Ok....who else gravitates to books/graphic novels that have that lovely sticker "Soon to be a Netflix Original Series'' or "Now a Major Motion picture"? I know I do!

While I hate the darn sticker on the front cover of my book (Geez....wrap them in plastic and put that darn tag on the plastic so you aren't marking up my book!!' And DON'T make it a perma-part of the cover art....I don't want an ad displayed on the front cover of a book I paid for! Mini rant over.) I come running every time I see those tags, but I follow my rule which is I have to read the book before I watch any television adaptation. Then I understand the characters and I can join in on the complaining about what they changed/left out and any huzzahs about special effects, casting, awesomeness.

I have been both wildly entertained and completely disappointed in my quest for the most awesome book/film adaptations. I often go in expecting another Haunting of Hill House but prepared to deal with an Iron Fist.....ending up happily entertained somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

I enjoyed this book. And I'm looking forward to it coming to Netflix in 2020!

Cursed is a twist on the King Arthur legend. The Lady of the Lake gets to be more than just a silvery hand appearing holding up a sword. This tale is told her her point of view. Nimue experiences the brutality of the world at a very early age....her entire village is slaughtered and her mother dies. But that is not her fate. Her fate is intertwined with a magical sword, Merlin, and Arthur. Add in some great art by Frank Miller, and it's a very entertaining read.

I have the suspicion that this story was written for television. The tale reads like a fleshed out script. The story is a nice update to the traditional Arthur legends....all the main characters are there....doing a new version of what they usually do. It just had the feel of a film script with some bookish details and flow added, plus nice artwork. A teaser for the Netflix series.

I'm definitely on-board for more ..... and I will definitely watch the series. But....I feel this is following the current YA trend. Trends get old when they are recycled again and again and again.....and again and again. Yes, I am totally in support of strong female characters....but the theme is getting done to death over the past couple of years. I hope this revisit to Arthurian times stays fresh and creative.....and doesn't get bogged down in what will soon be The Same Old.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Simon and Schuster via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Nimue had a connection to dark magic, making her an outcast in her Druid village. When her village is slaughtered by Red Paladins, her mother charges her to find the legendary sorcerer Merlin and reunite him with an ancient sword that had been hidden. She's too busy to think about revenge as she teams up with the mercenary Arthur and various fae refugees from across England. As she wields the sword meant for the one true king against the corrupt one, she tries to unite her people and seek vengeance for her family.

Frank Miller is an award-winning comic book writer, novelist, inker, screenwriter, film director, and producer, known for his work on Batman, Sin City and "The 300." Thomas Wheeler is also a screenwriter, producer, and author, with credits that include the Empire TV and the Lego Ninjago movie. I had known about Frank Miller's prior works but hadn't realized that I enjoyed Thomas Wheeler's animated works, too. Cursed is also set to be a Netflix series, adding to their lengthy credits list.

The novel opens with the Red Paladins burning druids on crosses, hunting out roots and carvings of the old gods, with the monks under Father Carden's command declaring that the druids had to denounce their sinful ways and confess the evils to make peace with God. Rather like a number of anime series, we then flash backward to the events just prior to Dewdenn being overrun by the paladins. They're hardly the sinless agents of God that they feel themselves to be and not the only ones that fear the fey or witches. Merlin in this novel isn't the feared sorcerer at all, but a man that lost his magic years ago and uses trickery and spycraft to keep King Uther Pendragon satisfied with power in the face of drought, famine, food riots and the threat of other kingdoms taking advantage of weakness. In other words, this is not the King Arthur mythos we're familiar with, but a new twist on the old tales.

Occasional black and white illustrations add to the stark feel of the story. Some of the scenes and paragraphs almost flow like water, and some of them are choppy and harsh in the midst of Nimue battling the Red Paladins. Because most people don't stand up to them, Nimue is soon known as the Wolf Blood Witch. As much as she wants to run from this title and the feeling that the fate of all the lost fey clans rests on her, showing them that the Red Paladins can be killed and aren't as all-powerful as they claim gives them too much hope. This is a theme that occurs frequently in all kinds of stories about the underdog hero coming out from under the misery dumped upon them from a greedy and powerful villain. It speaks to all of us, that we too can overcome hardships and find an ending that we desire.

Wasn't a huge fan of this re imagining of Arthur. Felt like there was way too much violence & a strange plot. Wasn't my cup of tea but you might find it enjoyable.

I tried to like this book. I really did.

It's an Arthurian story in which Things Are Different, and the Sword that empowers the True King has gone to Nimue--designating, instead, a True Queen.

I ought to love this.

There are a whole range of Fey peoples, of different types and features and magic. Nimue is one of them.

