I always love historical fiction and fantasy. So, when I read the blurb, I’m instantly in love with it. To sum it with a single sentence, it’s a historical-fantasy-mixed-with-present-time book with dark-evil-magic and scary masks, based on the story of Lost Colony of Roanoke mixed with Tschaggata (scary masked figures) from Switzerland. Just google those two stories and you’ll know the dark vibes this book will give you.

The narrative itself is so engaging. It’s a page-turner from the very start until the very end, down to the Author’s Notes (which I enjoy the most because it tells about the real histories that form the base of the story). Almost all the characters were portrayed so strongly that I can feel connected to each one of them. Like I said before, it’s fascinating for me to know in the Author’s Notes that the most character name here is a real person in the Roanoke’s history.

One thing that seems off for me is the relationship between Redd and Shay (her bestfriend). Other than that, I have no complaints. I really can’t wait to read the sequels.

Yup, I highly enjoyed this novel. The fresh take on the Roanoke mystery, the love story, family connections, demons and devils. I found myself drawn in completely to this story.

There are times I felt things moved slower than I would've liked but I can't deny that even during those moments I was itching to know the outcome.

Told in three POVs with well done world building and plot depth. The past and present timelines was an excellent touch, as well as the taste of lingering evil that existed in the background of each character. Speaking of characters, I was equally drawn to Redd and Eleanor. John took a little getting used too but in the end I enjoyed how he meshed with Redd.

You may notice that I'm glossing over a lot of things. This is a book that has little nuances and big reveals that in-depth reviews could ruin. Going in blind and enjoying the ride is the best way to enjoy this one. True rating 4.5/5.

I really tried to get into this book but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I really loved the blurb but the actually world building and characters and the plot just didn’t stick. Ended up not finishing.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

This was very different than anything I'd read before. I didn't feel the romance vibe so much. I felt it was a little flat, but that didn't stop me from wanting to continue on with the story. I am looking forward to reading the next in serious though!

The mystery of the colony, Roanoke, has always been something I've been curious about and applying a fantasy and curse for the reasoning was a thrilling concept that immediately grabbed my attention. While the story provided surprising and fantastical elements such as a locked box that follows you around, masks that seem to be alive, and invisible creatures, the story line moved too slow and the further I got involved the less interested I became. I struggled to enjoy any of the characters and found the movement in time to be confusing and frustrating as I wanted the plot to propel forward. I also felt that the writing was a lot more tell than show and struggled to picture the elements and characters making me feel like more of an outsider than an integrated reader.

Okay I liked it, didn’t love it. The flashbacks didn’t add much for me. I really wanted it to be a bit more mystical or less mystical. It was in the murky weird area.
And they amount they say Aye in the book was kinda lame. Oh well.

I loved the idea of this as soon as I read the synopsis I knew a fantasy based on the story of the lost colony of Roanoke. I loved the suspense in this , as you read on each chapter will leave you wanting to know more about what was happening. The book uses multiple POV which were done really well, the pacing, the characters and world building all of it is perfect. The story itself is unique and well thought out and I loved getting to know each character, this is such an enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next

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

I am all about anything to do with the missing Roanoke colony so when I saw that this book was at least partially about that, I had to read it. The story is told from three different POVs. There is Redd and John in the present and Eleanor in the Roanoke colony during the 1500s. All three tie in together but unsurprisingly, Eleanor’s was my favorite. I always prefer historical fiction over contemporary and I felt that Eleanor’s story was more fleshed out.

Unfortunately, while I did like Eleanor, none of the characters really made a long-lasting impression on me. I found them all to be a bit bland, especially Redd and John. They were both pretty standard YA characters. Nothing was really <i>wrong</i> with them, I just couldn’t get invested in their story lines. I think this was partially due to the pacing.

I felt that this book took a little too long to get interesting and then when I was really getting into it, it ended. The ending was a cliff hanger, which is fine, but it was too abrupt. I think it would have been better if the events in the ending would have happened around the 75% point and then the book ended with a bit more confrontation and drama.

As for the story itself, it’s pretty vanilla for a dark fantasy. I found it to walk the line of being dark and creepy but there was nothing extreme. I do think some readers might have an issue with the Devil (Lucifer) being a character. He isn’t portrayed in a good way and he’s not romanticized. He’s evil and a lying trickster but just be aware that he makes an appearance and plays a large role.

While I didn’t absolutely love this story, I am interested enough to read the second one.

