Astra is not only a teenager, an elite bodyguard, and a royal decoy. She's also hiding her magic. Her people are hunted and one of her tutors has hidden her amongst the royal household to keep her safe. She longs for adventure and freedom but has a wide streak of duty. When she is finally allowed to undertake a mission - she ends up on the wrong side of the river, in less than safe territory and at the mercy of a royal Outlaw!

Marlak is a very interesting character. Is he the morally grey murderer or a misunderstood and maligned prince? Astra and Marlak are most definitely enemies to lovers. Astra is never quite sure where she stands with Marlak for most of the book. Some of her actions may come over as childish but you have to remember, she is a 19 year old, out on her own for the first time and never had a childhood where she could make mistakes and grow from them.

I really enjoyed unravelling the mystery of just who and what Marlak is and his connection to Astra. Astra grows in confidence as she learns more about the outside world. There is a cliff-hanger and our intrepid MC's are not in a good or happy place but it's put me on tenterhooks to know how this is going to sort itself out!

ARC provided by NetGalley and Sparkly Wave in exchange for an honest review. A Cursed Son checks all the boxes for an enthralling Romantasy. The character development really pushed me through this novel by constantly wanting to uncover Marlak and Astra’s secrets. Slow burn is a bit of an understatement, as it was slowest of burns. However, I do love a good enemies-to-lovers troupe and it definitely seemed to hit the mark. As a frequent reader, I can typically uncover the mysteries and spot the twists and turns but that wasn’t the case for this book.

The only aspect of this book that I questioned was the writing style. The amount of repetitive narrative left me wanting much more dialogue.
If you enjoy an incredibly slow burn, enemies to lovers Romantasy series, definitely give it a try!

4,5
(Review on the blog Anna's Multiverse and socials)

I discovered Day Leitao thanks to Netgalley with her book The Cup and the Prince, which picked my interest because of the competition element. After having read that trilogy, as soon as I saw the author's name on the platform and looked at that gorgeous cover, I knew I wanted to read it.

After reading the synopsis, and now the book, I have to say that the elements that made me curious this time were mainly the dreams that the two leads share, as I have always thought that is a great plot device, and knowing her other trilogy, I had some theories about their origin or meaning. But, of course, other aspects intrigued me, like the magic, and the courts and situations of both main characters, one trained to replace her reign's princess and the other a royal exiled for his crimes.

I have noticed that her writing style has changed quite a bit and it is more elaborated. That does not mean that it is difficult to understand, on the contrary, it is quite easy, especially since Astra, our female lead, seems to be explaining the story herself, so it is less formal and we get to see her thoughts a lot. But the main difference I have noticed is that this time the world building is more complex and well-thought. It does not seem as enclosed, but I could understand the dynamics very well and felt like it was bigger and there was more at stake.

At some points, however, some arguments and ideas kept repeating themselves, though I am not sure if it was intentional, as people tend to focus on topics that they want answers to, or it could be that it is showing a characer's state of mind, where they had a mood or opinion change. On the other hand, it could not be on purpose, since sometimes those ideas were contradictory, but given the nature of those discussions and conversations, I am not sure.

The story has a lot of different arcs, and they are introduced to us as the story moves along and we learn more about the world, but I would say that the book is more character-based, since we are mainly following Astra and Marlak and everything that affects them, be it their relationship, their alliances or objectives. That, for me, is something positive, as it connects you more for the characters and makes you care for what's happening to them. Plot devices are still there, and they are important, but we're following the characters more.

I do not want to talk too in detail about the plot, since the story being more character-based, it is better appreciated as you go, but I do have to say that I really enjoyed learning about the different courts and alliances and seeing how Astra and Marlak 's relationship changes throghout the book. I also thought that the place where Astra starts is very interesting, and I do wish we can see more from her Palace in future books, because she starts as a substitute for her Princess in a place where other substitutes live and train, and that gives a lot of room to play with.

