This is the second book in the series and I didn't realize it when starting the book. Because of that I was a bit lost in the book and trying to catch up on the story line.

Do not read this as a stand alone. This is a book two and you do need to read book one to fully understand what is happening. With that being said. I thought it was exceptional! It did have some build up in the beginning that I had to make my way through but about half way in it really started to kick up. Development of plot and characters was very well done in my opinion.

I did not read the first book and this caused a problem because there wasn't enough "catching up" in the second story for readers. I wished there were more connections and understanding for readers!

Excellent use of setting and dialogue to push the plot and characters.
Felyn and Varz have a marriage of convenience in order to bring peace to their lands. Felyn will be his wife for one year and they will not be husband and wife in the true sense of the word. Of course, this will become a huge obstacle for both parties.
I thought the characters were well-developed and the plot intriguing. Felyn encounters resistance on every side but always manages to keep her dignity.
Varz, in my opinion, was something of an idiot at times. That's all part of his character arc, but the predictability of his scorn and ignorance became tedious. When Felyn needs him the most, he's too busy pity-partying to listen to reason.
Both characters feel inadequate and blame themselves for some death or another. Their lack of self-assurance makes them relatable and as they learn to see themselves through the eyes of the other, they redeem their previous experiences.
The book was well-written and had a few unique plot points that I found interesting. Although this was book two and I've not read book one, I did not feel too lost. There are a lot of people mentioned in the first chapter, but remembering their names was not important to the rest of the story.
*Disclaimer: As there are mildly explicit bedroom scenes in this book, I would not recommend for some ages.
I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I didn't know this was the socond bok in a series before I started it. It was a lot confusing for me. I'll have to read the first book first so I can understand this one a little better before reviewing it.
I did read some pages and while the story was interesting, i do have to read the first book to get the gist of it.

Can love and sacrifice conquer a curse? When Felyn was a young, defenseless witch, she was cursed to live as a shape shifter—a deadly panther. She might have been rescued and raised by a noble and powerful leader, but she lives in fear she will hurt those she loves in her animal form so each full moon she hides deep in the forest. But how can she refuse her adoptive father’s plea for an arranged marriage with a new ally? After all, it’s temporary and in name only… Varz agrees to an arranged marriage reluctantly because he needs the military and diplomatic alliance. He has secrets and a growing power struggle back home. He's relieved he need only marry the young witch for a year until he meets his bride. Felyn is beautiful and intelligent and not easy to ignore, but Varz is a man of his word. His vow to leave his bride untouched will be the hardest one he has had to keep.
When I received this book, I didn’t realize it was the next book in a trilogy. While I liked the book, the confusion over what was missed in the first book made it a bit less enjoyable and hard to get into. I might go back and read the first book and give this was a re-read after a bit.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Felyn's Curse was an interesting and imaginative book to read. As I read the other reviews, I also admit I did not read the first book and this placed me at a disadvantage. There was not a lot of "catching up" in the second story for readers. Suffice to say, Felyn is a pretty spectactular character, filled with awe and a strong presence. Her interactions with Varz create a great draw to each other. I had wished there was a bit more connection and the story was a little more original, but overall, worth a read.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book.
I only made it 50 pages into this book and DNF'd it. This is not going to be a true review and rating, as i didn't really read it. It probably didn't help that this was the 2nd book and starts right where the first one left off. I was confused and the book didn't grab me. I found the writing not very intriguing and the characters were unlikeable. The world building was interesting though. The characters felt like stereotypes. Supposedly the book gets better as it goes on, which may be true. I wish I could say I was intrigued enough to continue it, but I don't. I will preface that I don't really like straight romance novels, which is what this appears to be.
If you like fantasy romance novels this is for you! I like really strong characters and world building and this just felt rather flat to me.

I ended up not finishing this book. I liked the plot ideas, and I'm 100% there for paranormal fantasy. I really thought that I would like the characters, but it was all just way too on the surface for me. "He did this, then she did that, so then he did this" without digging deeper into the emotional motivations of the characters, or the bigger picture even really. The writing just felt stilted and boring. It may be that the problem is I came into the middle of the series. But I suspect that this writer's style just doesn't mesh with my brain well. I am sure this might be a book others would like, and I did give it a good go (I considered not finishing at 20% but read all the way to 80% before I actually gave up). Hope you enjoy it if you do go for it.

I love this cover. I wish the story gripped me as much as it did. This fantasy is set in a an age where mankind is just beginning to end their hunter gatherer ways and build communities where they could farm and live in one place. Nancy does a great job of creating a society with all the rules and politics. Someone in this world is always trying to wrest power from someone else.

Felyn and Varz are caught in the middle of it all trying to accomplish something truly worthy…They are trying to maintain an alliance that will stop slavery. Their marriage was supposed to secure the alliance but it seems to cause more damage to Varz’s community than it helps in some ways. It gives a rival the ammo he needs to undermine Varz’s leadership in the community. To Felyn’s credit, she overcomes many prejudices in the community. She offers friendship, healing, and strength to the community slowly. Although she and Varz were never supposed to fall in love or consummate their marriage, they soon find themselves in over their heads and needing each other to survive.

Finally Felyn eventually breaks the curse and finds her HEA just as I like. She writes a very dynamic world and story, but I feel there were too many obstacles for Felyn to overcome to get to her HEA. Nancy kept us tied to each of them as she wrapped them up with bows, but it was bit tiring to get through. I’m giving this a 4 of 5 because of that. I will say it is an interesting read and if you love fantasy, this might be for you.

I love tales of magic and fantasy and everything about the story appealed to me on paper. but the story as it evolved was not quite what I expected.

