For fans of dark YA fantasies and mysteries alike, The Curse That Binds Us is a skillfully thought-out "what if" scenario for the lost members of the Roanoke Colony.

In the modern day, we follow the story of Redd as she attempts to uncover her mother's secrets about their family. When she finally gets the chance to discover what's been hidden from her, she unintentionally sets off a chain of events that puts her life in danger.

Full of adventure and dark history (and a bit of forbidden romance), The Curse That Binds Us is a great start to a new trilogy and I'm excited for where it will lead!

The concept of this is fab, and I love the mix of history with the lost tribe of Roanoke. However, this was so confusing. I didn't understand what was going on for so long. It took until 90% for me to actually figure out anything.

CAWPILE 5.29 3*
Characters: 6- Redd was pretty annoying and John was fairly bland. I liked Eleanor's chapters but they just didn't make sense. I think if the authors note about the lost tribe was at the start then I would have enjoyed them more.
Atmosphere: 5- The concept was good, it just felt like we were dumped in the middle of a story
Writing: 5- Its not that the writing was bad, it just didn't feel well plotted
Plot:5- Pretty much the above two points
Intrigue: 6- I was interested, but I don't think I'll read the rest of the series
Logic: 4- so much didn't make sense for the majority of the book
Enjoyment:6- I did like it, but I didn't love it.

The Curse that Binds is is the first of the Devil of Roanoke trilogy where Kayoz reinvents the tale of the lost colony of Roanoke and uses it to explore how far any of us will go for love.

I loved this, it’s fun but also dark and sinister, really looking forward to how this trilogy unfolds.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could have liked this more than I did. I was really wanting a dark, complex YA read but this read way too highschool-y for me. Which would have been fine if it had been marketed more for high schoolers, but the MC is 18 years old, so I expected much more than this. T

he writing has a lot of exposition, a lot of telling and explaining the situation instead of showing it. The characters were interesting, but I just needed a little bit more from all of them. Like they were a base sketch, and the author needed to add some fine hairs. Redd can be daring to the edge of stupidity, which I actually don’t mind out of a character, but I just never understood her motives behind it. She loves her mother, supposedly, and it was never explained why she chose to open a chest that her mother was literally deathly afraid of. Like... that seems so so so stupid to me, and it could have been justified if the author had embraced that sort of callous decision making, but she tries hard in all other areas to make Redd seem calculating and observant with her 6th sense. So having her open that box makes no sense to me. AND putting on the mask? I don’t understand. I don’t have a 6th sense, but I know if my situation was hers I would have stayed the Hell away from it, and I can’t imagine a rebellious kid even going that far for sh*** and giggles, there has to be some other motive. I was excited about the romance, I love a good I-love-you-but-it’s-my-duty-to-kill-you romance, but this was Insta-love with nearly no tension, just lust. I just couldn’t back that chemistry. I thought the flashbacks to Roanoke were interesting, but the pages after pages of italics was irritating and I don’t understand why it was formatted that way with how much time we spent in the POV, it would have been fine in just regular text, and eventually the mystery and tension of the POV was lost in paragraphs of exposition.

Unfortunately, this was a no from me.

The first half of the book was pretty intriguing but the more was revealed the less interested I was. The romance wasn’t particularly well developed so while the idea is good the execution of the romance wasn’t. It both felt very fast-paced but at the end of the book I realised not a lot happens and felt underwhelmed. Some of the character work was pretty good, I just wanted more. Not bad but not for me!

I loved the romance, plot, really everything. This isn’t usually my favorite genre but, I couldn’t stop reading. The author did a beautiful job writing this book.

The Curse That Binds Us is an unique take on the story of the lost colony of Roanoke. A slow but fascinating read. So fascinating that I was disappointed that it ended with a cliffhanger, because I hadn’t realized that it was the first book in a series. Can’t wait to learn more about Redd’s mysterious past.

I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been intrigued with the premise for this book since the author announced it. And it did not disappoint. Let me first say, the multiple POV were done very well. Sometimes multiple POV books can leave me skipping a POV to get another character, but this book did not. I loved the buildup of suspense in this book. Every chapter left me wanting to know more about what was happening in Redd, John, and Eleanor’s life. Each character brought their own story to this book. I loved getting to know each character. The story is unique and well thought out. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

I just finished "The Curse That Binds Us" and let me tell you its a winner. Once I figured out the pattern of the story I was hooked. It's dark and twisted with a wonderful female protagonist and I've never read anything like it. I love that at the end the author explains how she arrived at her storyline. The creativity and writing style is flawless in my opinion and I look for towards the second book in this trilogy. Special thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.#TheCurseThatBindsUs #NetGalley #BooksGoSocial

** I received an eARC copy for an honest review. **

This was a pretty cool take on Roanoke and its inhabitants.