I am definetely curious to read book 2, even if we did not have that ending, which is calling readers to pick up the next installment. I do have another book by the author, and I am adding it to my yearly TBR, since I will probably have to wait for book 2.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Day Leitano for the e-ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review! I feel like this book has a lot of potential to be the start of an enthralling series! There was solid world building and suspense that kept me hooked throughout the book. As the book went on, the main character Astra started to grow on me, and I could empathize her plight in finding herself among a world that keeps telling her what she needs to be. Her journey with Marlak showed they both have a lot of growing to do, and I’m interested to see how both their character arcs develop throughout the rest of the series. There were parts of the book that I felt could have been developed or connected more but it didn’t detract from my overall reading experience! Can’t wait to see what’s next in store!

A Cursed Son by Day Leitao was simply extraordinary. The character development for both main characters was incredible the entire book. Watching the FMC grow from the beginning to end was an amazing journey. I’ve read a good bit of fantasy and I don’t think I have ever related so much to a FMC as I did Astra. The slow burn mixed with so much sarcasm that it could hold a large city, and angst had this story at a high from the beginning. I cannot wait for book number 2. I needed it yesterday!

This was so soso good!! I loved this book! This has twists and turns and an epic adventure a great love story! I’m so looking forward to the next book! The author did a fantastic job with the story. I love the banter! And I so look forward to the yelling! lol

A Cursed Son is the first novel I read by Day Leitao and I don’t intend it to be my last. I barely read the entire description of this book when I realized I wanted to receive an ARC. A marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, a FMC that was raised to be the equivalent of a weapon, and a fae world of politics, a romantasy reader's dream.

The world itself is interesting, there are a lot of political moves made throughout the story, many of which I assume aren’t seen or understood by Astra. Despite that hurdle, it’s still fun to discover the world's fae culture and get insight into the heritage of Tiurians. As I said, it’s hard to decipher if certain aspects of the magic or culture are purposely ague because the main character is human, or if they’re unintentionally made to be so. Not that it made a big difference in the reading experience since I felt that I was discovering things alongside Astra and digesting them with her. That in itself is impactful in a different but significant way than knowing everything.

As for the characters, Astra and Malark are very much influenced by their upbringing and circumstances, so there’s not much I can say for either of them. Astra was molded to act and think like a different person, to be deadly, and above all else, to survive. On top of that, she was shielded away from the world and fed lies of the outside world to purposely keep her submissive. As a result, her character is mostly guarded throughout the story, but you catch glances of her impulsive, sometimes violent nature. It’s an odd comparison, but she’s similar to Oppenheimer in her actions and feelings. She’s self-assured on the outside, and incredibly repressed because of her upbringing, it clearly translates into her impulsive actions like poisoning or spurts of magic. At her core, she’s insecure because her view of life has been limited and I think that’s incredibly important when understanding her character. You do have to dig a bit to acknowledge that, though. Although Astra didn’t discover much of who she actually is in this first book, I’m excited to see how she uses everything she was taught against the castle. I hope her training to wear a mask, to appease people into giving their secrets, to seduce, fight, and wield her magic are all used against the people who taught her to do so. Poetic justice for the sake of her character, and that she finds out enough about Marlaks past to fuel her rebellion against Krastel. I also hope the next book explores who she is at her core, past what she was taught by the castle, and what history says about dark souls.

Marlak is harder to define, partially due to the first-person account by oblivious Astra, but because he isn’t very adamant about getting Astra to like him. He has his moments that I love, namely when he'd joke about his dreams and when the one scene entering the Court of Bees. The only four traits I can name of his are that he’s protective, calculating, haunted, and a bit playful.

It’s complicated because, on a technical level, I understand certain the liberties taken with characters' thoughts, feelings, and actions. Astra was guarded, had to be guarded, she was raised to be so. All she ever knew was the Elite Guard and she was essentially groomed to serve a single purpose. Somehow I left feeling slightly unconvinced of that, but also unsatisfied with how it affected her relationship with Marlak. It feels odd making the criticism when I can’t pinpoint the exact cause, but even though it’s told from the first perspective, I was never truly convinced that Astra cared about the Guard as much as she claimed to. Had her personality been more skeptical, slower to trust, or possessed stronger traits that would’ve explained why she was quick to realize her time in the castle was another prison (though she denied it) it would’ve made her feel less two-dimensional.

