If the Grishaverse and A Song of Ice and Fire had a book baby it would be this book!

I really enjoyed this book! I found myself wanting to make time to listen/read to get back to the story, which is always a good sign. I think it really helped listening to this book vs eyeball reading because there's a lot of worldbuilding at the beginning which includes a lot of new terms and introduces most of our main players. The narrator does a good job at differentiating between each character and I would definitely listen to more books narrated by her.

We mostly follow Aya and Will, the queen's spymaster and enforcer respectively. They are more reluctant teammates than rivals and they are at odds due to their history (which you learn about throughout the book). I loved all the characters, and I loved that we had dual POV. I feel like dual POV is something that we aren't often given in romantasy books so that was a treat.

The world was really cool and interesting, it did feel a little like the grishaverse at first but it quickly became it's own world and magic system. The plot at times was a little confusing, but I think this is also due to the political intrigue factor of the story and having to learn all the lore. I think built a good foundation for future books.

I really liked the romance in this book, the tension between our main couple was great. There was a tiny bit of spice with the implication that there will be more spice in later books. I, personally, don't need spice in books so I didn't mind the lack of it.

One thing I wish we had more of was the interaction with their bonded wolves. This was such a cool idea that was introduced but didn't come up as much as I would've liked. I hope we get more of that in book 2!

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

7/1 Update! Audiobook review: 4/5 & 2nd read through thoughts.

I surprised myself a little bit hear by having so much I want to say on this reread. I’ll try and keep it fairly quick since my initial review was already a bit long. But it boils down to two major point and the end result. Which is this: I liked Curse of Saints significantly more this time through.

First, I want to say that I think the way this book is marketed is just slightly off. Most of the blurbs and early reviews called this an Adult Romantasy, I would personally call it more of a New Adult Fantasy. This is a super nitpicking difference and one I’m sure some people would disagree with but for me, while there was a clear and central rivals-to-lovers plotline, the primary premise of the story was a lot more concerned with Aya’s “chosen one” arc. Having adjusted my expectations to that this time really helped me enjoy the story!

Next. The audio element. I was significantly less bothered by any grammar issues. As spoken words whatever it was that threw me out of the flow was completely unnoticeable. So that’s great!! The actor did an awesome job keeping the narrative line especially interesting. I would have liked more distinctions between character dialogue but that’s really my only complaint! I’d definitely choose Audiobook vs. physical copy in this instance!

*end of update*

Let’s start with the positives. I really wanted to love this book, and maybe I did by the end?

I’m willing to call the first 1/4 of the book a mixed bag. There were some successful and smooth integrations of world building. There were also some clumsy moments. The characters and their personalities felt fully formed and well-established very quickly. Unfortunately, It takes a good bit to get the outline of the magic system and the politics established before the plot really kicks in. Personally, I found the writing errors to be most noticeable here. While the prose isn’t terrible, it’s not super strong either. Despite a few moments that I thought could have done with some editing, it isn’t too much of a struggle to get through.

The next quarter of the book was a little harder, the book doesn’t truly hit it’s rhythm until around halfway through. That’s when the lights start to come on and the pieces come together. I found myself really pushing just to get to the point where I cared about all the foreshadowing happening.

BUT THEN. The second half of the book took off. Once things did come together, it all flew by. I’d rather avoid spoilers, but there comes a point where the action really picks up and instead of just waiting and brooding about it (as had been the typical response to tension up to this point) the characters start MAKING CHOICES.

So, ultimately?

I recommend this, definitely, but be warned: The slow burn is a killer, and the plot really takes its time building.

At this point I’m thrilled for the next book!! I’m also thrilled that the next book likely won’t have to dedicate so much time to world building 😂 A great start to a new series!