DNF'd at 41%. I really wanted to enjoy this book. I did. But the writing was so repetitive and arduous. There was very little dialogue, just paragraph after paragraph of internal musings. It had all the right elements to be a great first book of a new fantasy series, but I just couldn't do it anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

༻❥☆☀️☆❥༺
📖🄱🄾🄾🄺•🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆📖
──────☆☀️🌸☀️☆──────
📚🧚‍♀️🌸✨𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊•𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒✨🌸🧚‍♀️📚
☀️𝙰 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴𝙳 𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙱𝚈 𝙳𝙰𝚈 𝙻𝙴𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙾
☀️𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝟷 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙼𝙽𝙰𝙽𝚃𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙽 𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶𝙳𝙾𝙼 𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂
☀️𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝙵𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚈
☀️𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝟼𝚃𝙷 , 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
╰┈❥𝙰𝚅𝙰𝙸𝙻𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙾𝙽 𝙺𝚄!✨
☀️𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ || 𝟻
☀️𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ || 𝟻
☀️𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒
──────☆☀️🌸☀️☆──────
✨✨𝑀𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠✨✨
Thank you so much to @day_leitao & @netgalley for my gifted eARC of 𝐀 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐧!

This was AMAZING! This book was one I couldn’t put down, didn’t want to end, & had me literally feeling all the emotions, especially after THAT ending! Leitao really created something amazing with this book. It’s a beautifully written romantic fantasy that has characters you can easily connect with, detailed world building, & a truly unique & amazing plot with an imaginative magic system! There is not one thing I didn’t love about this book.

I absolutely adored our main characters, Astra & Marlak. I love it when the enemies to lovers are TRUE enemies to lovers & these two are TRUE enemies to lovers. Enemies, to friends, to lovers. Their banter is literally everything &, at times, had me laughing at loud. I was eating up every second of their slow burn journey to lovers! I loved their interactions so much & Leitao did an absolutely perfect job of conveying how much chemistry they had together. I was craving every time they were on page together! I literally couldn’t get enough of them. And the dream connection?! So unique!! I loved it!

This book is full of everything that I love in a really amazing romantic fantasy. I loved the way the romance & fantasy blended together to make a really perfect story. The ending?! Absolutely shattered me. I LOVED reading this as an eARC but now I have to wait longer for the next book & I’m just so sad about that!

☀️✨𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄...✨☀️
❥Enemies to Lovers
❥Snarky Banter
❥Steamy Dreams
❥Forced Proximity
❥Arranged Marriage
❥Elemental Magic
──────☆☀️🌸☀️☆──────

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This was an okay read, the only problem I had was with the dreams, they made everything so awkward and it didn't make sense while also messing up the romance.

This book was a fun read. Enemies to lovers with banter, tension, high stake, betrayal, spice and a cliffhanger.

Thank you NetGalley and Day Leitao for this ARC!
The story follows Astra, an elite guard whose job it is to be the princess double (think Kiera knightly in Star Wars). But she gets sent away for a marriage to an exiled prince, Marlak.

Reading the blurb I was super interesting and it felt like it was the kind of book I would like, and for the most part it was. I love a good arranged marriage trope and fated mates tropes. Astra was an interesting character but she felt too mysterious for it being from her POV. And when stuff was revealed about her and her past it felt anticlimactic, it just happened. Same goes for Marlak, his behavior felt forced and I wasn't getting the secret pining from him.
The dreams they shared were better than the real parts. I did enjoy the world and all the things that happened, but the writing style felt off. It seem more like a rambling of thoughts than a book.
The ending was a cliff hanger so I might read the next book but I wouldn't go out of my way to. Overall fun read but not my favorite.

Thank you to Day Leitao and Net Galley for the ARC of this book.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. The FMC reads very immature, as does the writing, and there are some colloquialisms (“facepalming”) that made this difficult for me. The FMC is 19, but acts more like she is 12. I think as a first foray into adult fantasy, there needs to be some adjustment in the writing style.

This book offers everything I love about fantasy. A main character with a secret history, told to be less by others - with a morally grey love interest who you can't help but love. You meet Astra, a member of the elite guard is Krastel, who is kidnapped into an arranged marriage with Malark, a disgraced prince accused of killing his family.