I ought to love this.

Nimue and Morgan and others are interesting characters.

I ought to love this.

Unfortunately, the bad guy characters are stereotypically, cartoonishly evil. It renders them unbelievable and, in my opinion, not worth the reader's time.

The culture and society we're shown, at least above the village level, is not consistent with any time frame within which it's consistent with any version of the Arthurian myth to picture Arthur, Uther, Merlin, Morgan, and the others existing.

Burning witches as other than an occasional local, small-scale event was not a thing at any point in a plausible range for Arthurian stories, as this presents itself.

Red Paladins were not a thing, ever. The Red Paladins caused me to consider the possibility that this is based on a role-playing game, but I haven't been able to substantiate that. That doesn't mean it isn't, though, and if it is, this might be a lot more fun for people familiar with the game. So if there is a game, bear that in mind. This might have a background that is not the one I expect for Arthurian mythos stories.

As things stand, though, I don't like the book, and can't recommend it.

I do have to say that I do like the interior artwork.

I received a free electronic galley of this book, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Cursed is a bit of contradictory to me. While the storyline and the writing was super immersive, the likes of which I haven’t read since the first time I read Harry Potter, the writing and descriptions made the story go super slow.

Like really slow. A few years ago, I watched Life of Pi and while the story and the movie was captivating, the movie itself did not captivate me. I was constantly looking at the clock, frustrated that only mere seconds seemed to pass between looks. This was similar. The story itself, while super captivating and immersive, had a bit of a habit of losing me when it would change Point Of Views.

Characters both became and were already beloved. And in completely different roles than in any other retelling of the famous Mort d’Arthur that I was used to seeing. Cursed really turned the legend on it’s head. But the fact that the story is full of inner monologues and so many POVs, made it really drag.

That’s not to say that I won’t totally be reading it again right before the Netflix series comes out. But it was very, very slow for me. It could be that I prefer books that have a little more action, both in romance and actual action, or it could be something else entirely.

All I know is that while I ultimately loved Cursed, it took me a little bit to get there. It also drops off at a cliffhanger which irritates me to no end.

RANT TIME Listen up people. After The Cruel Prince, Lord of Shadows, and countless others, I don’t want anymore freaking cliffhangers! The ending doesn’t even need to be happy. I JUST NEED CLOSURE!

*clears throat* Rant time over. The characters that we all know and love: Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Percival were totally different and that definitely brought a freshness to this age old tale. Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler completely changed the roles of the characters. So much so that they were almost antithetic to the original.

It was so good though!

I really wanted to love this book because I love the Arthurian legend and think the idea of a gender bent retelling is a great one.  Unfortunately I struggled to get into the story and didn't connect with the characters as much as I would have liked.  It's still a solid read but not the epic reading experience I was hoping for. I definitely still plan to watch the Netflix adaptation though. I could actually this working much better in visual form for me than it did in written form.

I don't hate this book, but I'm not really raving about it either; I suppose you can sum it all up with just a heavy sigh.

I suppose we've got from dystopias, to high fantasy, to lots and lots of retellings. In this case, it's an Arthurian retelling, choosing to take the story from the perspective of Nimue. This COULD have been a phenomenal concept: you're talking about the woman who essentially becomes the famous Lady of the Lake. She once imprisoned Merlin in a tree for being a creep and horny and inappropriate.

But you won't see any of that. You won't even see a lot that's derived from Arthurian myth and legend, especially not in the details. It's more of a smashing of numerous fantasy tropes we've seen a million times all together into one books that takes a potentially interesting female protagonist and turns her into a terrible leader and even worse martyr-like character come the end.

There's so much that someone could do with Arthur myth -- and there's plenty of great takes on it out there. This just isn't one of them.

This young adult fantasy is a retelling of the King Arthur lore focusing on the Lady of the Lake character.  Nimue, presumably the Lady of the Lake, has the Sword of Power unknowingly thrust upon her after the Red Paladins invade her village.  As she fights for her fellow Fey folk and seeks understanding of her true role in all of the chaos, she will find friends from all walks of life, enemies that burn with hatred against her very name, and an adventure that spans across many landscapes.  Many of the notable characters from the Arthur legend can be found in the pages of this story, just not as easily spotted as the obvious exact naming of Arthur or Merlin.

I personally enjoyed this story and thought it was an interesting twist on the King Arthur legend.  The descriptions of the various landscapes were captivating, the embellishment of the atmosphere was engrossing, and the details of the battle scenes were intense.  All typical ingredients that I usually find in a good fantasy.  While I wouldn't describe this as an intensely intricate fantasy, sometimes I had to focus a little harder on differentiating between the Fey folk with the various titles or references to some of their tribes.  Nothing incredibly detailed or hard to follow.  

