Cure

by Kali Metis

Overview

Stunned by her brother’s apparent suicide, LUNA AUBER, discovers that he has not only left her the key’s to his apartment but also trip to Sweden. Per his instructions, LUNA is to explore their unexpected heritage of the Birke, an iconic female Viking warrior. Following her beloved brother’s lead, LUNA will soon discover that the terrible shakes he suffered from were misdiagnosed. The shaking was in fact the early stages of his transformation. Her brother was a shapeshifter. A lycanthrope. And her own shaking has just begun. LUNA will be forced to make a choice that could either transform or destroy the world as she knows it. “CURE by Kali Metis is a howling romp that seamlessly blends various voices, genres, and time periods without losing its effortless style. An amalgam of myth, historical fiction, romance, folklore, and horror, Metis cooks delicious conflict into every page as her main character, Luna Auber, bakes cupcakes by day but shifts into something slightly more sinister by night. Fans will surely hope this is the initial book of a series because CURE is worth reading by moonlight and sinking one’s teeth into.” –Suzanne Samples, author of Frontal Matter and Stargazing in Solitude

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781955062312
Publisher:	Running Wild Press
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Writing as Kali Metis, Lisa Kastner was born in one of the most dangerous cities in America. In high school, she was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding and obtained her Bachelors, MBA, and MFA. While fulfilling an amazing corporate career, she began Running Wild, LLC. Lisa was named to Yahoo Finance's Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2021, nominated to Forbes NEXT 1000, featured in Forbes and named to New York Weekly’s Top Ten Females to Watch in 2021.

Table of Contents

Part 1 – A Family History Chapter 1 – The Key Chapter 2 – And He’s Gone Interlude 1 – I’m Related to What? - Daniel Chapter 3 – The Morgue Chapter 4 – The Reckoning Interlude 2 – Freya Meets Her Future Chapter 5 – Luna Embarks on Her Destiny Interlude 3 – Freya’s Future in a Visitor Chapter 6 – The Bakery Calls Interlude 4 – The Mating of Freya and Ulf of Bjorn Chapter 7 – This Is Sweden? Interlude 5 – This Is Married Life? Freya’s Unexpected New Lifestyle Chapter 8 – Let the History Lessons Begin Interlude 6 – Our Wolves - The Truth of Freya and Ulf’s Land Raids Chapter 9 – Even Birkas Have Libraries Interlude 7 – The Howling - Freya Chapter 10 – The Librarian Chapter 11 – Luna’s Ancestral Origins Interlude 8 – How We Came to Be - Freya Chapter 12 – The Truth Is Almost There Interlude 9 – The Lycanthropes - Freya Chapter 13 – Coming to Terms... Interlude 10 – The Wolf Guard - Freya Dives Into Ulf’s Origins Chapter 14 – The Discovery of TLS Interlude 11 – A Seeress and a Warrior; Hiwa and Freya Chapter 15 – An Ancestor Is A Legend Interlude 12 – The Seeress and The Birka - Freya Chapter 16 – The Birka’s Gift Interlude 13 – The Warrior and the Wolf - Freya Chapter 17 – The Miracle Cure Interlude 14 – The Warrior and the Wolf Continued - Freya Chapter 18 – The Newly Changed Returns Home Interlude 15 – The Lovers Return - Freya Chapter 19 – The Bakery Interlude 16 – Are We Warriors or Wolves? - Freya Chapter 20 – And Then the World Transformed Interlude 17 – Now We Are Warriors - Freya Chapter 21 – From Quiet to Chaos Interlude 18 – For Our Daughter - Freya Chapter 22 – The True Reason for the Cure Interlude 19 – We Are a Family of Warriors - Freya Chapter 23 – Time to Use the Cure Interlude 20 – You Must Move On - Freya Chapter 24 – Sometimes You Just Need to Get Even Interlude 21 – Daniel’s Search for Truth - Daniel Chapter 25 – Revenge Delayed Interlude 22 – Daniel Discovers a New World Chapter 26 – Luna’s Revenge Delayed Interlude 23 – Daniel’s Great Escape Chapter 27 – To Save Javier Interlude 24 – Daniel in Hiding Chapter 28 – Making Sure Javier Is Okay Interlude 25 – Freya Becomes the Birka Chapter 29 – When the Past and Present Meet Chapter 30 – Luna’s Learnings Continue Chapter 31 – Luna Visits the Police Station Chapter 32 – Sometimes It’s Better to Just Listen Interlude 26 – Chago’s Truth – His First Meeting with Daniel Chapter 33 – Luna Listens to Chago’s Tale and Guidance Chapter 34 – Luna and Chago - Continued Interlude 27 – Chago’s Visit with Daniel – Continued Chapter 35 – Luna’s Pursuits Chapter 36 – Luna’s Enlightenment Begins in Dreams Chapter 37 – The Truth Shall Set You (and Me) Free Interlude 28 – Chago’s Family History Chapter 38 – Birger Warns of Chago. Now what? Interlude 29 – Chago’s Life Interlude 30 – Chago Shares TRG’s History Chapter 40 – The Intruder Is Educated Interlude 31 — The Lycanthrope History Continued - Chago Chapter 41 – History to Repeat Itself - Luna Interlude 32 – The True Lycanthropic History According to Chago. Chapter 42 – The First Expulsion but Not the Last Interlude 33 – The Origins of The Lycanthrope Society - Chago Chapter 43 – Luna’s Excommunication...Sort Of Chapter 44 – Yup, This Is Excommunication Chapter 45 – Sometimes You Just Need to Do What You Think Is Right Chapter 46 – Hospital Visit to Javier Chapter 47 – TRG’s True Calling Chapter 48 – Give. It. Up. Chapter 49 – The Lostgroves Chapter 50 – The Expansion of TRG Chapter 51 – Luna and Javier Chapter 52 – Time to Complete the UN Representation — Chago Chapter 53 – The Lostgrove Sister Chapter 54 – This Shit Just Gets Freakier Chapter 55 – Chago, The Future Is TRG Chapter 56 – Luna Must Reveal Her Findings Chapter 57 – The United Nations Security Council Chapter 58 – The Great Reveal Chapter 59 – The True Purposes of TLS and TRG Chapter 60 – TRG Indoctrination Continues Chapter

