Cursed is the continuation of Gilded. I really enjoyed this spin on Rumplestiltskin and the twists that Meyer put on this version. The characters are great and the narrator did a nice job.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to enjoy this book.

Marissa Meyer has done it again with the epic conclusion to this fairy-tale retelling.

When we last left off, out main character was pregnant with the child of a gold spinner, but her and the children she loves were caught in the web of the Erlking. Through the phases of the moon all parties scheme in an attempt to make it out and get what they want.

At no point did I know what was going to happen next and that is the very best kind of story.

At no point was I certain what a happy ending was going to look like and I loved that even more.

This is an absolutely charming adaptation of fairy tale and folk tale, with a few curses thrown in. It is a complicated and rich story.

The reader's voice is absolutely seamless. She is the storyteller using the voice of a person who completely knows and understands the characters and stories, even as she is inventing them.

Serilda and the Erlking are amazing characters, a murderous pair, who seem to get along delightfully:

"In one motion she grabbed the silver handled knife on the table and drove it into the Erlking's back, right between his shoulder blades. She felt the give of flesh, the crunch of vertebrae. The King stilled. For a long moment, Serilda wondered if maybe, just maybe, this time. Then, he took in a long breath and released it, a slow drawn out sigh.

'Please," he said, "Remove the knife from my back. I would hate to ask Manfred to do it. Again."

'Serilda cursed beneath her breath and yanked the knife out. Rather than blood dripping from the wound, there was a wisp of black smoke that dissipated into the air. She scowled. The first time she had stabbed him, she'd been sure he would fight back."

It's just beautiful.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this fantastic book. It took me a bit to get to this. Why? Because originally I didn’t know it was a sequel. I was still riding the high of my love for Heartless and knew I had to read this. Then I found out it was part 2! So I quickly got the first one and tore through it. Then there was a delay! But finally I got the conclusion I was longing for.

It’s a retelling of rumplestiltskin and it was delightful. Why not 5 stars you ask? Because I felt it went a bit to long in areas and the ending seemed nearly too easy. But Meyers is queen of retelling sand she made it all work

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you publishers and NetGalley for the Audio ARC of Cursed!!!

I absolutely loved this story and Gilded!! Serilda and Gild!!! Omg the Gods, the Villians, the towns people, and all the Monsters!!!! Absolutely loved it all!!!! would love a spin off series too!!!!!! I wasn't ready for it to end!!!!!!! I will be checking out other stories from Marissa Meyers ASAP!!!!

The story of curses, storytelling, and gods-blessed gifts continues with Cursed. Marissa Meyer succeeds again with lively, vibrant atmosphere and a well-paced plot, exuberant characters, and a magical, mystical story. I would recommend this book to literally anyone, but especially folks who love a) fairytale retellings, b) memorable characters, and c) fantasy/romance.

3.5 stars
This is the conclusion to the Glided duology a retelling pair that is based loosely on the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. And picks up soon after the events of Gild.

Overall this is a well done continuation of the promises established in book one. Giving us darker undertones than many of the other modern retellings.

While the characters and atmosphere develop in a mostly believable arc, there isn’t much in the way of character growth that I would hope for. We see what should be pretty impactful plot points taking in-stride without a level emotional impact.

The book does tend to meander at times and go off on unnecessary paths that could have been abbreviated. I typically like longer books, but I also want that length to be meaningful which some of this plot did not seem like it was to me. She probably could’ve cut out a good 100 pages and delivered a more enjoyable read.

I do appreciate that she swayed away from things like (view spoiler) which aren’t things I hate but I don’t think would’ve worked here and I was worried that was where the story was going.

I also enjoyed that she gave the Erlking a goal instead of just being bad for the sake of needed a bad guy.

The magic system is enjoyable and varied with a couple different types, I would have like to have seen it fleshed out a little more than it was, there were definitely times where it was just used as dues ex machina , but not overly in your face.

Overall, I’m glad I read the story but I doubt it’ll be something I reread or do any kind of deeper dive into.

Narrated by Rebecca Soler the audiobook definitely delivers an enjoyable experience.

Thanks for Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc, while I did receive this from Netgalley for review it does not affect my review in any way

I really enjoyed the first book in this duology, but for some reason I didn't enjoy Cursed that much. It felt like there wasn't much happening for most of the book and everything began to feel pretty repetitive. The pregnancy in a YA book felt a little weird too. It just felt very clear that this duology would've been better served as an adult series rather than YA. In an adult fantasy, this book could've gone darker and the stakes and action might have felt more compelling. It might just be that my taste for YA is starting to dry up, but this book left me wanting a lot more.

You will need to read the first book in this series, Gilded, before you read this one as you will not fully understand and appreaciate this book if you have not read it.

The Erlking has one goal to capture a God and wish for the return of his lover, the huntress Perchta from the underworld. Serilda and Guild know that they cannot let that happen but what can they do in this world. They know that they have to break the curse that binds them to the dark side of the veil but they need to find their bodies first. As Serilda and Guild search throughout the castle, Serilda soon makes a shocking discovery, that the Erlking may not be just looking to bring back Perchta but to make sure that they are never on the dark side of the veil again.