Overall, I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars.  I enjoyed the book and would recommend to readers interested in young adult fantasy or in Arthurian lore.  It wasn't as captivating as I had hoped, but I would still be interested in seeing how the story progresses after the end of this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I was very interested in this book when I heard that actress Katherine Langford was developing Cursed, by Thomas Wheeler, into a show on Netflix.  After reading this novel, which is an origin story of the Arthurian Lady of the Lake, I am all in!  With compelling characters, and an action-packed story, I loved this sweeping fantasy.

What I Liked:

Characters:

Nimue, who has a deep connection with The Hidden (a magical force), has always been an outcast.  Her abilities create fear among most people and so she yearns to leave her small village for a fresh start.  But fate steps in.  Suddenly, she has the Sword of  and is tasked with delivering this to Merlin the Magician.  

I loved Nimue's journey from a girl who's only concerned with herself, to a young woman willing to fight and sacrifice for her people.  She was fierce, brave, and heart-breaking in her yearning to connect with others.

I was also fascinated by Merlin.  He begins as a man who's glory days are long over.  Instead of the mentoring future kings, he's a con artist who is drunk most of the time.   Finding out how this came to be was really captivating.

There are also appearances by several of the characters who will be central to the Arthurian legend. Gawain, Percival, Lancelot, Morgan, Arthur, and many others create a promise of further adventures. 

Story:

The story begins with a raid on Nimue's village and never lets up.  Besides Merlin, many others are ruthlessly pursuing the sword.  There is Father Carden, a sadistic priest who sees it as his mission to "purify" anyone who stands in his way with torture and death.  King Uther Pendragon, who's legitimacy to rule is tenuous, seeks the sword to seal his claim to the throne.  The Viking Ice King, who also has a claim to the throne, jumps into the fray, as well.   

But it's Nimue who has the sword and she's not afraid to use it to defend her people, the Fey.  As she cuts down her enemies with ease, one begins to wonder who is in control:  Nimue, or the sword.  Can she wield the weapon and remain untouched, or will this unbridled power drive her insane?

As the various forces close in on Nimue and her friends, the tension rises to a fever pitch.

Warning:  Graphic scenes of torture (especially considering this is a YA book).

I couldn't get into this one. The plot moved along slowly, and at the beginning it seemed like chapters were out of order, making understanding the order of events very difficult. I didn't think the illustrations added anything to the story, and frankly, I found them to be kind of ugly. I still have high hopes that the Netflix series could be good.

Touched by darkness, Nimue has always been the village outcast. When the Red Paladins destroy her village, she manages to escape with a mystical sword she’s never seen before. Realizing the tales of old must be true, she knows she must find the fabled Merlin in order to save her land. Along the way, she meets a man named Arthur, who would rather drink his way through life. Will she find a way to save her land? Will she ever find Merlin? Who is destined to wield the sword?  The plot is a simplistic and has a comic book-style feel to it. Characters are brave, straightforward, and are unique. Arthurian folklore is apparent. Fans of Scott Pilgrim, Arthurian retellings, and deep fantasy may enjoy reading this book.
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Please Note: This was a review copy from Netgalley and Simon and Schuster. No financial compensation was received. All opinions expressed are our own.

This book was ok. I was really intrigued are the beginning, especially with Nimue’s parts and I loved the aspect of the Hidden. Unfortunately as the book went on I lost interest. There were several different storylines and the only one I was really interested in was Nimue’s.
I requested this book from netgalley because it is slated to be a Netflix show next year and I thought it would be fun to have read the book before the show came out. It seemed like it was a book written about a show (almost like a script) instead of a book having a show based on it (if that makes sense). I think it will make a better show than a book.
Like I said before, I liked the aspect of the Hidden and it seemed so prominent at the beginning of the book, but it basically stopped being talked about and I forgot it was even a part of the book until it popped back up near the end. 
I’m not 100% familiar with the story of Arthur, but I feel like this book wasn’t really a retelling. I recognized the names from the original story, but it seemed like it didn’t follow the original story at all.
Overall it was good enough for me to read the whole thing although it took me probably an hour to read the last 5% just because I wasn’t interested enough to sit down and read it. I think the show will end up being good, so I can’t wait to watch it!

I liked that this was a different take on the King Arthur/Lady of the Lake story, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I know it’s also going to be a Netflix show, and I’m not sure which one came first, but it felt like someone watched the show and was writing what happened as they watched it. I’ll probably still give the show a try, but I felt like the book left a lot to be desired.