Editorial Reviews

"A study of otherness, identity, and belonging in the shape of a high-stakes supernatural adventure, Metis changes up the werewolf genre in a beguiling mix of medieval and modern. With a touch of romance and a good dose of danger, CURE eclipses expectations.” —Lee Murray, USA Today Bestselling Author and Bram Stoker Award® winner

 

"The stakes couldn't be higher for Luna. Love, health, safety, family, identity—they're all in play as she sets out on a journey that stretches across continents and centuries and finally into the mystical, a menacing world of secrets and myths and shapeshifters. In CURE, Kali Metis deftly weaves storylines of past and present that hurtle toward a breathtaking climax that make it impossible to put down this spellbinding tale." —Curtis Smith, author of The Magpie’s Return, named best of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews 




“Kali Metis is an exciting and unique new voice in modern fantasy and a writer you need to pay attention to.” —Taylor Grant, Bram Stoker Award® Finalist and author of The Many Deaths of Cole Parker 

From the Publisher

2022-02-07
A woman discovers her shape-shifting heritage in Metis’ debut urban fantasy novel.

Luna Auber works at a bakery where her preternatural ability to sense customers’ favorite flavors is put to good use. She can sometimes sense bad things as well, like the jolt she gets right before the call letting her know her brother, Daniel, is dead. Daniel died of an apparent suicide, but he left Luna a map and two tickets to Sweden. Luna doesn’t know much about their origins—she and Daniel were adopted as children—but recently, after being diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease, Daniel started trying to find answers in their genetic lineage. “You need to do this,” reads the note Daniel left Luna. “It’s the key to who we are and it’s the cure. The only cure.” Luna follows Daniel’s trail to Sweden, where she learns that Daniel did not suffer from a degenerative disease at all. Rather, she and her brother are descendants of the Birka: ancient lycanthropes, or, as they are more commonly called, werewolves. Luna will soon begin her own process of transformation—which, of course, she wants no part of. Even more horrifying is the knowledge that there are other werewolves out there…and not all of them are nice. Metis’ prose is urgent and pulpy, capturing the animalistic energy of Luna’s new life: “She tore her shirt off in readiness for the change, eager to feel her teeth lengthen to their hungry fangs. Her hands arched into sharpened claws. Her legs began to get longer, they were ready for the pounce.” The book comes up with a fun origin for the werewolves, rooting them in the pagan mists of the Viking age. Otherwise, the novel is a fairly standard urban fantasy offering. The opening is compelling, but as it progresses, the story becomes significantly less impressive. Fans of the genre may find this a passable offering, but the general reader will not lose much by skipping it.

A sometimes original but more often derivative werewolf tale.

Kirkus Reviews