I've been trying really hard to get through this one, yet I find myself still not able to even force myself.
The writing itself feels so unorganised. Constant repetition of words and phrases just ended up getting really old, really quickly. I wanted to enjoy the characters as well, because even when the writing isn't all there, you can still root for the characters - but I just found Astra boring. There was nothing that made me want to like her.

I have shelved this as a DNF for me, but I have recommended it to friends who may enjoy it more.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to read A Cursed Son.

I really enjoyed this book and kind of fell down the author’s amazon page to see what else she’s written and added it all to my TBR. I really got into the story of Marlak and Astra and that push/pull of their relationship. They are the epitome of enemies to lovers (then back to semi-enemies). Their insults toward each other know no bounds. Once Astra sees his memories from the death of his parents though and she sees things don’t add up, you start to have lots of questions. So many questions by the end of the book. What really happened that day? Why does Marlak have alliances but his brother seemingly doesn’t? What really happened to Astra’s parents? What kind of power does Astra really have? What does Otavio and others plan for Astra? I really need the answers ASAP.

Thank you netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC.

This book overall was enjoyable and a good read. I would definitely recommend it to friends. The enemies to lovers trope was really truly amazing in this.

However, I felt like there was a lot of different things going on, and there wasn't really a set structure. The rules of the magic system were quite confusing, and I felt like I wanted to look up other peoples opinions on it, but obviously didn't in this situation since it's an ARC review.

"Romantic & sexy dreams link a false princess to a dangerous, disgraced fae prince in this fun, steamy enemies-to-lovers romantasy"

Astra dreams of a man who envelops her in love, but in real life, he imprisons her in ice.
She is a royal decoy and Astra’s life has never been her own. Dreaming of love is all but a fantasy that could never happen. However, she can't stop dreaming and she knows she has a kindred soul. She can feel his presence every night, surrounded my love and warmth.

When Astra meets this mystery man of her dreams, she feels ice-cold. He's the Crystal Court's disgraced prince, Marlak, armed with great power and responsible for heinous crimes. Marlak gets the same dreams, but doesn't understand that it means they were meant to be.

This was such a great book! It's funny, sexy, has elemental magic, and snarky banter between human and fae. A great enemies to lovers romantasy. The world that is built in this book is great and it's filled with such entertaining characters. You feel all the emotions that the main characters go through and it keeps you reading to the end. The end had me going through so many feelings and I cannot wait to read the next book. I need to know what happens next!

I really enjoyed A Cursed Son book. The world building was fantastic and richly descriptive. The author has a great writing style and I found the book easy to follow along with.
I did find the book to have a slow start and did find myself having to push through a little. Once I did get over the initial building of this new world I was hooked.
It didn’t take me long to fall in love with all the characters. I felt they were really well
written and they had a good depth to them.
Whilst the book has no need for extra information on side characters I’d really love to know more about Nelsin and Ferer.
Our main characters are Astra and Marlak, with Marlak who is a Half Fae Half Human disgraced Prince and as a character who you’re supposed to hate but somehow end up loving him! His got many layers too him and I can’t wait to find out more.
Astra is a guard who plays at being a substitute Princess for the real Princess but she too has her secrets which slowly start to unravel throughout the book once she is married to Marlak!
It’s not long before you start to get a grip and understanding of the story before it flips it on its head!!

I can’t wait for the next book after that cliffhanger of an ending!!
I’ve already looked and it’s next year which feels like ages away!

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think this story has a lot of potential but just fell short for me. A couple of things I did not enjoy;
*minor spoilers ahead*
I had a hard time figuring out what setting or time period this story was set in just based on the words or verbage being used "wimp" or "tits." This immediately took me out of the story. The use of "husband" or "wife" being used ironically and non-ironically made the writing seem more infantile as well. I think overall Astra's inner thoughts were too detailed and ramble-y.
Another hard thing to get through was the plot points were scattered, jumbled and hard to follow. The beacon stones, the master, the dreams and the fact that she was a darksoul and only seeing her exhibit that one time in the entire story, were all just dropped into the story and picked up at weird times. All of this made the book feel clunky.
Overall, I think this was a rich idea but too many plotlines and details and not all of them developed enough to really make sense.

