Cursed Dagger, The

Ian Quicksilver, secret alien prince, has eleven days to make Princess Arianna fall in love with him and break the magician Silivus's curse—or watch his planet fall. But Silivus has doomed the courtship itself: every time Ari feels affection, she poisons herself. When Ian accepts a deadly challenge instead, a cursed dagger binds his life to a rampaging dragon. With his gruff mentor Corbin, a sassy alien horse, and a fatherly veterinarian, Ian races toward his sixteenth birthday and a final magical showdown.

• A hero who's still terrible at being a hero—Ian is a warrior prince who can't win a swordfight OR a date
• Laugh-out-loud banter meets a genuinely high-stakes, planet-saving quest
• A love story where falling in love literally makes the girl sick—thanks to a diabolical curse
• Clean, wholesome content with real peril, sacrifice, and a heartfelt father-son bond

“Thanks to Silivus, the galaxy's magician of all things evil, my heart rate was jacked up knowing I had eleven days to hit it off with Ari, join our magic, and bust out of Earth to save our planets.”

Perfect for a middle-grade or young-teen reader who loves funny, action-driven sci-fi/fantasy adventures with a clueless-but-brave hero, banter-heavy dialogue, and a slow-burn clean romance.