I loved the concept of this book, and the mix of historical and contemporary with little fantasy elements was super fun. The mystery surrounding that box hooked me from the beginning, and I flew through this book. I wish the love story had been developed a little bit more. It was too close to insta-love for my taste, but I did enjoy the story as a whole and do hope to read the rest of the series.

What happened to missing colony or Roanoke is something people have been wondering for centuries. The answer: they made a deal with the Devil.

The book starts really slow and I had to stop reading it for a while. The beginning was so boring, I thought I would have to DNF it. However, after some breaks in which I've read other books, I continued.

The author slowly lets us in on what is going on, only giving us snippets at a time. While I usually enjoy the suspense, this time I found it frustrating and rage-inducing. The worst thing of all is that the ending is a cliffhanger. But not just any cliffhanger. Oh, no. There is no real ending. It is almost as if the author wrote a book, decided it was too long and split it in two, publishing it one at a time.

While this topic should be incredibly interesting, I feel like this is one of those books you completely forget about after a while. It is neither amazing, nor atrocious.

Thank you to the publisher and author as well as netgalley for allowing me access to this eARC of this book and allowing me to give feedback and read books in exchange for a review.

This is a new adult fantasy book, I have never read anything from Katie Hayoz before so I was interested and I was not disappointed. I liked the writing style of this book and I loved the stye so much I will be looking into the backlog of books from this author and order some offline as it is beautiful and it connected well with me.

Loved the characters, was a very Enjoyable read, fun story line, lots happening to keep you gripped to the story wanting to know more but I felt like I had already read this or something very similar to it but was still a very enjoyable read

Firstly, I would love to comment on the storyline, the author Katie Hayoz's writing, and world-building.

In finishing the novel, I learned that it was loosely based or inspired by an actual occurrence that happened years back. I believe that the author's way to creatively turn a historical mystery into a killer dark fantasy with such a twist and turn of events, that I was constantly entranced by both the writing style and in the unveiling of events, was wonderfully and so eloquently done. Thus, I would say the first book I have read by this author did not disappoint.

I am not one for such dark novels, and I would classify this novel as a dark, sinister, and mysterious fantasy, which I only found out as I read further into the novel. However, it is a book that kept me latching onto every word. Therefore, if you can't stomach gruesome storylines, evil, murder, kidnapping and so much more then this novel may be a bit much for you. It almost was for me though the storyline kept me going.

Every character had a distinct personality, point of view, and battled with their demons in different ways. There is the storytelling of Eleanor in the past. There are also present time points of view from both Redd and John. Even though there are multiple POVs it is an easy-to-follow type read. The overall story was told in a very well-paced manner and that I can appreciate.


The story is mainly focused on Redd who lives with her mother and there’s nothing normal about either of them. Redd can taste emotions and her anger does things, horrible things. Yet she doesn’t know why. Her mom is very secretive and shares little about her past. They are a family of two, according to her mom, who constantly flee every year on Redd's birthday to a different neighborhood as they run away from this box that always appears on Redd's birthday. All Redd knows is to never open the box she gets sent every year on her birthday and to trust no one. However, on her 18th birthday, she does exactly that and opens the box, and soon enough, a sexy, mysterious tourist, John Smith comes into town. Is his presence a blessing or a curse, will John finally have answers to all her questions, can she even trust John?

John Smith is from a village called Eden. It sounds like a wonderful place, filled with hope, peace, beauty, and abundance, however, there is a sinister evil that lurks in Eden, something terrible that one must do to be able to keep living peacefully in Eden. A sacrifice of sorts to the land. A life to save the lives of others.

Then there is Eleanor, her story is told in the past, her life's story is what started the curse, in her issues with her family, her marriage, dealing with deception, anger, and frustration, she makes a deal with the Devil. Ain't no other thing scarier than that. Her actions are the driving force of the novel. You as a reader want to emphasize with her but can you know what she did?

Read the book and find out. It’s worth it! It is a book in my opinion that centers around morals mainly. Choosing to do the right thing and how evil just begets more evil, having regrets, feeling guilty, anger towards others, sacrifice and so much more.

This book has so many elements that you as the reader try to grasp in a way that keeps you on your toes as the mystery of Redd's family history and the history of Eden gradually unravels. It ended on such a cliffhanger so I am anxiously waiting for what happens in book 2.

Thank you, NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC. These are my honest thoughts.

I originally DNF'd this book at 30% simply because I didn't realise just how dark of a read this would be, and it was a little too much for my taste. Even when I did give up on this book, I could admit the writing and weaving of the historical aspect of this world was done so impeccably well. I just was unable to relax into this world as a reader. I have since slowly taken my time to complete this book and look into the mystery around Roanoke Island, and I have come away from reading this in awe at Katie Hayoz' attempt of creating a world where everything makes sense in the narrative of what we know about the mysteries of the colony.