There was the present and the past featured throughout the book. It felt like I was solving a puzzle throughout. I really enjoyed that!

The story itself is intriguing. Sometimes it dragged, but the atmosphere throughout pulls you back in. It leaves you pretty unsettled.

Since it's first person pov, the author got creative in giving you a sense of dread. The reader KNOWS something is off and wrong, but our characters don't grasp the danger they're in. We know more details from the reveals in the past.

The romance itself is pretty cute. It's pretty insta love, but with a major betrayal arc coming up. They're enemies to lovers in the making. Especially after everything that's happened towards the end. I doubt Redd will be as forgiving when she finds out the whole truth.

John had moments where he could've come clean, but didn't. Now John and Redd are going to be caught up in a huge mess. I can't wait for the next book. The dread and angst is going to be off the charts!

Overall rating:

3.5/4 out of 5

How much evil can we do in the name of good? What lengths will we go to in order to save our own?

To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement! The Curse That Binds Us is as much a dark Salem-style dance with the devil as it is an early settler-era historical drama and they weave so seamlessly into one another and into the present day that I found myself having to remember that it IS mostly fiction.

The first book in what is set to be a trilogy, it is the perfect start and a very well balanced blend of world/story building and forward momentum. Told from 3 different points of view we first follow Redd, a teenager living in Wisconsin who desperately wants to lead a normal life with her normal friends but who is plagued by an overbearing mother with strict rules and odd “training” that is supposed to be for Redd’s protection. Not to mention a mysterious trunk that shows up every year on her birthday prompting her mother to pack up their things and run year after year.

The second point of view is from John, a teenager from the beautiful idyllic town called Eden. Frozen in time the inhabitants of Eden do not age, suffer no ailments, and cannot sustain their own lives outside of Eden. True to its name in appearance you would wonder why they would ever want to leave, however it does not take long for you to learn the dark undercurrent and secrets of the world they call home.

The third and final point of view was my favorite and that is of Eleanor Dare, the first woman to birth an English child in the New World. Very, very loosely based on the history and mystery surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island NC we follow Eleanor from childhood in England through motherhood in Roanoke. A part of the Colony that “disappeared” without a trace, we follow her as well as some other key characters from the time they arrive in Roanoke to their mysterious vanishing. Interwoven in Eleanor’s story is a chance encounter with the devil and his pets during her childhood that seals her fate and ultimately sets the entire story in motion.

This book was very easy to follow even with 3 points of view and I was able to start weaving the pieces together rather quickly. The pacing was great, there were not really any “slow” parts. You were given vital bits of information at the perfect times to keep pulling you in while not overwhelming you with too much information at once so as to make it confusing.

Overall the story was captivating, the mystery engrossing, and though its origins were very dark it harkens back to the classic good vs evil fight and prods at deeper questions of morality such as how far WOULD you go out of desperation? And what WOULDN’T you do to care for someone you love? Is it weakness to have a soft heart? Or will a hardened heart only leave you blinded and vulnerable?

I would have loved to have seen a bit more romantic tension/chemistry between Redd and John, I feel like there was a fair bit building up in the beginning but then it kind of became nonexistent once they shared a pretty intense kiss. What was there, however, did both their characters’ personalities justice and laid the groundwork for hopefully more of a deeper connection for them in the story ahead.

Note: This book did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger right as everything came to a head and I was begging for there to be just a little bit more, but overall it is an excellent read. I cannot wait for the next installment!!

TW: abuse, abduction, racism toward Native Americans, violence, rituals/sacrifice, death, child death.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for sending me a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review!

