A great story with and interesting plot. At times it was a bit slow, but overall I was immersed in the book. I definitely wanted to know how it ended and couldn’t put it down during the last third of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Curse That Binds Us by Katie Hayoz is a fantasy book that combines historical fantasy with contemporary fantasy. The story is told from the perspectives of three characters: Redd, John, and Eleanor. A mysterious box appears on Redd's birthday every year. One year, she decides to open it and has to face the consequences. John lives in a village of evil. Eleanor is pregnant and arrives in Roanoake from England in 1587. How do these three characters' lives end up intersecting?

Here is a gripping excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Redd's point of view:

"The secret to my past is locked away in an ancient box that mysteriously appears every year on my birthday.
Whatever hides in there is dark. I know because I see traces of the past in the shadows under my mother's eyes, in the way she breathes, in the shriveled mass of her left arm. I can taste her fear increase as we get closer and closer to my birth date."

Overall, The Curse That Binds Us is a fantasy book with an intriguing premise. One highlight of this book were the flashbacks to Roanoake. I remember learning about Roanoke at school, but this is the very time I've seen it mentioned and included as a locale in a fantasy book. I did take off 2 stars, because I didn't enjoy all three perspectives. I enjoyed Redd's chapters the most, but I still wasn't drawn into the story. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy books in general, you can check out this book, which is available now!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

This was so, so good. I loved the characters, and the changing time lines and perspectives was very well done. Some moments felt a little slow, but overall the pacing was good and kept me hooked. I would definitely recommend giving this a go, and will be eagerly awaiting the next one!

I enjoyed this book. I do feel it was slow at times but I could read it again. The cover Is great. At times this book felt flat and it could take alot time to get into.

Extremely atmospheric, eerie and a writing style that will transport you into this world.
Told from three different perspectives, you get introduced to three characters:

Redd who recently turned 18 and since she can remember have been receiving strange boxes on her birthday.

John who is tasked to bring Redd back to his home in Eden willingly, where through out the book you as the reader are kept in the dark as to why this quest is so important..

And lastly Eleanor who is told in past tense, where she lived in England in the 1500 and meets the devil who whispers dark instructions into her ear… and the consequences later lead her to have to move to an Island to start a new life.

Throughout the book the switching of POV’s are done perfectly and each character distinguished easily from another. I found myself constantly speed reading to understand how these 3 characters intertwine, and when the mystery of their connection is revealed I was pleasantly shook because I did not see that coming at all. Extremely clever.

Very enjoyable, atmospheric and will keep you glued to the pages.

Katie Hayoz is an insta-read for me. I have adored her books and this one is no different.

This book is exciting, intriguing, dark, a little scary for me, yet it will keep you on the edge of your seat enough that you're not going to want to put it down!

The Curse That Binds Us is a fast-paced Dark Fantasy that may take a while to get going, but once it does - you're in for a ride.

It took me a minute to get into the story and get sucked in by it, but I really loved the multiple POV's and how they were handled, as well as the story arc. It isn't the most memorable story, but I enjoyed the last two thirds a lot.

I kept putting this off for no known reason but this ended up being very enjoyable and engaging. It was also very imaginative and hard to put down. The only issue I had is the slurs used with regards to Indigenous peoples.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this earc

This book has such a lovely concept, the mixture of the historical and the fantasy fiction, throw in a mysterious box and this story had me hooked. I really did enjoy reading this and ca not wait to see the rest of the series.

I went into this book with very high expectations and unfortunately I was let down. This entire story and writing fell flat for me. I was quite disappointed because I really enjoyed this authors previous work that she co-wrote with Olivia Wildenstein. Unfortunately this is a story that fell somewhere in the middle of the road and that I will not really think about in the future.

I really wanted to like this book because it was a fantasy that was based on Roanoke colony. I wanted to know the author’s interpretation of what happened to the settlers. However, I found the plot was to hard to follow. Still, I recommend this for fans of Charlie N. Holmberg, Emily R. King, and Justina Ireland!

