Peculiar Tastes (Zoraida Cordova) Books in Order

Zoraida Cordova's entry in the Peculiar Tastes world is The Captive Merman's Promise, an adult paranormal romance that leans harder into curse lore, desire, and monster fantasy than most of her YA work. It sits inside a larger shared setting, but the story itself works as a standalone, so this page is really about helping you understand what kind of ride her contribution offers.

The heroine, Amada Palacios, comes from a family of women haunted by a curse that always ruins love. Rather than let that damage keep passing down the line, she takes the curse into herself. It is an act of sacrifice, but not a clean one. Amada ends up wandering through life alone, careful not to get too close to anyone who might be hurt by loving her. By the time this story starts, that burden is no longer something she can simply endure. It is getting worse, and she is desperate for a way out.

That desperation sends her to Scotland to find the Grand Master of the Abyss, a figure said to be able to cure any curse for a price. There she encounters Rónán, a merman warrior from a dead kingdom who has spent decades in captivity as part of the Grand Master's collection of oddities. The setup gives the book a strong locked-together energy right away. Both characters are trapped, just in different ways.

This is one of Cordova's darker romances, but it still has a soft center.

The fantasy pieces matter here. You get bruja magic, sea mythology, curses that feel physical, and a hidden magical underworld where bargains always come with a catch. But the book is still romance-forward. The emotional arc depends on loneliness, trust, and the difficult shift from surviving alone to believing another person might actually help carry the weight.

Because this is part of Peculiar Tastes, it is also more openly adult than some readers may expect if they know Cordova mostly from Brooklyn Brujas or The Vicious Deep. It is shorter, steamier, and more direct in its focus on the central couple. Even so, the family wound at the center of Amada's curse keeps it connected to one of Cordova's most familiar interests. Love is never just about two people. It is also about inheritance, fear, and what gets handed down.

So if you are browsing this page, expect a standalone paranormal romance with a merman hero, a cursed bruja heroine, and a mood that mixes yearning with danger. The Captive Merman's Promise fits well if you want fantasy romance that is lush, a little eerie, and much more adult than Cordova's teen shelves.