Felyn is cursed to be a shape shifter, a panther. Promised for reasons of state, she is married to Varz and leaves her family behind to live with people who are afraid of her magic. Even as Varz finds her attractive he's determined on a marriage of name for one year at which time the alliance between his people and hers will be cemented and he'll be free to marry where he choses.

Between political infighting where Varz's right to rule is under threat and the attraction between Felyn and Varz tha could jeopardize their future and a man eating panther who is roaming in Varz's territory even as Felyn changes to a panther at the full moon create a complicated tale where all ends well but the story did not absorb and hold my attention as I had expected.

Okay, like many readers I also did not know that this was the second in a trilogy. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely and was only confused for about 5% of the book!

The writing and characters were great and I flew through it!

This is book two in the series and although I didn't read the first book, I felt a little lost since this book picks up right after the events of book one. There is mention of characters and situations that aren't re-hashed so you only get limited information. Would recommend reading book 1 first as this one isn't quiet a stand-alone read.

I liked the concept of the world this author built but I had a hard time connecting to the main characters. Varz ran so hot and cold with Felyn. Then Felyn did the same. There was hardly any communication between these two. There were some heavy issues brought up that had potential to make this an angsty read (Varz' nephew, Varz' lover/mother of his child, Varz' aunt, even Dur and Neela) but the dry dialogue and stilted interaction with everyone never was able to convey it. Things were eventually brushed under the rug and never fully resolved, just forgotten.

As a romance it was lacking that emotional connection and it felt more like lust than genuine love.

This held my attention because like I mentioned before the world building had potential but there just wasn't enough to keep the story afloat. .The characters definitely needed some more fleshing out.

Felyn’s Curse is the second book in the Witch King Trilogy by Nancy Holland. While it has ties to the first book, I think it could be read as a stand-alone. This fantasy setting is a time of magic, a time of suspicion and a time of battles and alliances. All of this comes into play for Felyn and her curse.

Varz, the hero of the story has many flaws, some easier to forgive than others. Felyn forgive him way faster than I could have. Felyn is the more likable character who wants to do what is right although there are times that her actions seem out of her control, thanks to the curse. Finding love never seemed to be an option for her so she does the best that she can. This arranged marriage plot works for the characters and their struggles.

I was unaware that Felyn's Curse was the second of "The Witch King" series. Regardless, the book still allowed for a good stand-alone. At least this is how I felt with about 90% of the book.

Half-way through, I started to enjoy this book, where the build-up and anticipation of the story was more focused. Only then was I unable to put the book down until the very last page.

Felyn was a timid young woman who bravery married a stranger and politically to better her people and Varz. When confronted with a displeasing situation she remained silent and seemed to not stand up for herself. In light of this, I understand her reasoning for remaining quiet. "Patience".
Varz was a natural born leader who's main priority was the bettering of this people. He was often suspicious throughout the book, particularly with Felyn's secret on her curse. Perhaps his suspicious expand to wariness and having to be constantly alert to enemies.

Felyn and Varz are the typical "love at first sight" couple, with the presumption of "married in name only". Both deny their immediate attraction, and borderline refer to their mutual feelings as a curse.

With the book drawing to a close, the ending made me feel warm and fuzzy. It receives a similar reaction to old memories, thinking of my adopted gran's collection of the old Mills & Boons books. Remembering when I was crawled up on the small window seat in the corner reading nook, just off the dining room, reading in the late afternoon sun.

Star rating: 3.5
** I received a copy of Felyn’s Curse by Nancy Holland via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
#FelynsCurse #NetGalley

When requesting this book, I hadn't realized this was the second in the series, which is completely my fault. However, even without having read the first book, this was quite easy to read as a stand-alone..

I hadn't expected to enjoy this as much as I did! This reads like a modern, sexy fairy tale and I gobbled it up like hot cakes! There were some issues with abrupt POV-switches, but other than that this read well and the story was really entertaining. Definitely recommend for lovers of paranormal romance.

This book was received as an ARC from Tule Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book completely took my breath away in the excitement and anticipation throughout the entire book. The concept completely reminded me of Once Upon a Time and how this could be a new character with the special gift/curse of being a shapeshifter and forced to marry for royalty and gaining an ally for her father's kingdom. But, when the prince realizes that Felyn's beauty and vowed to only stay married to her for a year until this is all over, but will he end up falling for her in the end. I could not stop reading this book from cover to cover and loved every page and every chapter. I just know our readers will go crazy for this.

We will consider adding this book to our Romance collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I hadn't read the first in this series and so approached it as a standalone and I quite enjoyed it. I felt that the characters were entertaining and engaging enough to keep my interest and as such I read it quite quickly. If all you want is a romance with some action then this is the book for you. Just an easy read.

I enjoyed this but I found it to be just like the previous book, just seemed to be a repeat of the same plot and although I liked the characters and story because I had just read the first it didn’t thrill me, an interesting story but too similar to the first


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

When I read the synopsis for this book, I was reminded of some of the romance novels my mom used to read when I was younger. I sometimes sneaked one away to read it in the quiet of my bedroom, because I was curious to what the stories were about and how they were constructed. Added to this book was the witchy subject. A storyline I've always been interested in.

I didn't know this was the second book in a series, and I didn't read the first one. Let me just start by saying that. I don't really know what it's about, I think I might hav missed some important things in the book because of that.. I liked this book though, so I might read it, not sure yet. What I do know is that some ccharacters were major assholes in this story and people forgive assholes way too easy. It's what really brought the rating down to three stars. It something I see a lot in books, and honestly I have the suspicious that it's because these kind of stories need to end on a good (in this case rushed) note, and it just irks me.