Another issue for me was her relationship with Marlak felt underdeveloped. I enjoy a slow burn, I prefer it over insta-lust, but there were too few scenes where they shared genuine moments outside of the dreams. When they did share real moments, it usually related to the dreams in some way. I understand it was their one connection, even then, it cheapened moments that were meant to be special. In general, her feelings toward the real Marlak felt underwhelming in most scenes which was conflicting when it was told in the first person. It wasn’t until they arrived at the Court of Bees that I saw real development in their relationship. By the same 75% mark, I even began to feel as if Astra had more chemistry with Prince Ziven than she did with Marlak. Simply because she shared a real connection and friendship with Ziven, her unadulterated joy when she saw him outshined almost every moment she shared with Marlak. As I said, I get the concept and the reasoning behind certain choices, but that doesn’t mean the choices don’t weaken the reader's desire to root for them. In a way, it missed the heart-tugging yearning that I associate with arranged marriages, miscommunication, and enemies to lovers. I also wished Marlak had more merit to him, both in personality and choices. When stories of this nature are told in first person, you expect actions to speak louder than words, I wish he’d been louder with his actions outside of his protectiveness. The accumulation of it made their confessions in chapters 22/23 underwhelming.

Regardless of my qualms, it’s the first book in a series and I have high hopes that this first book is the stepping stone for something greater than I imagined.

Astra has trained all her life to be a substitute in someone else’s life, the princess. She must do her duty to hide her true identity not just as the stand-in princess, but also her true magical heritage that could get her killed if discovered. As a substitute Astra finds herself only able to dream about love…hot, vivid, and tantalizing love, but still love. In this steamy enemies to lovers story you will find yourself immersed in a magical world of the fae and humans. Snarky banter and a killer cliff hanger, this is a series you will love!

When I first started the book it was hard to stay connected to it. I kept putting it down and didn’t pick it back up right away. When I got further into Astras world and discovered how much of a bad ass she is, I loved her character! Don’t give up on the story!

This fantasy novel had me intrigued from the get-go with its promise of enemies turning into lovers and a marriage of convenience thrown into the mix.
First off, let's talk about the plot. It had potential, no doubt about it. But man, was it confusing! I mean, I felt like I needed a map and a flashlight just to navigate through the first few chapters. The story starts off like a puzzle with missing pieces, leaving you scratching your head and wondering what the heck is going on.
However, the characters in this book are very likable. Despite the plot doing its best to trip them up, they manage to shine through with their personalities and quirks. You can't help but root for them, even when you're not entirely sure what they're up to.

Received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! Thank you!

There was something about this book that drew my attention immediately. Was it the blurb, or the title or the cover? I can’t answer that. But I do feel everything about this book you see on the outside might be very very different from what the book actually is.

A Cursed Son was… a real surprise in some ways. From page one, I sunk right into the world the author created. I would say the book built page by page, but that doesn’t mean you sense a lack of pace. The book remains even throughout—maybe even a little fast—filled with emotion, character development and world building.

The world-building in this book is hard to separate from the narrative itself. The book reads in first person, single POV (my favourite) and the FMC who is the primary narrator, has been kept separate in many ways from the real world and she’s slowly finding her way and understanding the rules of the world along with the readers. There’s still… a lot to learn. I wonder if the author did that on purpose, or if it was a consequence of how much needed to be built in this book so the world building takes a small step back for now. Either way, there’s an evident flow that’s fairly clear to follow.

The writing itself is so easy to fall into. It was intertwined with the FMC’s personality so well and brought to light a lot of her emotions, growth, fears, faults and strength. I’m aware that all narratives are suited to the voice and personality of the FMC, but I couldn’t tell the writing apart as a strategy from the character here. They’re both one. There’s no strategy. There’s just vulnerable and jagged truths of who Astra is, was and also… glimpses of who she will be.

