A review by eggcatsreads
Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi

4.0

 

The much anticipated sequel to Faebound - Cursebound - doesn’t waste any time in getting into the action. With the twist that an elf is able to become faebound to an obeah and another elf becoming the king, tensions are rising within fae society - especially from those who are called “Lightless,” those unable to faebound. In addition to the dangers lurking at home are the dangers present within the elven war, and the revelation that the fae were helping to turn the tide. With the romance between Yeeran and Furi forcing the fae to move out of the elven war, stakes are raised when this risks the fae being exposed. 

This book adds another point of view that adds intrigue to the story, and despite Yeeran being separated for a majority of the novel at no point does it feel like an event isn’t necessary. Many times, authors get bogged down with too many pov characters and sometimes we feel like certain perspectives aren’t needed, or sometimes we’ll leave a high-stakes chapter to read one that feels pointless in comparison. None of that happens in this book, at every point I was engaged and felt like everything that was happening was part of the bigger picture - from Lettle’s discoveries, to Yeeran’s capture, to the very present danger lurking around every corner from every character. I also loved how it was almost impossible to tell who, exactly, was behind the assassination attempts - and yet, it never felt like it wasn’t realistic. It all led to a tension-building reveal where it forces the main characters to acknowledge the buildup of problems as tensions rise and the death count rises. 

Second books in trilogies are notoriously difficult to do, but I feel like with both of her trilogies Saara El-Arifi is able to improve her world building and raise the anticipation for how this series will end. I enjoyed Cursebound more than I did Faebound (not that I didn’t enjoy Faebound), and I am super excited for the third and final book in this trilogy. This book ends with a highly unexpected plot twist that I cannot wait to see how it will be explored in the finale. If you were looking for a political fantasy with romance, secret assassination plots, and actual conflict between the romantic leads, I’d strongly recommend this trilogy. I cannot wait to see how it ends!

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House for providing this e-ARC.