Whilst it is still too dark for me to truly have enjoyed it, the author's attention to detail and fleshing out three very distinct characters, especially through the story telling of Eleanor in the past, was executed so well. You can see the effort Hayoz has gone to with each character. This story is told from multiple POVs, yet it's never confusing, which I truly appreciated. The curse, along with the evilness in this book, was paced well and the storyline interesting enough, even if it made me uncomfortable a few times (down to this genre, not the author). I loved learning more about the Dare family line and the mask itself. I also found John's village intriguing, to have such a place exist that heralds over evil and demonic acts and yet is darker than what you ever expected of Eden to begin with.

It's unfortunate that I was unable to enjoy this as much as I had hoped to when I read the synopsis, but I can still appreciate a well written attempt at offering a plausible answer to the mysteries that happened on Roanoke Island.

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of torture, mutilation, gore, racism, mention of suicide, infanticide, death of a parent, kidnapping, grief, mention of cannibalism, sexual harrassment, drowning </spoiler>

Every year on her birthday, a mysterious locked box appears.
Every year, her mother disappears, getting rid of the box, and then they move. Again.

We have three viewpoints: Redd, who doesn't have a clue and is not getting answers despite asking and asking and asking. John, who sets out to find Redd and bring her to his hometown, where people have sinister intentions. Eleanor in the 16th century, who is responsible for the whole situation.

I was frustrated with this book because it kept on hinting. It feels slow paced but nothing is really happening or being revealed till the end, and then, when things are finally getting there, the book is over and ooh buy the next one. You could have fit the whole story in one book and I would have preferred that.

While I like the exploration of the main idea <spoiler> what if the people from the Roanoke colony didn't die but made a pact with the literal devil and vanished from places regular mortals can access </spoiler> I dislike the idea of putting down bad things happening as oooh it was the devil. They would have never gone there on their own, they were tempted by THE tempter and then had to live with the consequences.

Similiar, I had problems with wrapping my head around the idea of a dog who is pure evil. Yes, I know, hellhounds exist in many cultures. I guess that one is just me.

The queer elements of this story. Well. There is the main protagonist mom's best friend who is lesbian but married a man because in her time, things were done that way. Mostly we hear about Minnie, she has very little screen time. It fits nicely in, but if you came for a queer story, don't get your hopes up.

In contrast, what I really, really liked were the masks, because I know them and they are effing freaky and the one that my grandfather had frightened me so much, though I have to admit that it felt very random that the author said they're not inspired by these masks from Switzerland, but they are <i>the</i> masks from Switzerland. First, every region has their own regional variants, and whole Europe has weird examples of that. If youre interested, I'd recommend going to Youtube and look at Karola Zebrowka's video about that. Second, the explanation was like "oh you know, pirates and corrupt Spanish armada people, of course they have swiss masks!". Could have been done better.

I am torn, on one hand I'd like to see how it plays out now that I invested the time to get here. On the other, I dislike the writing as it is and think it would benefit from extensive editing. But I doubt that huge changes will occur in the middle of the series, so I guess by the time the second novel comes out, I probably won't care anymore.

Fyi, I tagged the Croatoan people and not the other mentioned native american tribes because quite a few are mentioned, but we have a character from this tribe in one of the three povs. I felt that he somewhat fell into the sage savage trope, but am not really qualified to talk about that, being white and never having read further into this.

If you still want to read this, I'd recommend waiting at least till you have books one and two and can carry on reading, because as I said, the ending felt very jarring as it was like they stopped where it just got really going.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the E-ARC copy of this book. The rating of this book is entirely of my own opinion.

I haven’t been doing so well with YA lately but this one really worked for me. The author uses elements of horror and the legend of the lost colony of Roanoke to examine human nature in all its gritty detail. This is a look at what evil truly is and how the only way to fight it is to recognise it in yourself and make better choices. And it’s a rollicking good dark fantasy to boot. Highly recommend.

A dark and sinister tale. The POVs were split between three characters, two in the present and one in the past giving background. The book was a bit slow for me to start but really picked up during the last 1/3 and I had to know what happened. It does end on a cliffhanger. Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Today I’m here to discuss the book that got me out of the said horrible reading slump- The Curse That Binds Us by Katie Hayoz, the first in the Devil of Roanoke trilogy. Simply put, it is a perfect example of a historical fiction meets paranormal fantasy genre mix up. The trilogy is inspired by an amalgamation of two real historical incidents- one being the Lost Colony of Roanoke, which was the first permanent English colony in the New World, famous to have witnessed the disappearances of the settlers, making the incident to be one of the many speculative mysteries in American history. There are rumours that the settlers died because of starvation or because of some other natural calamity but nobody knows what really happened.