The characters are… interestingly many, but the focus remains primarily on the FMC and MMC; with situations tossing them constantly together and keeping them from running away from growing together and trusting one another. The FMC and MMC are interesting mirrors of one another, I wonder if the author intended to do that or if it just happened—the writing Gods have deemed it so and all that. The set-up between the protagonists is very interesting. It’s almost a two sided coin, one of being strangers and another of strange familiarity. The author’s work is to bridge that gap and I think it’s not an easy task. It’s a hard trope to define, but it’s a mix of

strangers to friends to lovers
Enemies to lovers?
Forced marriage/proximity
Kindred souls
The many other secondary characters were interestingly present and absent at the same time, I’m very curious to watch how the author’s going to take this series forward.

The plot is still behind a curtain of secrets that the author is yet to reveal. That doesn’t mean this book is aimless; not at all, in fact there’s something happening every single page of this book. It’s extremely interesting and draws you in and I find it very surprising, that I’ve read a nearly 500 page book without knowing 100% what secrets the actual story-line holds. I don’t know what’s being hidden or what’s going to be revealed. This book was the treasure map to find the key that opens the door to the truth. That’s the best way I can describe it.

There’s still a LOT the series has to give, I can tell. The book reads with a certain innocence that I associated to a new author, but looking at Leitao’s page, she’s not! Again, is the book written so to match the voice of the narrator? Maybe. The book is not YA, so definitely don’t walk in with that thought. But it’s not fully adult either. It’s this sweet space between YA and NA, that’s how I would categorise it at least.

Four and a half stars! Check trigger warnings and happy reading. This book, when it releases, will go onto KU! So for KU subscribers, this book is absolutely freeeee!

This book started a little slow for me and then it just hit me!! So my twists, world building, action and love. It’s a definite must read that will definitely leave you hanging at the end….wanting MORE!!! Can’t wait to read the next book!
This book gave me all the feels, more so towards the end and I’m so glad I decided to pick this book up and read it!!
Cannot wait for the second book, A Traitor Sister! Thank you to Day Leitao and Net Galley for allowing me to read the ARC!!

An intriguing journey through human and fae worlds of myth and magic.

Astra is a princess impersonator and guard. Her sole purpose is to replace the Krastel princess during dangerous endeavors, even marriage. Her life has zero love, and little happiness, with the exception of her dreams every night of her kindred soul. He makes her feel loved and alive. Too bad he's only in her dreams.

Then on a mission impersonating the princess, her carriage is attacked by the disgraced fae prince Marlak. He just so happens to be her kindred soul. Unfortunately, real life doesn't feel like dreams.

As Astra is forced into Marlak's world, can she uncover his secrets without betraying her own?

I greatly enjoyed this story. Enemies to lovers is always a favorite trope of mine. They just get to add in the dream lovers much more quickly than their actual relationship progresses. Slowly uncovering some of their secrets was interesting. At times Astra's inner back and forth took me out of the story a bit, but it didn't keep me from enjoying it nonetheless.

I'm interested to see where the next book takes as after that cliffhanger of an ending.

3.5/5 ⭐️

I won't lie, it was rough in the first few chapters to get into this story. We don't get much background on the world or even much on our FMC Astra until she meets our MMC Marlak face to face and even then, it takes a second to get more information on the plot. Overall, i ended enjoying this story & will say that cliffhanger left me punching my couch just now & im anticipating book two
Thank you again Day Leitao & NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

Favourite Lines:

What's the point of hiding the outer scars, when the inner ones are so much deeper?

He kisses my cheek, my chin, then sets those lovely eyes on me. There's a fire in them, a fire that's life, love, a fire that's the complete opposite of destruction

I wanted that other milk (😂😂 iykyk)

Wow, this was such a good read! I got sucked into this universe, finishing it in less than two days and could not put it down. Now I'm going to be in total despair until I can get my hands on the second installment, which doesn't have a release date yet. I just know I'm going to have a hangover from this book that's going to be so hard to cure.

