Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Garden of the Cursed

I'm simply obsessed with the way KRP writes character dynamics. It was really refreshing to come off a different book thinking I hated miscommunication tropes, only to watch Marlow and Adrius stumble their words around each other in pursuit of the mystery and never quite knowing where their power dynamic stood. Very interested to see where book 2 goes.

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fromjuliereads's review

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book! I think Katy Rose Pool is quickly becoming a favourite author for me. Her characters are just so fantastic! Not to mention that she does a great job of giving the reader the information for backstories and the world with it feeling seamlessly weaved in - at least to me. And the twists in this book were well done! I loved the reveals.

My one small criticism is that I felt like I learned things integral to a character a little ways into this book. Which is nothing bad, but it kind of had me stopping for a second trying to remember if I already knew that detail but I don't think I did... it didn't take away from the experience for me, but was something I noticed. But I LOVED these characters. Marlow and Adrius are fantastic, I want more o Gemma, and PROTECT SWIFT AT ALL COSTS.

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themoonphoenix's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Garden Of The Cursed is an atmospheric story with excellent tropes, which makes it a unique and original story. We have: Curses and a curse breaker investigating how to break a dangerous and legendary curse. A high society with treacherous politics, secrets, and dances. And ex-friends who will pretend to be together but could be hiding their true feelings.

Marlow Briggs is a curse breaker who is investigating the disappearance of her mother, but she needs information in circles which she has no access to until Adrius Falcreast returns to her life. He has been cursed and does not know who else to trust, it's a powerful and dangerous curse, taken from history books and fairy tales. To investigate who cursed him and how to break it, they pretend to be together, she will accompany him to the most important parties of the season.

The characters are little gray moral characters, smart and realistic, Marlow is brave and loyal, and Adrius is the golden boy of society. I liked the scenes about their past together, their present motives, and the romance, is slow burn; love the banter in public and in private. And the secondary characters, were great too, but my favorite was not a human, but a cat who can detect curses.

The setting was wonderful, palaces, libraries, and night dates, love the air of mystery, the secrets, and the world of high society, beautiful outside but dangerous inside. It feels like a Belle Époque setting with Art Nouveau architecture.

I enjoy the story, but I would have liked it to be a bit longer or more descriptive, about the magic system, curses, libraries and grimoires, about ball gowns and palaces. But that's my opinion, I think that for most the pacing will be ideal.

The ending has a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more and creates expectations for the next book.

Read if you like:
Fantasy, magic, mystery, and atmospheric settings
Dangerous curses
A cat who perceives curses (and deserves more scenes)
Friends to haters to fake dating

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