their magical abilities. Despite the protests of the ailing witch Loretta, her companions teach the teenagers blood sacrifice rituals that grant people their wishes. Meanwhile, Courtney's drug-addicted mother is back home, while the girl she loves, Dani, uses magic to get rid of her abusive mother's boyfriend. But now, a terrifying entity has returned, seeking the blood price of the magic while infighting threatens to destroy the two covens. Are Courtney and her friends doomed like the older witches?

They Are Cursed Like You is a gripping rollercoaster of thrills, suspense, mystery, and blood magic. Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green knock it out of the park with the first installment in a book series that feels like a weird hybrid love child of Pretty Little Liars and American Horror Story placed in a trailer park setting. Using two main POV characters, the authors tell a captivating tale of murder, magic, and betrayal that will have you biting your nails over and over again at different points of the story. The narrative is very well-paced, and you want to know what's coming next and finish the book before taking a break. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the sequels. This one is for supernatural/horror thriller aficionados.

Keith Mbuya

After their initiation to become witches by Belladonna, an old powerful witch, all Loretta and her coven had known were the perks of wielding power. They had everything they desired and did anything they wanted. Twenty years later, things started falling apart as the coven learned that it no longer possessed magic abilities. As Belladonna put it, they had run out of luck. One of Belladonna’s sacred books found its way into Courtney’s hands. She was a teenage girl from a poor neighborhood. Courtney’s mother Christie, now a junkie, had been friends with Loretta’s coven but had bailed out during the initiation ritual. Courtney and her friends could not resist the idea of belonging to a coven and having magical powers. Loretta’s coven saw this as an opportunity to fix their problem with magic and end their streak of bad luck. Loretta’s recent struggles had her regretting her choices made twenty years before. She tried to stop Courtney and her friends from being initiated into the coven but failed. Get yourself They Are Cursed Like You: Trailer Park Witches Book 1 by Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green to discover what follows.

Lovers of horror stories based on a compelling tale of fate, destiny, black magic, deceit, vengeance, love, evil, high school drama, teenage feuds, broken homes, and toxic friendships will not be able to put down Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green’s They Are Cursed Like You once they open this page-turner. Featuring a macabre yet subtle storyline, the authors weave an intriguing plot with an enthralling array of participants. Just when I thought I had figured out where the story was headed, I would be treated to a plot twist that I never saw coming. The authors switch between the parallel timelines effortlessly, giving the storyline a beautiful flow. The vivid descriptions propelled me into a world of horror and adventure. Courtney is an intelligent and, at times, hot-headed girl who, like her other friends, always seems to fall for Dani’s manipulative whims. On the other hand, Dani is bad news and ultimately a persuasive voice among her friends who are influenced into making bad choices.

Jessica Barbosa

Holley Cornetto’s and S.O. Green’s first book in the Trailer Park Witches series They Are Cursed Like You starts when Courtney, a teenage girl who lives in Shady Acres Trailer Park, took a book of spells from the old Mason house she had recently cleaned. Nothing was more important to her or her friends than getting out of the awful place they lived in, and it appeared that this book would provide them with the power they craved. One day, the girls met a group of women who assured them that following their instructions would fulfill their deepest desires. Even while Courtney was still young and inexperienced, she was wise enough to recognize that their motives were masking something sinister. Power, after all, carries a heavy burden. However, the girls had already become entangled in this dangerous situation, which created a distance between Courtney and the girl she loves. Will they be able to unshackle themselves from the dangers of power? Find out in They Are Cursed Like You!

They Are Cursed Like You by Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green is a fast-paced, action-packed, and well-written story. From the minute I started reading, I got chills from the explicit descriptions of the locations or events, especially the rituals that the coven performed. The spells that the girls performed made me intrigued and concerned about what would happen next and what consequences would befall them since their magic was too good to be given just for free. Loretta was my favorite character out of everyone. Her strong character and tough demeanor made me wish that every chapter was about her. But, of course, I undoubtedly liked Courtney as well because she was much wiser than I was when I was her age. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the way the story unfolded. I'm excited to see what occurs next in the Trailer Park Witches series. Outstanding work!

Essien Asian

Twenty years ago, four friends killed a rabbit on the instructions of a witch because they believed it would grant them all their hearts desired, which included taking them away from Shady Acres, the trailer park they called their home. Loretta, Anais, Triss, and Elaine could not have had better luck and, with the mysterious Belladonna Mason leading them, the sky was the limit. As with all things of this world, however, the bill came due. It transpired that there were certain clauses in the contract that Belladonna conveniently neglected to mention, especially the part about repayment. Time was running out for the four young women but not all of them were willing to fall in line once more. Loretta wanted out but was she willing to accept the consequences, especially when she discovered that it would affect someone dear to her? Find out in They Are Cursed Like You: Trailer Park Witches Book 1 by Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green.

A real horror story plays itself out in this collaboration between Holley Cornetto and S.O. Green. What immediately stands out about this particular tale is the simplicity with which the terms of the agreement between the principal antagonist and the acolytes are stated. There is no hidden motive, no tricky alternative, just a simple exchange that is so expertly crafted it reeks of opportunistic innocence. Cornetto and Green give their characters the human edge that we can all identify with when it comes to our base desires. Their conversations vary from quick-witted to deep contemplation but be it the original quartet or Courtney and her crew, it is a reflection of the same character dynamics in force with a filial connection ready to pop up and raise the reader's eyebrows. The best part of this story is the absence of the kind of gore that has gradually become the signature of modern horror novels. Rather, there is almost a tinge of poetry involved. They Are Cursed Like You is put together so beautifully that I cannot wait to read its sequel.