There's so much to like - the magical universe the author has built, great pace and tension throughout the plot, complex characters who surprise you in unexpected ways, a delicious romantic slow burn full of angst, secrets on secrets, and DARK UNICORNS?! Ugh, it was so good and the cliffhanger is sending me...

There's nothing we love more than a tortured and misunderstood MMC, with dark unimaginable powers and a soft spot for the sassy badass FMC. Astra is totally going to hold her own, and I can't wait to see her burn down the whole world for Marlak when we find out just how powerful she really is.

2 chillis because there were a few main scenes with spice and some others with visions/dreams of initimacy, but mostly tension and build up. It wasn't overly explicit but when you do get to it, it's so worth it. I'm hoping it really ramps up throughout the series.

Tropes:
🦄 Soul Mates
🦄 Slow Burn
🦄 Enemies to Lovers
🦄 Arranged Marriage
🦄 Forced Proximity
🦄 Secret Identities
🦄 Assassins/bodyguards
🦄 Fae
🦄 Magic

My review is also posted on Goodreads!

Thank you for the ARC!! This book took me longer to get through than I thought it would. It was a slow burn but worth it imo. Once I hit about 40%, I knew I was slowly getting to the better, bigger portion of the book. I loved Astra from the get go. I’m still skeptical of Otavio. Buuut Marlak😍

The book ended on a pretty big cliffhanger, so I know I will definitely be continuing this series! The ending is what made me go from a 4 to a 5.

This book is great! It did take me a bit to get into the book in the beginning. But after you get 10% into the book and meet the mmc the book starts picking up. I couldn't put it down! I just wanted to keep seeing what was going to happen next. And can't wait for the next one that cliffhanger is going to drive me insane!
Thank you so much netgally and Day Leitao for letting me review this book loved it so much! 💗

This was a fun fae romance. I really enjoyed the second half of the book. The first half was a little weaker. I think most of that comes from how immature the FMC is. She sounds more like a teenager, both in language and ideation. I however loved Marlak. He is the perfect grumpy, disgraced, fae prince. And I am looking forward to see where things go in book two.

A amazing tale of Enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, spicy sexy dreams, fae, elemental magic. Revealed secrets and so much more! Strong FMC and a grumpy but sweet MMC have the most amazing banter that had me absolutely cracking up at times. A slow burn that is just to die for! This is a journey that I wish I could read again for the first time…my only problem with it is that I will have to wait for what feels like forever for the 2nd book.

This was a fantastic enemies to lovers slow-burn with a wonderfully misunderstood disgraced fae prince MMC and a strong FMC who, although trained in all things guard/assassin, has been largely sheltered from the world she lives in.

There was so much to love about this book, and aside from it having like all of my favorite tropes I think my favorite thing is that I still have so many questions. By the end of the book, we have just started to understand Astra's people, we still don't know the truth of anything in Marlak's past (or his brother's for that matter), and although we know about their soul connection we don't quite know what that means.


I need to know what happens. I don't know when the second book is coming, but I really hope it is soon.

firstly I would like to thank both NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free e-copy arc in exchange for my honest review.

this book, my god this book! at first I found myself intrigued by our fmc Astra, I found myself wanting to know more about her and her circumstances of how she came to be who she is and what she was training for. I loved how the style of writing felt like the was talking to us the reader, it just added just a bit more authenticity and personality to her! Then we enter our snarky mmc Marlak, who just apparently knows the way to my heart!

this story has so much character development, world building, story development - in the first book alone, I just loved it. The way their relationship grows and the tension of watching them slowly understand each other is enthralling and when you get to that bit where you just feel your heart being yanked out of your chest and thinking “surely not, surely this can’t be happening” to be left on such a cliff hanger, just makes you want to devour the next book without waiting for it!

im excited for this book to be released and I hope that people love it just as much as I do!l