“Seven beasts. Seven gods. A solstice and a wish.”

Genre: #YA #Fantasy #Retelling #Romance

Books: 2/2

When I read the first book #Gilded , I was very excited and been anticipating second book a lot. But you know what usually happens with quickly written duologies? Yup, a lot of plot wholes and dragging of the events.

Let's talk about my biggest issue with this story. I used to love #ACOTAR , until Maas started to write about babies. Same story here, main character – Serilda, gets pregnant, and through the quarter of the book majority of the issues are around the baby. (I guess you either like it or not).

Second issue, Guilded aka Rumpelstiltskin, all though these two books, author is page by page showing his past and what has happened to him. I was expecting a big reveal in the end, but pffff, did not happen.

Besides all my moaning, second book is a nice one time read, especially for the Autumn season.

There are a lot of magical creatures, myths, which is not surprising, since this book was inspired most likely by brother Grimm collected fairyltales.

Good thing about #Meyer is that she writes in flowing language, which is easy to read.

This is the follow up to Marissa Meyer's Gilded, a retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, an atmospheric magical fantasy. Serilda, the captivating storyteller, is a determined character, set of freeing herself, Gild and the children from the curse that ties them to Adelheid Castle, and the clutches of the Eriking and his court. However, the villainous and cruel Eriking has a darker agenda that threatens everything in a narrative that sees significant developments in Serilda and Gild's characters, and their relationship. As the haunting story progresses, the tone becomes much darker, there are twists and turns, a wide range of characters, both old and new, secrets and deceptions, more of Gild's past and name is revealed in this epic and suspenseful fight between the progressive forces for good versus those of evil. This is a beguiling read, of Serilda and Gild's past and their thrilling adventures, where Meyer builds beautifully on the fantastical world she created, but for me it did have some pacing issues and a few weaknesses in the plot and conclusion. However, this did not stop me finding this an enjoyable, emotional and entertaining read, with characters I rooted for, with all the fantastical elements likely to enchant fans of Meyer and other readers too. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Gilded had such incredible world building and an exciting plot, and Cursed lives up to its predecessor! Picking up not long after the explosive ending of Gilded, this book has just as much magic and edge of your seat excitement. This is such a brillaint duology and I'm gutted it's now finished!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This was much darker and twistier than Gilded, and I loved it! It completely drew me into its world, and I'm utterly invested in the characters. This is a world I'll return to again and again (and I'm already planning a re-read). The characters were wonderfully developed, the pacing was just *chef's kiss*, the worldbuilding was exemplary, and the ending was just really, really satisfying. Definitely a series I'll recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed Gilded, the first book of this duology, so I was looking forward to this book. It did not disappoint, it is very well written and enjoyable

The world of Cursed is deeply seductive each story lures you in further.

A fitting sequel to Gilded these books are highly bingable and will have you flying through them to reach the end.

I love the intersexuality of this book and each fairytale weaves part of the broader narrative.

A fiery protagonist, agonised prince and evil king make for the perfect recipe of tension and suspense. I was as invested in the budding romance as I was in the attempts to escape and both held equal weight in the book.

A fun and twisty read for a gloomy autumnal evening.

I was so happy to get this as I absolutely loved Gilded.

So we're back in Adalheid with Serilda, Gild, The Erlking and the 5 ghost children and Serilda is to be a bride!

However all Serilda wants is to get herself, Gild and the kids free from their curses but the Erlking is planning something much bigger!!!

The world imagined here was rich, haunting but beautiful, the plot was detailed and interesting and kept me hooked (although maybe a bit too strung out in places) and side characters had their own energy and were written so well but Serilda and Gild.........oh how I loved them, they made my heart ache!

But Gild stole the show for me again! I mean....
'Are you sure that’s me? said Gild, I look like a pompous asshat.'

I couldn't not mention the Erlking! I actually liked him in parts and I thought we were in for a love triangle first of all!!!

The second half of the book was defo darker (and I'm here for that!) and the ending was explosive and totally emotional!

Overall a great conclusion with drama and tension that had me on the edge of my seat!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this title.

This sequel to Gilded brings the adventures of Serilda to a close in surprising more action than I had expected. There were many aspects to the plot that lead on nicely from Gilded, but I did find the first half of the book a lot more tedious than Gilded, or the second half.

I'm unsure on what to think of the used tropes between Serilda and Gild, and I found their romance somewhat unrealistic.