In 1587, a British ship came to the shores of Roanoke, today's North Carolina, USA. Two years later, the colony vanished. What can tie those events and eighteen-year-old Redd who lives in present with her mother and her secrets?
Why can't Redd have a normal life? Why does she have to move constantly, practice breathing underwater and why her anger does things? Also, there is this 400-year-old artifact that comes as Redd's birthday gift every year, but she only manages to get a hold of it once she turnes 18. At the moment, this seems like an only link to tie it all together. But then this boy appears.
The Curse That Binds Us is the first book in the Devil Of Roanoke Series and it ends with a major cliffhanger. I loved that it was written for three persons' perspective with going back in time and tying those events with the present. The book captivated me completely and there was not one thing I disliked about it. I loved how, although Redd didn't know about her true identity or some other mysteries still hidden in this first book, she was aware of it in part. That's why the transition between normal and unusual or magical didn't feel far-fetched or too sudden. The secrets came undone evenly throughout the book and glued me to my chair with every chapter. But, that's not the end of it! There are so many questions still waiting to be answered later in the series! I also enjoyed the language used in the book because there wasn't just one voice. For each time period, there was an appropriate language and style used which gave the book its authenticity. Of course, there is this Faustian concept that surrounds the story and that gave it this almost gruesome and mysterious note.
Just like Redd is welcomed to Eden, I feel welcomed to enjoy the rest of the series. And just how Redd is deceived entering Eden, I hope to be deceived once again by the author's brilliant mystery crafting just when I think I figured it all out.

This book is a delightfully dark fantasy that puts its own spin on the mystery surrounding the Roanoke colony. I loved the way the author combined the dark fantasy elements of the story she wanted to tell with the historical facts we know about the lost colony. The plot really melds those two things, historical detail and dark fantasy elements, really well so that it doesn't feel like one is ever being sacrificed or shoe-horned in to serve the other. The plot has plenty of twists and turns along the way, and left me wanting more when the story ended.

The novel's told through three points of view, which works really well for this story because each POV character gives a unique view on the world/events as a whole. Redd provides a modern, "average Jane" perspective, Eleanor provides a historical perspective, and also fills in some of the gaps that might be missing and John gives a perspective that spans both time and space, and adds a bit of nuance to the conflict at the center of the story. The story truly becomes interesting when these POVs entwine.

The beginning of this novel is a bit confusing. The reader comes into the world not having a good idea of what's going on, who the "sides" of the main conflict are or even what the conflict is. As a result, when the inciting incident happens, the reader might still have a lot of questions they need answered before becoming invested in the story. It kept me guessing and invested, but for some readers, it might be a little too much mystery on the outset. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the romance.

It was kind of a long read. It started off slow and was kind of confusing with the different POV shifts. Once I got about 8 chapters in, it started to pick up and got fascinating. I love the cover art as well. The plot was really well done. I am interested in seeing what is next.

I loved this book!! Multiple POV's are my jam, and with the flashbacks to the past from Eleanor, on top of the dual POV in the present, I ate this up!! I was so invested in Redd's story, and the Dare family, and how it all connected, and what the heck was going on in Eden. Definitely a great read!

My favorite thing about this book was the spin on the tale of the Roanoke Colony. I love retellings, so this book was a nice read for me. I love the darker feel to overall story, and the it was a quick and easy read. I'm very interested to see where the story is going to go next.

*** Thank you netgalley for kindly providing an arc of this book to me.
When I first read this synopsis, I was really intrigued by the concept of this book, so I immediately started reading it. I liked reading about our characters as well the the three perspectives we got. However, I found the writing too fast paced to go along properly with the story, and because of that the plot felt very rushed. I didn't really understand why our main character didn't question more things at the beginning, and just seemed to go along with the flow. I also didn't really vibe with the writing in general. It was pretty straightforward at first, which I liked, but then the author seemed to want to be the next erin morgenstern and came up with these incredible flowery descriptions that had nothing to do with the original scheme of the writing and felt kind of out of nowhere.
However, that said, I did enjoy the story overall and thought it was pretty okay to be a debut author. 3 stars.

4⭐️

This was eery, well-written and really drew me in! I wish I’d read it during October for my spooky season reads because it would have fit right in.

I thought the concept of the book was really interesting and not like anything I’ve read before, Roanoke is fascinating and the multiple timelines/POVs really made this an immersive read.

I didn’t realise this was going to be a series, so the ending did leave me wanting more. There is a little bit of a miscommunication trope at work which was frustrating (but those tropes are supposed to be I guess). I read an ARC of this and did spot quite a few typos etc but hopefully these will be caught before publication.

Overall, a really great read!

First of all, Virginia Dare inspired book! I love the lore and enjoyed the twists Hayoz make in this book.
I love the pacing and how the author took time to explain the background story/base lore so it's easier for us reader to understand the plot and settings. I also love the world building and characters, especially Chaos :)
The romance felt a bit flat at times, but the chemistry is def there. LOVE the lore and world building and def looking forward to read the next book!

< Review copy received via Netgalley in exchange with an honest review >

I really enjoyed this book, the storyline was very interesting and kept me intrigued through the entire book! I’m very excited to see where the rest of the series goes!