Astra is a good main character, she is kind and very open with how she feels which helps you to invest in her story and her view point on the world. Malark is portrayed well, and from the start I wanted to know more about him and the secrets surrounding his family and his "fiery prince reputation".

Although I am a fan of stream of consciousness narration, at times it felt a little childlike with a lot of rhetorical questions and answers that sometimes made me cringe, taking me away from the plot. The second part of the book was paced really well, and I was completely absorbed into the story. The cliff hanger ending has left me very much wanting to read the next!

Overall, it is a book with lots of potential, and with a little polishing of the writing style would be a really strong fantasy book. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series to find out more about the history of Malark.

A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

I was so excited to read this book! It did take me a bit to get into it and I’m sure being ill did not help with that.

The beginning was a little confusing and felt awkward as did much of the dialogue between characters throughout the book. It has an interesting magic system and a good premise to potentially build upon a for series if the author chose to develop more storyline.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the book but feel like this was more character driven than anything else. I would like to see what’s next from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, Y'ALL. Just finished "A Cursed Son" and I need to scream about it for a sec. Imagine the juiciest, most tangled-up story of dreams meeting reality, and then throw in some fae magic, because why not? This book? It's that, but make it romantic, steamy, and loaded with banter that'll have you cackling one minute and fanning yourself the next.

Astra is basically living every decoy's nightmare: stand in for a princess and maybe, just maybe, marry for politics. But at night? She's getting all the dreamy cuddles from a mysterious dude who feels oh-so-right. Cut to real life, and BAM, she's kidnapped by a prince who's more ice than Mr. Nice. Plot twist? He's her dream guy. Talk about awkward meet-cutes.

Prince Marlak is our brooding, disgraced fae with a chip on his shoulder and magic that could make your brain do backflips. Dude's got layers, and not all of them are chilly. His and Astra's dynamic is like mixing fireworks with more fireworks—explosive, bright, and impossible to ignore.

Their back-and-forth had me living for every snarky exchange and electric touch. It's like, enemies-to-lovers with a side of "oops, did we just fall for each other in our dreams?" Spicy? Heck yes. The kind of spice that makes you wish for dream connections to be a real thing.

Let's not forget the tropes that had me at hello:

A fae prince with a moodier vibe than a thunderstorm.
A heroine who's not about to let anyone push her around.
Dreamy connections that are literally what fantasies are made of.
Magic so cool, you'll wish you could enroll at Fae U.

And the ending? I won't spoil, but let's just say I'm already pacing the floor for the next book. I need to know what happens like I need my next coffee fix.

It's official, I am in my romantasy era. A Cursed Son is my newest favourite start to a series and I'm so excited to see where this is gonna go!

I love Astra, she's down to earth and loyal but she's been so conditioned to believe she is unimportant, nothing special and only good as a spare part in her kingdom, that she is lost when it comes to relationships.

Marlak.. oof. Daddy? That you? It's clear to see he adores Astra but he doesn't know how to show it. I loved how he got embarrassed by the dreams, he's a cinnamon roll in a beautifully scarred body.

Honestly, this was miscommunication trope all day long, however it's due to the complicated backgrounds of both characters. Astra can't believe she may mean something to Marlak whilst he believes she's been sent to destroy him. There's crazy attraction but 0 trust and they have to learn to live together.

I 100% enjoyed this book and will be continuing with the series when it's released!

I want to start off by saying thank you to NetGalley, publisher, and author for this ARC.

Let me premise saying that I unfortunately DNF’ed this book about 40% of the way through. The idea was interesting but there were too many parts that fell flat and felt too familiar to other titles.

I liked the idea of a decoy in for the queen, but having three felt like too many. It took away from the MFC being given the most importance of the story. It was a little diluted for her and the time and effort to write in the scene where she poisoned the others to be able to be in the carriage with the prince’s stand in felt too forced. The character herself, Astra, fell a little flat in terms of what her objective or goal was. I wished the dreams were fleshed out more versus only seeing a glimpse towards the end of her dream, so I was a little confused. I wish we got more time in the dream world from the beginning. Also she had to explain many times to him that she was not the one behind the dreams. It felt too repetitive to stand up for herself. The sacred items like the one that Ziven had on the way to the wedding rehearsal (I was confused on that as well) was not explained at least in the beginning. That small scene felt awkward and didn’t do anything for the plot. It just reinforced that I wanted to see her and Ziven more. That being said, things may have improved or been explained better as the book progressed, but DNF’ing this title I didn’t see it out. But for that reason, it didn’t keep my attention from the beginning of the novel.