Well in general I did enjoy the book the one thing I do have to admit it that was a lot happening at the same time, I didn't feel it was well structured and took me a while trying to understand everything it was happening, So for me it's 3 stars

This book is an absolute gem! From the delightful banter to the captivating dreams, it had me hooked from the start. The inclusion of a dark unicorn named Cherry Cake and a purple-haired princess added a whimsical touch that I adored. The slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between Astra and Marlak was perfectly executed, keeping me on the edge of my seat. Astra's journey from palace substitute to captured bride was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I loved the dynamic between Astra and Marlak, as well as the intriguing world of warring human and fae factions. I can't wait for the next installment in this series!

4 stars

A Cursed Son is a Romantasy, with forced proximity, enemies to lovers and Marriage of convenience tropes. This Fantasy world had such an interesting magic system, magical objects and rules, some were a little hard to follow, but I had a great time learning about how it worked. Some of the political scheming and twists, just kept me hanging on to the edge of my seat, I had to know more. The romance and its development were tantalizing, with the banter and tension were great and I really ate it up. I also really liked the dream aspect that was happening, it was giving amazing teases, a mysteries element, and so Hot. There were a couple points in the story where I wanted more information and development mostly relating to the Fae kingdoms and political setup. I am hoping we get more in the next book and some things are cleared up. I had a really great time and read this book so fast, I can’t wait for the next book.
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

An incredible blend of fantasy, romance, tension, mystery and action. It gave me beauty and the beast vibes - everyone sees Marlak as a An incredible blend of fantasy, romance, tension, mystery, and action, 'A Cursed Son' captivates with its Beauty and the Beast-esque narrative. Marlak, perceived as a monster, and Astra, a royal decoy, embark on a journey from enemies to lovers amidst forced proximity and captivity. The creative dream connection adds a layer of sexual tension, while the characters' vulnerabilities and traumas deepen the storyline. The banter and sarcasm fit seamlessly, enhancing the chemistry between the protagonists. With an intriguing plot and heart-wrenching ending. This is a fast pace easy read.

This book just got better and better! Love the characters, the world and the plot. The writing was excellent, with my only caveat being that the spicy scenes just didn’t quite wow me as much as the rest of the book. That being said, I definitely recommend this book and this author and I will be waiting patiently for the second in the series to come out!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the book in return for my honest review.

Wow, what a perfect fantasy. I was engrossed in this world of magic and Fae. A fun enemies to lovers fantasy romance perfect for lovers of the Fae world.

This is a great story. The intricate world building and the way that the author incorporates it into their story is masterfully done. The characters are so fun, inviting, and engaging to behold. I was able to be completely immersed in the story. It ran as a movie in my mind. Truly a wonderful journey. I had quite a few conversations aimed at the characters while reading. The plot was a well thought out and throughly twisted ride that I greatly enjoyed. I never knew where the next page would take me. I highly recommend this book. I am waiting on bated breath for the next book in the series.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book was a lot harder for me to rate, I found myself almost giving up on it, but I powered through it and wow! I loved that it had all my favorite things in a fantasy book, faes, enemies to lovers, fae and elemental magic, arranged marriage, slow burn romance and great banter.

I thought the beginning was a little slow as I said but afterwards the pace is great, and to have that slow burn romance build up made the book kiss worthy. I enjoyed the banter between the characters the most, I found myself laughing at things they would say to each other, and I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring us with the political games and everything. The characters are what really did it for me in the book. I loved Astra so much, she is a spit fire, who has no filter at all, and I loved finding out what she was going to say next. I did love Marlak a lot too, I loved that he was honorable and made sure to hold to his promises that he makes, making sure that Astra had everything that she needed and even though she was always thinking that there was a real reason that he was acting nice to her other than the one that was right in front of her… He likes her. Lol

This is a character driven plot, and I do love it when authors write a great book that is character driven. I love the shared dreams and all the questions that would come up when they would wake up the next morning. Honestly though it was all the banter that made this book for me. This author knows how to make a great enemies to lovers’ book with some fantastic banter.

One of my favorite lines in the book was: "You said I was traded like a cow, Marlak." He raises a finger in the air " A cow, not a chicken. Have you checked the price of a cow?" I was dying of laughter.

I want to thank NetGalley and Sparkly Wave for the opportunity to review this book.

this was a great start to the Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom series, it had everything that I was looking for from this type of book. The characters were everything that I wanted from this type of book and thought it had that fantasy element perfectly. Day Leitao has a great writing style and was everything that I wanted. It uses the romance fantasy element worked overall and glad I read this and look forward to more.

was excited about this book, but it fell waaaaaay flat. I tried to finish but could only force myself to get to 60%, I just couldn't do it any longer.

it had an intriguing premise, but I felt too many different plots were added, and none of it tied together at all imo. unfortunately, I was confused in a way I don't think the author wanted the reader to feel 🫤

1.5 stars because I still really liked marlak

thank you netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

I gave this review a 3 star.