When a book is in a trilogy or a duology, it can be hard to impress or compete with the first book as expectations have been set high. There are few series where I would choose the second book as my favourite one. But for this duology I liked this book better than the first one. I found that the book was darker, information about Serilda and her power is revealed and there was less side story telling, which I found distracated from the overall plot of the first.

This book really picks up after the first one ends and the darkness of the first continues into this one. I found that the book got darker the farther the book went on. You know that the Erlking is cruel from the first book and after what happened to those Serilda cared about but you see even more of his cruelty in this book. What is also interesting is there are times that Meyer has the Erlking try to relate or get to know Serilda more but you never know if it is jus a game to him or a means to an end.

I found that Serilda grew up more in this book and was less annoying as a character, she just seemed smarter and beginning to learn from the mistakes that she had made in the past. What she is willing to give up in the book is quite shocking as well, and her sense of right and duty is high

I will admit, I was slightly and I mean slightly disappointed by the ending, but that did not take away my overall enjoyment of this book and duology.

If you enjoy re-tellings then I highly recommend that you check out this duology, Meyer knows how to do it right. I look forward to reading more of her re-telling especially if they are this dark.

Enjoy!!!

I loved this end to the duology. There was so much action throughout this one. I loved being surprised by the twists. Serilda has become a favorite character of mine. I just love her. I loved the myth are lore in this story. I haven't read many Rumplestiltskin retellings but this one is tops! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review. I loved the narration also!

The conclusion of Marissa Meyer's Guilded series did not disappoint. The narrator did a good job telling the story. I found myself mostly disconnected from the outside world while listening to the story—a good option for those who are into fairytale retellings. I highly recommend it.

I ended up not being able to download this one, so I can’t comment on the narrator, however I did get the physical book & I absolutely loved it. Im not just saying that because she’s one of my favorite authors either!

This was a great follow up to Gilded. Cursed picks up the story right where the first installment left off and keeps the action going.

I loved this book so much! It was a great follow-up to the first story, and I really hope there is more to come!! The world-building is fantastic, and it just pulls the reader in!

Another fantastic read from Marissa Meyer! There is a reason why she is one of my favorite authors of all time and this book is one of them! I can’t wait to continue in this world.

Full disclosure, I didn't realize that this was a sequel and did not read the first book. However, I still enjoyed this story and was able to quickly catch up. I think that this is a great retelling of a childhood story, making more "grown up" for the YA crowd. It was very well written, and I enjoyed the characters. Although I started with the second book, I will go back and read the first because I really enjoyed this story.

⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)

4.5 a very ya fairytale retelling but I enjoyed the writing. Marissa Meyer is pretty much always a hit for me.

Serilda is a storyteller, and unfortunately for her those stories have gotten her into a bit of a gold-spun situation. The Erlking is a demon who happens to be very interested in Serilda’s supposed ability, and as such he has tethered her spirit to the castle in Adalheid so that she can weave for him enough gold to capture a god, make a wish, and bring Perchta back to him. It soon becomes apparent that this is not all the Erlking wants, and Serilda and Gild may be the only ones who can prevent the disastrous outcome desired by the Erlking and his dark ones. 

This was a great followup to Gilded; it was fun visiting with all the characters as Serilda attempted to unravel her gold-spun problems. Gild was amusing as ever, and I loved his interactions with Serilda. I also adored the children and could see why Serilda cared for them so. They are all so well-written and well-developed. There were plenty of surprises along the way and I loved the ending, especially how Meyer connected it to the tale of Rumpelstiltskin.

The audiobook was rather enjoyable. The way in which Soler voiced Gild was absolutely amazing. She brought his mischievousness and sarcasm to life, making him my favorite character. I liked how she voiced many of the other characters as well. My one complaint was the speed in which Soler narrated. It was too slow for my tastes, although the inflection was spot-on; I am very happy that I could speed the narration up, otherwise I may not have stuck with this audiobook.

I am an unabashed Marissa Meyer evangelist. I recommend her to my teens/preteens at school, 30 something friends, family, and even people I see glancing at her books in the bookstore. Of course, I couldn't wait to get my hands on part two of the Gilded duology. It was as enjoyable as the first, but I will admit to thinking it could have been tightened up a bit more. It drags in a few places and some of the storylines didn't feel as necessary. That being said, I still gobbled up every second of the audiobook. The day Rebecca Soler stops narrating for Marissa Meyer is probably the day I stop listening to her books on audio. I love Soler's narration style. A reminder, this series is much darker than her Lunar Chronicles series and even darker than the Renegades series, which can be dark. I'd recommend this for some middle schoolers but not all and high school for sure.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

When I received this ARC, I didn't realize that it was the 2nd in a series, but the Meyer gave me enough hints and background that I wasn't lost. I liked this story so much that I went back and bought the first novel. As always, Meyer is the Fairy Tale Master! I really enjoyed this book!