Riley’s desire to turn her family’s gift for breaking curses into a paying business brings her to Scotland to break a long-lasting curse on Arden Castle that is preventing tourism in the surrounding area. Upon arriving, Riley instantly develops a connection with disgraced archaeologist Clark Edgeware…that is, until Clark, who is also working at Arden Castle, tries to get Riley fired to aid his quest for professional redemption. Despite their animosity towards each other, including an array of hijinks from both parties aimed at driving the other away, Riley and Clark keep finding themselves drawn closer together until their growing attraction becomes impossible to deny.
Do Your Worst is a spicy contemporary romance with paranormal elements featuring the “enemies to lovers” and forced proximity tropes. Do Your Worst would be perfect for fans of books like My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine, The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, Something Wilder by Christina Lauren, Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, and Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn. Themes and topics present include language and communication, history and folklore, archaeology, family, legacy, lies and deception, reputation, loneliness and isolation, teamwork, appearance versus reality, as well as love and sacrifice.
Personally, the plot of Do Your Worst didn’t come across as very engaging, and this may be due to the fact I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction and although it’s set in the present, there are a lot of historical elements interwoven into the story including the folklore surrounding the ancient curse as well as the history of and the archaeological dig at Arden Castle. This may have led to struggling to find that connection with the main characters and at one point, I became frustrated that they almost went out of their way to try to remain in the “enemies” category, despite having obvious shared interests and mutual attraction.
On the plus side, the mix of archaeology and curse breaking in the plot appeared to be very unique and the paranormal or cruse breaking elements created an almost eerie vibe, which perfectly matches the Halloween and autumn season. There was a good amount of slow burn romance and spice throughout Do Your Worst, which is perfect for fans of the “enemies to lovers” trope. The ending of the book was fantastic as it was very fitting plus the investigative or mystery elements that went into Riley’s curse breaking work as well as the humorous moments that arose during Riley and Clark’s prank-like antics were enjoyable!
If you’re looking for a spicy “enemies to lovers” romance with paranormal elements to add to your autumn TBR list, you should definitely check out Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan!
Do Your Worst is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of November 14th 2023.
Will you be picking up Do Your Worst? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become enemies-with-benefits in this steamy romance.
Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.
Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.
Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.