A very intriguing slow burn of a fantasy-romance that tells the story of Redd and her mother’s very mysterious past. What is in the box that her mum won’t let her open? Why do they have to move every year? Why is her mother so paranoid? Who is the mysterious stranger John Smith and what is his agenda?

My main issue with this book is that there’s cliffhangers, and there’s finishing a book halfway through the plot - always feels like a bit of a cop out to me. I found this quite frustrating!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I think this book was a really thought out and intriguing read, however I really struggled to maintain a drive to push through the story. The book just didn't sweep me up as much as I thought it would and I just found that I was forcing myself to get to the end. I think this is definitely a book that some readers will like, especially the darker undertones of the storyline, but it just wasn't for me.

Exciting and magical

Every year, on Redd's birthday, a mysterious box appears. Her mother has never let her open it, but now, she's grown tired of not knowing about her past. She's tired of the secrets and the dangers her mother wants to protect her from. When a stranger who feels different to Redd shows up in her small town, she might just get the answers she sought.

I absolutely loved this book! Redd is such an amazing character, I related to her instantly and wanted to follow her story. The mystery and the secrets were installed from the star and I was eager to unravel everything and understand how all the characters came together in the story. I was not disappointed. The author managed to keep me intrigued and enthralled throughout the entire book, with a plot full of twists, questions and surprises. I loved the pace and the balance between the POVs. The world is full of mystery and I'm sure what I'll discover in the sequel will be mind-blowing. I loved the magical aspect too, which was both discreet and constant, full of secrets. As for the romance...it was marvelous! Kind of enemies to lovers and full of tension, I NEED MORE! Redd's frienship with Shay was refreshing and authentic, I loved it. As for her relationship with her mother, I found it very unique and interesting. There was action, mystery, magic, fantasy, secrets, betrayals, tension...everything I look for in a book in the end. I am super excited to read the sequel now because the end has me gasping!

I highly recommend to fans of fantasy series like Lux (Jennifer L Armentrout)!

"Deception paints a pretty picture. But don't believe a word."

TW: abuse, assault, attempted murder, blood, death, gore, kidnapping, poisoning, torture, violence

Thanks netgalley this was a brilliant book. I got into it really easily.
I would highly recommend it.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book and a lot that I disliked. I'll start with the things I liked. The lore was very interesting. There were three POVs and one of them, the past POV, was really hooking and the writing was really mesmerising. I really liked the friendship shown between the main character Redd and her best friend Shay. It was very wholesome and nice to read their conversations.

The other two POVs however were predictable and dry, to say the least. The characters were dry. The plot was dry. John Smith's personality is as unexciting as his name. And the thing I disliked most was the instant love connection between the two MCs. I thought that near the end it would be explained. I thought maybe they have a bond that made it that way. However, I was wrong. There were a lot of things that should've been explained more thoroughly. I think this book was tailored toward a younger audience which is why it felt a little shallow to me. There wasn't enough depth to keep me interested, unfortunately. I gave it three stars because objectively speaking, it was a good book for the age range it's for. I just personally didn't enjoy it as much. I don't think I'll be picking up the next book.

The Curse That Binds was a bit confusing for me. The story itself isn't confusing but I was confused about where the dtory was going. This may be because there were many times where it was hard to stay interested in the story and the outcomes of the characters. I'm honestly unsure what to think about this story overall, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

This was so fascinating!! I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I had no knowledge beforehand about the people that landed on Roanoke Island and then disappeared but this made me look into it. This was so clever of the author to be able to mix fact with fiction so well and make you believe that this story could 100% have happened. I thoroughly enjoyed this paranormal and fantasy book, will definitely be reading the next one!

This was a good story, I was intrigued as to what was gonna happen and I'm glad I picked it up! Want to read more from this author

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Sexy and imaginative this book will have you on the edge of your seat in no time.