This was a good read. It was different than what I'm used to reading but it was a nice change and I'll recommend to friends.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this to review! I had heard about the book at BookCon, and it sounded intriguing. A King Arthur retelling, gender swapped. Admittedly, I'm only vaguely familiar with the King Arthur story. But this was an enchanting retelling, nonetheless!

I'll start out by saying I can't wait to see the finished copy so I can see the finished illustrations. I think they'll definitely add a lot to the story; a magical element that's missing without the finalized art. As far as I can tell, they supplement the story really well and help to create the atmosphere Wheeler has created in the story.

Seeing familiar characters also really helps to bring the story to life. However, there were times where I found it a tad difficult to follow the story, and I wonder if it would have helped if I was more familiar with the original King Arthur. There were characters that I recognized, but I couldn't remember how they fit into the original. But, they're well-rounded characters that you're cheering for in the end, pulling you into this magical world that Wheeler has created.

After a bit of research, I've also learned that this isn't necessarily a retelling, just telling the story from a different lens. Would I have rathered a female version of King Arthur? Yes, I think so. However, I did enjoy Nimue's story, and her dedication to helping her people. She was the focal point of the book, and she shined throughout. I'm curious about the Netflix adaptation, because the overall book definitely read like a movie. It definitely lends itself to an onscreen adaptation.

There's also a lot of history in the book, which helped me to learn about the time period the book was set in. An overall enchanting story, just a bit different than I expected.

I'm going to be quite honest here, I haven't read any of the original Arthur legends but I know the gist of it from my friend (who, bless her soul, endured all my questions). . 

To start off, the author is a screenwriter so naturally this book reads like one which was something I personally wasn't too fond of. I understand it's going to be a Netflix series so it's pretty obvious it'll be like a script, but I don't remember it being advertised as one. Also, this isn't a "gender-bent" retelling of the legend, instead it's being rewritten through the perspective of Nimue. I also want to point out that there are triggers, especially within the first few chapters, so if violence against women triggers you, I would stay clear. 

Besides that, the book is written through different points of view and after a while it's hard to tell if they're all part of the same story or not. Sort of felt like they were off wandering on their own and I'm left wondering if they'll get to the same point. The "climax" was a bit underwhelming - when it came to I was just left like "well.. okay then." 

However, I did enjoy the illustrations so props to the artist. To end, if you're a fan I would hold off until the series comes out.

This is a fun, fast paced book that just needs a little more.  A little more back ground,  a little more character development. I enjoyed the book just wished for more depth.  I enjoyed the illustrations by Frank Miller.  I will check out the series on Netflix.  If you like Arthurian legends and fast paced adventures  I think you will like this one.

Cursed is a fresh take on the Arthur/Sword in the Stone/Lady of the Lake mythos. Nimue is a Fey, suddenly thrust into a rebellion between Man-Blood and Fey kind. The religious order of the Red Paladins are sweeping through Fey towns, burning their elders at the stake and torturing the survivors that they find. Arthur is a human who feels kinship with Nimue, but not enough to risk his own skin. Nimue picks up allies and enemies on her way to meet the has-been magician Merlin.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. 

I loved it. The characters are well written and it's a story you just don't want to stop.  I can't wait to see the Netflix show.

Cursed is an Arthurian retelling.

Overall, I thought the story was well-paced. It was action-packed, engaging, and eventful. I found the last half of the story a lot more intriguing than the first half due to the story-building. It was like everyone was meeting at the same place and battle would soon ensue.

I felt like the story lost a little of the grandeur that we see in our original tale of Arthur. Everyone is a little dumbed-down, or maybe just not as invincible as we are shown. Merlin is a drunk, Nimue is the new Arthur, Arthur is the lovesick dog, and Lancelot is probably my favorite character. The real stars of the show and most relatable were the side characters: Lancelot, Iris, and Morgan. I want to know so much more about those characters than the protagonists. Iris is so interesting!

I'll be honest, probably my biggest complaint is the artwork. I found it a bit creepy :/ And it reminded me of a kid drawing on an Etch-A-Sketch (harsh, I know! But that was what I kept thinking of every time I saw the artwork). I think the story would've been better without it because I felt like I was looking at the same picture thirty different times and Nimue looked like a dude.

There is a lot of potential for more stories, or spin-offs to come from this original novel. I can see a lot of readers being interested in our side characters potentially having a larger role in the series. One thing missing for me was the world-building. We see some description of the characters, but I couldn't clearly picture any of them. I would like to see more description of the dress, landscape, and characters.

Cursed is the story of "coming of age". It is a story of friendship, survival, deceit, and acceptance. Being as the author is a screenwriter, I can definitely see this becoming a popular show on Netflix and the novel gaining momentum in the months to come.