Thank you Netgalley for letting me review a copy of Cursed. I love Frank Miller and this story didn't disappoint. Look forward to the Netflix adaptation!

I feel like I’m this book’s exasperated mother: “I’m not mad, just disappointed.”

For a long time, we didn’t see a lot of Arthurian retellings and spinoffs. Now suddenly there are quite a few and unfortunately, they are all similar and all pretty bad.

Though this particular offshoot had its moments, it’s largely disappointing.

The basic plot isn’t really a problem. It’s a good idea and a semi-creative spin on the original legend. Unfortunately much of the detail and storytelling style is derivative. Not of Arthurian Legend, mind you, but of uber-tropey YA and fantasy novels. You’ll find some Lord of the Rings, some Game of Thrones, and some Throne of Glass. None of it works all that well.

I’m of two minds on the characters. On the positive side, there were some very clever work-ins of traditional Arthurian characters here in ways which I haven’t seen before. But on the other side, most of the main characters leave a lot to be desired.

Nimue isn’t a particularly good leader and an even worse martyr. She comes off like a dumb Celaena Sardothien.

And Merlin! Merlin is (sorta kinda) a fraud, and Merlin is drunk as a skunk! All the time! And sadly, that’s not nearly as funny or interesting as it sounds. I kind of got the impression the authors were going for a Tyrion type but instead we got a mix of the Mad Hatter and a really, really hammered version of Littlefinger.

I liked the role laid out for Uther, but the execution of his character arc left much to be desired. He’s pretty doltish for most of the book and then suddenly has a brief moment of Super Spy before withering back to his halfwit self again. In my mind, he looked and sounded like Lord Farquaad.

The minor characters were much better rendered, Morgan, Iris, and Lancelot in particular. Arthur, interesting, winds up being a pretty standard Arthur archetype, though I wonder if that might change in the next installment.

One last bummer about this book: I hate saying this because I usually love Frank Miller, but the art in this book...it’s terrible.

I have some slight curiosity about where the story will go after this, but probably not enough to read the next offering in the series.

"Cursed" is an interesting twist on a classic tale. Young Adult books are not really my genre, but this was an enjoyable read all the same.

** I was provided an electronic ARC of this book by publisher, Simon & Schuster, through NetGalley in return for an honest review.**

The team of Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler create a story in "Cursed" where Arthurian legend is retold with sixteen-year-old Nimue in possession of the Sword of Power. Readers follow Nimue in her quest to get the Sword to Merlin, unite the Fey Folk against a corrupt king and church, and get revenge for her fallen village.

I have always been a fan of Arthurian legend, and I can safely say that Miller and Wheeler's interpretation of the lore was something that felt fresh despite the obvious "chosen one" trope that was employed. Miller and Wheeler developed distinct concepts for each of the Fey clans, and seemed to fully form the various cultures and backgrounds for each of them. The magic system was left mostly mysterious, but still very accessible. These world-building aspects were favorites of mine throughout the novel.

It was very evident from the start that Miller and Wheeler have experience in visual media, as this is the most distinctly visual novel I have ever read. Every scene is clearly and deliberately described in such a way that you are almost reading a screenplay written in prose format. This is such a stark stylistic difference from what is typical for young adult fantasy that it was initially a little disconcerting for me to settle into, but the skill with which it was done was clear throughout. Due to the writing style, I found myself wishing that the novel had instead been published as a graphic novel even though I did enjoy it.

The story itself was relatively fast paced and generally enjoyable. I found the hint of romantic interest to be unnecessary, but was grateful that it was minor enough to not detract from the storytelling. Miller and Wheeler have left many questions unanswered and have given themselves plenty of room for sequels, which seems to be deliberate.

Overall, I found "Cursed" to be interesting and entertaining, and I look forward to the Netflix series adaptation which is already in production.

Review is posted on Goodreads and is to be posted to Amazon after release.

I'm excited for the Netflix show but this book while written well didn't deliver for me. Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

While the story was executed well, I found myself unable to be fully immersed in it. Whether it was the plot or the writing style, I can’t say. I think the idea was very original and exciting, but I just felt it didn’t deliver what it promised. I am excited for the Netflix series, as I think it will transfer well to the screen, but the novelization was a tad lackluster for me.
That isn’t to say I hated the novel, I just felt like it wasn’t my cup of tea. Others may enjoy it very much! I will say I loved the main characters tough quality and badassery!

Cursed

Overall rating: liked it!

Cursed is a YA retelling of the King Arthur told from the point of view of Nimue, a female Fey whose village is viciously ransacked. The aftermath leaves her orphaned with a final mission given to her by her mother, get the sword to Merlin.

The story starts off really strong and full of action which, surprisingly, carries on through most of the book. There were some pieces in the middle where I felt the different characters got a bit confusing and the plot slowed down for me but as with any first novel in a series, they came together with time. The ending was worthwhile, pulling together the overlying themes of self growth and coming of age.

So, do I recommend it? Possibly. If you’re a diehard purest of the original tale, the changes in this story may not be for you but if you’re a fan of fantasy and open to exploring and expanding the the original Arthurian legend, you’ll want to add this to your shelf.

I felt like this book had a lot of potential – it had a great set up and the characters were interesting to start with however, the execution of the book was poor.

The story begins by introducing Nimue as a young girl with a connection to the ‘Hidden’ with a dark past – facing the massacre of her village by Red Paladins. She receives a sword from her mother and is sent to find Merlin and on her way she meets Arthur – a sell sword – as well as a cast of other characters such as Arthur’s half sister Morgan.

I noticed immediately that the book’s sentences were formed in a slightly strange way and this, combined with the repeated use of short and snappy sentences, made the words lack flow. This was also exacerbated by the sharp turns between scenes in the story from characters having a conversation in one sentence to being in a different place in the next.

I could excuse most of this given the book’s engaging premise however, beyond the first few chapters the plot started going downhill with the disjointed scenes occurring more frequently and the plot starting to meander without direction. The new characters introduced started to feel more like common YA fantasy tropes than fully fleshed out characters.

The book ultimately didn’t provide any emotional depth for the characters and even at the end it was all a bit ‘meh’.