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Of Melodies and Maledictions
By Maddox Grey
Narrated by: Cassandra Medcalf, Stephen Godleski, Megan Carver, and Nick Monteleone
Of Melodies and Maledictions is a short (150 pages, or roughly 2 hour audio) novella in the Lingering Fates series that sets the scene for Grey’s standalone romantasy, Of Silver and Curses. In this spicy novella, our two main characters meet — and inevitably fall for each other hard and fast. Scythe, the Witch of the Woods, is the last of her kind. She accidentally stumbles into a heist by a group of travellers, including Cursed Werewolf Talon, who even convinces her to join them at a ball. The two fly through a whirlwind of emotions while they work together for the greater good and can no longer deny their attraction to each other
The story has a LOT of tension and depth for such a short and spicy book, and although this spice level isn’t normally my preference, I was interested enough in the characters and storytelling to listen to the main book, too.
The cast of four narrators made for an honestly great listening experience. Each brought depth and emotion, honestly performing better than some traditionally published, bigger production audio books I’ve listened to recently (looking at you, Bridgerton.)
I’m also a sucker for queer representation, so a nonbinary main character was a big selling point for me.
This also ends on a cliffhanger — so I recommend grabbing the main book, too.
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Of Silver and Curses
By Maddox Grey
Narrated by: Cassandra Medcalf, Stephen Godleski, Megan Carver, and Nick Monteleone
Of Silver and Curses is a spicy, standalone romantasy and the first in an interconnected series featuring by Maddox Grey. It features two lovers turned enemies: Scythe, the last remaining Witch, and Talon, potentially the last Cursed Werewolf. In a twist of fate, the two must put aside their feelings for one another and work together to find their missing sisters. As they progress in their quest and their feelings get more and more confusing, they uncover a much larger plot… and make a huge mistake that binds them together whether they like it or not.
Maddox Grey wove together a really awesome romantasy experience, assuming that you like spice. This book does have quite a lot of it, and it’s not vanilla spice either. It actually had much longer spicy scenes than I generally prefer to read, but I enjoyed the plot and the characters so much that I kept listening anyway.
Talon, our nonbinary werewolf, is still a bit of an enigma to me but i enjoyed their teasing, morally grey nature and their interest in the God of Thieves.
Scythe, our with of the Woods, is the strong FMC I’d like to be (although I’d venture to say she’s too protective of her sister and too jealous, but no one is flawless.) Her earth powers and pride of panthers fascinate me, and honestly based on just vibes sign me UP to be the next Witch of the Woods.
This book’s queer representation is on point; Raven, the sister of Talon and the lover of Scythe’s younger sister, is a beautifully supportive trans woman who might be my favorite character. I also thought her vocal performances were done masterfully.
The narrators in general, actually, did a wonderful job of making this book into a truly entertaining listening experience because they felt like real people.
If you like fated mates, enemies (ish) to lovers, lots of spice, stabby MCs and solid worldbuilding, I recommend Of Silver and Curses by Maddox Grey.
Thank you to Behind the Pages and Maddox Grey for the advance listening copies. All opinions are my own.
The Lingering Fates books are already published but the audio books release on June 17th, 2026! More information about the series, including physical and ebook copies as well as the audio preorder links, can be found on the author’s website.
The Midnight Review 