The plot felt a little too similar to The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L Jensen. It was too similar in the way of she was forced into an arranged marriage to an enemy kingdom and he was aloof of her. It was also mixed in with a little of This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi with him thinking that she was in his head and dreams messing with him. I felt very little chemistry between them. However, I did feel much more chemistry and actually really wanted her and Ziven together and more time to see them develop. I skipped closer to the end to see if he was still a part of her story and it seemed more him trying to help her along with another decoy. Though the plot would’ve shifted from enemies to lovers to something a little more mild with Astra and Ziven, I would’ve loved to see that more throughout what I had read. The world building and magic system was a little all over the place and it confused me from too early on.

I understand what the author was trying to do, but again, it felt a little flat and it didn’t keep my attention. I would love to keep an eye on a new series in the future and hope to see better writing and a stronger plot and world building!

The story of Astra and Marlak is a rollercoaster of emotions, brilliantly navigating the thin line between dreams and reality. As a decoy for royalty, Astra finds her nightly dreams of warmth and love clashing with her encounters with the cold and powerful Marlak, a banished fae prince. Their unexpected connection, revealed after a dramatic carriage attack, weaves a complex tale of intrigue and budding romance. The book excels in exploring themes like deception, identity, and the quest for truth, all set against a rich tapestry of magic and fae lore. It's a thrilling read that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Let’s first talk about what I did love about this book: the main character! Astra was such a well-written protagonist; I was ready to follow her to whatever end. Her character development was incredible to see.

This world has fae, magical powers, soulmates, & UNICORNS! When’s the last time you read about a unicorn??

The banter between the FMC and MMC was giggle-worthy.

It ends on a crazy cliffhanger which has you begging for the next book 🙏

Free ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I saw this book and read the summary and immediately requested it. A Cursed Son is the first book I've read by Day Leitano and while this isn't listed as a series, I'm wondering if it will be based on the ending.

This one was only ok for me. I didn't really connect will with Astra but I don't know that it was anything to do with her as much as it is a bit of a disconnect with her story. That said, Astra is a royal decoy. She's grown up at the palace and has been trained to replace the Krastel princess where needed. The thing is, she's never been sent anywhere and when Astra takes action to push the palace to send her on a trip her carriage is attacked by the Crystal Court’s disgraced prince, Marlak. What she didn't expect that the prince is the man she has been seeing in her dreams and she doesn't know what to think about that.

Long story short, after the attack and Astra finds her way back to the palace, she learns a bit more about who she is and where she comes from. That said, Marlak also shows up and Astra finds herself married to him in short order.

A lot happens in this story and I don't want to give anything away so apologies if this doesn't really tell you all the details. Just know, there is plenty of action in this story to keep things moving along. The relationship between Marlak and Astra fits the enemies to lovers trope for sure and there is magic and magical creatures throughout so if any of this sounds interesting to you, consider picking it up.

I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book in hopes that i would write an honest review.

In this story we meet Astra a girl with no family , but from a race of people who have been hunted and killed. A race that is said to have magic in their blood and murder and evil in their hearts. An orphan raised as an eliet guard disguised all her life to be a body double as the Princess of her Kingdom she has never had much in the way of freedom or choice.

And yet she dreams at night of a Kindred soul. Her perfect match. How can she ever hope to find him if her life is not her own ?
And yet she knows her duty will always come first.

On a mission to vist a minor noble to celebrate the impending marriage of his daughter , her carriage is attacked by the Exiled Fae Prince Marlak.

He attacks them but doesnt take anything and a few weeks later he turns up demanding Astras hand in marriage. He is harsh and unkind and takes her far far away deep into fae territory.

He tells Astra that enimes are everywhere and she is a means to an end. She learns that he can control water and ice but hes full of secrets. It feels like shes left one trap for another. Will she ever learn the truth?