The second historical reference was from the legend of Tschäggättä mask figures of Switzerland. These were traditionally dressed men in skins and masks to frighten others. Some believe that tribes would wear these masks to ward of evil spirits or to steal things from other localities but their origin is unclear.

The author, Katie Hayoz did a wonderful job putting the two historical legends together and modifying it to cultivate this beautifully addicting fantasy trilogy! If I were you, I’d already be interested in the book and add this to my tbr but just for the sake of being professional, let me give you a gist of the book we’re talking about and my personal experience reading it.

The story follows three main characters- Redd, John and Eleanor- the first two based in the present timeline while the third’s story dates back to the history.

Redd lives with her mother and there’s nothing normal about either of them. Redd can taste emotions and her anger does things, horrible things. She doesn’t know why. Her mom never tells her anything. Not about why she’s supposed to duck her head underwater every morning and practice staying there as long as possible. Neither about the reasons why they keep moving places, every year. Not about the strange flower that grows only where they live that they must protect at all costs, and certainly not about the box that keeps appearing every year on Redd’s birthday.

All she knows is that she can’t trust people (not even her mother because she often senses lies in whatever her mother tells her) and the reason why they keep moving is because someone might be looking for them. Someone really, really bad. And, that she must never open the box she gets sent every birthday.

So, she does exactly that. She opens the box and soon enough, a sexy, mysterious tourist, John Smith comes in town. He speaks funny and she can never sense his emotions like she can do for others. This intrigues her and when she finally line the dots together, she realises that John Smith maybe the someone her mother had warned her against. But Redd has questions that only John can answer; questions that she knows her mother have always been lying about; answers she had been hiding.

And that’s the only reason she chooses to go along John Smith to the place that he tells is where her true home is. But the question still lingers in her head- should she really be trusting John Smith? Is wherever he’s taking her really the bad place that her mother had kept her safe from?

Read the book and find out, my friend. It’s worth it!

Now coming to my opinion, at first, I was a little lost because I had no idea what was happening. Like I was totally immersed in Redd’s point of view and could understand everything that was happening but John and Eleanor’s story was a little tough to get into. I guess, it was when John was finally sent on the mission to find Redd was when it all started making sense together. The prose is good, easy to understand. It was the right amount of everything, not too descriptive but descriptive enough to visualize everything.

The plot was nicely structured. Right things happened at the right time. The timing and the worldbuilding was on point. The worldbuilding specifically was done exceptionally well, unlike many other fantasy books where there’s paragraphs and paragraphs just filled with exposition, making sense of the world and the fantasy magic system.

I really loved Redd’s character because you get to sense the confusion she’s facing and the questions she has- like should she trust her mom or this stranger called John Smith who is willing to give her the answers she’s wanted to know since so long. She was also the most relatable character out of all three of them, if that counts! There is also insta-love thing happening between Redd and John, which to be honest, I didn’t buy because it just felt too rushed and pushed and very unrealistic. There should have been more bonding and more emotional progress before their very first kiss, in my opinion. It just felt very abrupt and out of the blue.

There’s another thing that I absolutely hated but also loved about this book and it was the fact that the book ended with a cliffhanger……and the second book isn’t even out yet (It comes out at the end of this year).

AAAAAAAAAAA….I literally screamed when the book ended. I was like, “What do you mean, end of book 1?????”

Anyway, overall, this book in my opinion centers around morals mostly. It’s about choosing to do the right thing and how evil just begets more evil. It’s about having regrets, feeling guilty but still choosing the easy way to steer clear from the cost you’re supposed to pay for all the wrong. If you like my-life-was-a-lie trope to go together with paranormal mythical beings like satan and it-was-all-a-trap trope, then you shouldn’t wait any longer and just go buy the book. It’s already available on amazon. Just go. RIGHT NOW.

I would like to thank Netgalley, BooksGoSocial and the author, Katie Hayoz for giving me the wonderful opportunity to read this book as an ARC and review it. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone. It’s fast paced, it has a good story, it has satan in it. Need I say more? I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It could have been an easy 5, had it not ended with a freaking cliffhanger, but oh, well…

Thank you so much for reading!