That being said, the underlying narrative of the story was very captivating with germanic fairy tale, old gods, and barriers between world.

While this book (for me) is nothing spectacular, it is certainly an enjoyable read and a decent pallet cleanser.

I'm going to try not to give away too much of the first book in this duology - Gilded - in case you haven't read it, but I expect many reading this will have done. This sequel - full of magical fantasy - did not disappoint me, leading me back to the world on the other side of the veil where monsters and demons reside and the Erlking rules. He is such a wonderful villain and in his interactions with Serilda in this book, you almost - and I say almost - see a more romantic side to him. Serilda is hiding a secret from Gild and the tension this creates is so heart-breaking. But these two - we see their characters grow so much throughout this book and they develop such maturity as they are forced to make difficult choices. There are even more monsters to meet and we meet the gods in all their forms. There are hauntingly beautiful descriptions and chilling imagery. And as for the ending - I loved it!

Marissa Meyer in an excellent writer who has intriguing spins on fairytale retellings. Cursed was a great continuation of the story to Gilded and a way to bring people into the rumplestiltskin tale

This one is begrudgingly receiving 3.75 stars.

Similar to book 1, this was too long and filled with some unnecessary fluff.

However, the final story was really well done. I think perhaps because this book really took on its own story, rather than centering in on Rumpelstiltskin, so I didn't have expectations.

I will say that the tie in to the Rumpelstiltskin story at the end was really well done!

I loved the magic of this book, the use of the veil and parallel worlds, and the weaving of stories and tapestries.

There is a small amount of LGBTQ rep in this book, some non binary characters, male/male and female/female pairings that did not drive the story forward but we're in the background and easily accepted which was nice to see.

However, where it fell flat was the continuation from book 1. The love interest was not compelling, I still did not feel there was a strong enough connection built before everything and that made it less believable.

Additionally, the magic use at times did seem too convenient at times, or lacked some kind of fleshing out. The idea that ghosts can eat and drink and basically be human, was, odd.

Regardless of these, Meyer is a good storyteller and I did eventually enjoy the entire tale.(when I ignored the lack of built connection from book 1)

Thank you Net-galley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Cursed is the second book in the Gilded duology and continues to follow Serilda and Gild on their adventures as they attempt to escape from the evil Erlking and save their young wards. Additionally throughout this book they are trying to thwart the capturing of 7 mythical beasts. I really enjoyed book 1 of this duology and this book continued to be a delight to read.

Serilda is a fantastic protagonist. I wouldn't say she is anything particularly special but she just has such a kind heart and stubborn personality that make her really endearing to follow and root for. I also really love Gild, I love the cheeky, charming type love interests (he actually reminds me a lot of Thorne from the lunar chronicles) and we get to see more of his backstory in this book. Something that is very important to me in books is the villains and I love the villains in this book, they are not people you root for but they are so compellingly bad (and lets face it sexy) that it makes it a very enjoyable reading experience.

Marissa Meyer's writing is such a comfort read for me; it is very fairytale-esque, cosy yet haunting at the same time. I love the setting and atmosphere of this book - it gives very European forest vibes and is the perfect autumn time read. It is also paced extremely well with a good balance of plot vs emotional character moments. I really enjoyed the plot throughout and thought it escalated really well, gradually ramping up the tension from a slow but tense being leading to a satisfying and heart wrenching conclusion.

The subtle magical fairie vibes I also really enjoy, as well as the nods to storytelling and how lies can twist fate common in a lot of fairytales. I also really like the Rumpelstiltskin inspiration (and it will forever make me nostalgic for my favourite OUAT character :'))

This YA series explores themes of motherhood and pregnancy which is not something you see very often in YA but I think it adds to the dark traditional fairytale tone of the story so it fits well. I also love the relationship Serilda has with the 5 young children from her village she is trying to protect from the Erlking, willing to sacrifice anything for them which often gets her into sticky situations.

Overall I would really recommend this duology when you want some comforting YA fantasy with darker fairytale-esque themes, an enchanting atmospheric and loveable characters to root for.

Meyer's 'Cursed' had a strong start; I really enjoyed the first story about returning to life once a year to see loved ones, and reminded me of the Disney film, Coco! It flowed from the events of the first book, and put me right back in the story - the relationship between Gild and Serilda also retained the essence that initially drew me in. As a whole, I did enjoy the book, but there were a few aspects that I would have lied to see delved into more - which I will explore subsequently.