I am very conflicted on how to write this review. The first half of the book was not my cup of tea. I did feel lost through some of it. I felt left out on information that I really wished I would have known. I do not DNF books.. So I kept going. There were most definitely times where I giggled and laughed along with the characters. I enjoy enemies-to-lovers in almost every book I read, the slow burn was really slow burning. which was great. I believe every book has its pros and cons including this one. I do think the last portion of the book was very interesting and enjoyed the last half of this book.

The journey of Marlak and Astra was very interesting.

it should have not taken me a whole month to finish this book.

It was a good book. Lots of good fantasy moments. Was it my fav? Probably not. Will I read the next book? Probably not!

My review for A cursed Son will be posted on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon (title: A funny, unique romantasy that has it all!) and Instagram on 22. March 2024.

Thank you to Day Leitao and NetGalley for the ARC. I jump on the opportunity to get a physical copy and I’m very excited for book 2!

“If beauty swayed me, I’d be on my knees for you.”

Wow, this book gave me everything I hoped for in a romantasy with all my favourite tropes that was really well used, but in a very unique way and it had me laughing out loud a lot. Think nostalgic vibes from ACOTAR with Beauty and the Beast retelling and a fierce FMC, but done in a totally different way that I can’t fully explain with lots of angst, banter and sarcasm that will make you laugh out loud! With a character driven plot, some of the best slow burn I have read and a steamy dream connection between a snarky heroin and a morally grey villain, this book brings all the 🔥

“You said I was traded like a cow, Marlak.” He raises a finger in the air. “A cow, not a chicken. Have you checked the price of a cow?”

🗡️ Hidden identities
💜 Political game
🗝️ Fae and elemental magic
💜 Enemies to lovers
🗡️ Forced proximity
💜 Arranged marriage
🗝️ Slow burn (done really well🔥)
💜 Snarky banter

The plot is quite fast paced, but still manages to have a slow burn romance and to give just enough world building while still having me intrigued to learn more. This made a span that was so interesting to read as it pulls the reader in and it felt like I was on a journey with the character(s). The elemental magic is top notch and I can’t wait to see the full potential and political game that I predict for book 2! 💋👌🏼

In time, everyone reveals who they are, and you’re right that you shouldn’t base your judgment of your friends on other people’s opinions. Trust your heart.”

All the characters have lots of secrets. Right from the start you have plot twist and they are sprinkled throughout the story that also keeps things interesting. I love a good cliffhanger, but in this case I appreciate the last chapter so much and it just sets up the next book so good that I already feel invested and intrigued for what’s to come.

“I stare at that thing that should have been a barrier between us. The real barrier between us is our secrets. I don’t think either of us can wish them away.”

The FMC is a trained doppelgänger to the princess and an undercover assassin with secrets of her own in a political game that makes it feel like danger is everywhere… who can ask for a more intriguing FMC?! I really liked her fierce, snarky and sarcastic personality, even in her own head where she has banter with herself😂. She also has a vulnerability and secrets that makes her feel relatable. The POV is mostly from her, but I hope we get a bit more from the MMC too in the next book as he is the morally grey villain we all love🖤

This is a character driven plot and I loved it! The shared dreams with the MMC makes up for quite a fun ride with lots of snarky banter sprinkled with spice that had me laughing and even choking on my drink😅 The author makes even the most corny scenes so fun and I hope you pick up the book to experience it yourself. The slow burn tension with mistrust and snarky banter between these two is one of the best I have read! 🔥 It’s also pretty steamy and the spice is well written into the plot 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“I still want to run my fingers through his black curls. There’s no shame in wanting foolish things, as long as we’re aware they’re foolish.”

🖤 Other quotes I loved 🖤

“Everyone who loves manages to do more than just survive.”

“One thing I know about advice: usually the one who gives it is the one who needs it most.”

“I think old love is better, love that survives the passage of time, survives tribulations. It’s the kind of love I want.”

Astra is a royal substitute for the Princess. She is essentially taken from that place, and forced in to a marriage with the kings evil brother, Marlak. This is a Romantasy with a cliffhanger. There were some parts I really enjoyed, but some parts were lacking. Some of the relationships were hard to grasp on to, and then some of the conflicts were lacking in description. I’d say 3.5 stars.