This story is wonderfully written and has so many twists and turns it will keep you up long past your bedtime. Look out for the next book in the serries A Traitor Sister
.

We follow Astra, the FMC, into an arranged marriage with Marlak. Throughout the whole book, I found it difficult to like Astra. There were a few instances where I would start to like her and then she would act a certain way and it would take me back to not liking her. The relationship between Astra and Marlak developed slowly since it did take most of the book for them to come to terms with their feelings, but I wouldn’t categorize this book as an “Enemies to Lovers”. I didn’t feel like they were enemies at all. Marlak would show his feelings for Astra by his actions, not his words which led to a lot of miscommunication.
Miscommunication is about 80% of the book, which I understood but it was still frustrating. It was more of the way that Marlak would say things to Astra, that would annoy me, but like I said he showed his feeling through his actions. 

I had some trouble with the writing. In some parts, I would be immersed in the story but then there would be a phrase or description that would take me out of it. I would find myself rereading a lot, just trying to understand. Some details would just not make sense to me, I couldn’t visualize it.
(Attention to detail is really important for me in fantasy books because of the world-building, so I would have liked a bit more details in certain scenes.)

I believe that book one was more focused on the romantic build-up for the characters while giving bits and pieces of the plot for the continuation of the series. We learn some of Astra and Marlak’s past, but there were still many questions left unanswered.

I loved that Astra helped Marlak out with some of his past struggles and he helped her become more confident. I also love that there is a unicorn named Cherry Cake.

I will be reading the next book because I did enjoy the story. I hope to see a more badass and confident Astra use her potential.
My favorite Quote:

“What’s the point in a story that’s not real?”
“The feelings are real. There’s something about feeling them while knowing you can't truly get hurt.”

You know the feeling you get after you’ve finished a unique book? When you can’t decide whether you LOVED the book and want to make it your new personality or let it disappear in your bookshelf and pretend you’ve never heard of it? That’s how I felt after finishing “A Cursed Son”.

For a book that’s over 400 pages, this felt like a quick read. "A Cursed Son" has a slow-burn romance, a marriage of convenience, and a unique magic system. You can’t go wrong with tropes like that! Err… Maybe you can, but I’ll talk about that in the second half of my review. For now, here’s what I liked.

The main character, Astra, was raised as a body double for a princess. She's witty, resourceful, and loyal to those she cares about. I love that Astra is a strong female protagonist who stands up for herself, even if it pits her against power fae adversaries. I see a lot of readers liking her. That said, I found it annoying when she refused to learn more about her powers and heritage. A lot of the conflict could have been resolved if she accepted that part of herself. Hopefully, this will change in book two.

My thoughts on Marlak, our brooding love interest, are also mixed. I like how sweet and protective he is around Astra, but it’s hard to form an opinion on someone you don’t know. And unfortunately, we as readers never get to know Marlak. So much about his powers, goals, and alliances are shrouded in mystery. I thought they would be revealed as the story progressed, but I’m still just as confused as when I started reading. We never get a clear picture of what happened with his family, why Marlak is blamed for their deaths, or how that influences his plans to find the mysterious “Pit of Death”. The ending is riddled with SO MANY unanswered questions that it felt problematic.

I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the pacing of this book. The plot is addictive, and it definitely kept me reading! That said, there were parts where the characters kept repeating the same argument over and over. Seriously. When Astra and Marlak finally confess certain things, they keep accusing each other of the SAME THING for PAGES AND PAGES. I wish their miscommunication had been handled better.

This isn’t a bad book, and I definitely see myself rereading parts of it in the future. I think this book really shines in the witty dialogue between characters, the addictiveness of the plot, and the compulsive readability of the writing. I'm rating it 3.5 stars and would recommend it to readers in the new adult romantasy genre.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher; all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! The enemies to lovers was perfect, especially with the forced proximity and slow burn.

I can not wait for book 2!

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

A Cursed Son is a New Adult romantasy novel following our heroine Astra, a royal guard trained to be a decoy for a princess. I liked a lot of the premise but the writing was distracting. There was definitely some telling rather than showing. I also wish the author used more synonyms instead of reusing the same words over and over.

Thank you for the arc!