My favourite aspect, which was carried over from the first book, was the mystery surrounding Gild's family. I felt that the intrigue was handled well by Meyer, but would have liked to see more of it - for example, seeing more of Gild's sister and her experience of the past 300 years. While the way in which she was introduced was excellent, and the sense in which they were unknown to one another felt very real, seeing more of her after this point would have been even better. It might be really interesting to have a novella of her experiences during the curse, or of the family before the curse and the events leading up to it. Essentially, I enjoyed how Meyer handled the history, but would love to have seen more of it - hence one of my favourite parts was the reveal of Gild's true name towards the end.

I also really enjoyed Serilda's relationship with the children; it was a unique idea and an excellent method of showing more of her character - her maturity and growth in thie book compared to the last one was palpable. Her difficulties surrounding the loss of her parents also aided in this, with her emotions towards each very believeable and authentic.
The revelation of Serilda's mother's identity was also unexpected, to say the least, and a really fascinating twist! Everything came together nicely regarding why Serilda was 'cursed', rather than just born healthy, according to her father's wish. I would, however, have liked more details on her mother - perhaps through a story? Even without delving into the past, I would have enjoyed seeing more of their conversations after the reunion.

I was somewhat underwhelmed, however, by the claim Gild made on his child. I had the bargain in the back of my mind from the first book, and was expecting a big and emotional claim when it eventually came. I really enjoyed the tension Meyer created through this thread, but it was that that left me somewhat underwhelmed. This was a tone that I left the book with in many respects - while i enjoyed it, I wasn't overawed. There were several things that I would have liked to see more of and others that I might have taken away - but as a whole, I look forward to reading Meyer's next piece of work!

I absolutely loved the first book and had high hopes for this one- it did not disappoint! Such a wonderful story filled with so many turns and twists. The way the whole plot has evolved over both books is masterful. This book hit so many emotions- truly a masterful tapestry of magic, fantasy and love.

I received this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book just as much as I loved Gilded. Serilda is badass, Gild is his ever mischievous self and the Erlking is... Well, he's a bastard, though he's a bastard who believes what he's doing is right and justifiable.

So many secrets are revealed in the book, but I won't go into detail, you'll just have to read the book for yourself.

I'll also admit this book made me cry towards the end. I'd highly recommend this to anyone, especially anyone who loves fairytale retellings. You won't be disappointed

I spent a lot of time contemplating my rating of this book as I have such mixed feelings about it. It took me far longer to read than usual, as for the first 2/3 of the book I will admit I wasn't all that engaged. Cursed is beautifully written with compelling characters, but it felt like for the first portion of the story at least, MM didn't really have them doing very much. After page 250 or so the pace started to pick up and I finished it off fairly quickly, with an exciting end to redeem the earlier section. I am a very demanding reader so do need a lot of action early on to keep me interested, which unfortunately I felt was lacking in Cursed. HOWEVER, overall I did still enjoy the story, especially the ending, so if you're not quite as demanding as me I'd definitely recommend giving this duology a go as it's very well written, with intricate and fantastical fairy tales woven in.

I love a fairytale retelling and Marissa Meyer is one of the best. Gilded and this sequel, Cursed, aren't set in a modern day other reality like her Renegade series nor in a futuristic dystopia like her excellent Cinders series, but in the original fairytale world, a Germanic land of small towns, dark endless forests,castles and princes, inns and things that stalk the night. A world where a miller's daughter might find her impulsive story telling makes her queen.
I don't want to say too much about the plot, because if you haven't read Gilded (and you should remedy that) any plot recount will contain spoilers. So suffice to say that Serilda continues to spin stories and the Alder King to plot evil in a twisty, dark and very satisfying conclusion full of excellent worldbuilding that proves that maybe, just maybe, the word is mightier than the sword. Highly recommended.

Reading Gilded was one of my favourite reading experiences of recent years and Cursed completely lived up to its' predecessor - and then some!!

I adored Gilded and do I was so excited to be able to get to read this book and it didn't disappoint in any way. It was the perfect carry on to the first book with incredibel writing and even more storyline and character development. I read it in one sitting, as soon as i picked up this book I knew the rest of the day was spoken for.

I have been waiting to read this since I finished Gilded and it did not disappoint! I don't want to spoil it for anyone but please read this ASAP, the way it continues the story is enchanting and I didn't know I could love the characters anymore than I already did but Meyer found a way to make that happen! Just wow!