Found family, pirates and magic. This is exactly what you want from a book about adventure on the high seas!

A really interesting read, different to the normal pirate romantasy books out there.

The worldbuilding was good, and I liked learning about the sorcerers along with the main character.

The characters were also interesting, with a bit of humour thrown in.

It does end on a cliffhanger though. I will definitely read the next one to see where it goes next.

Have you ever imagined yourself to be a sorceress going on a adventure on the high seas? That's what it felt like reading this book. Kamira is a young woman who is running away from an act of self defense that ended gravely. She rows herself out to sea and luckily finds a boat anchored there that she sneaks onto. She disguises herself as a young boy and convinces the captain to keep her on as a novice deck hand. She comes to find out that the Captain, a young man not much older than herself, and all of his crew has been cursed by a sorceress that she has never heard of.

I would recommend this book for Throne of Glass lovers and YA fantasy lovers!

After hearing their story, she does everything in her power to try and find a way out of the curse for them. They find so much more on their adventures.

this story brings together piracy and sorcery as kamira leaves her home and finds herself on a cursed pirate ship where the men onboard cannot step on land.

the book was enjoyable, however there were times where i was bored with the story repeating many things that we already knew. i love the found family within the crew, particularly with doraan and corman!! though the book is less than 300 pages, the story felt slow and i just wanted it over and done with. the cliffhanger at the end was interesting, but, unfortunately, i have no intention of following this story. i was really hoping to enjoy this more than i did.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

my first ever pirate book and this has just birthed a new obsession! i loved this so much! the setting and adventure had be HOOKED :')

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC

The Cursed Soul is a story of epic sea adventure consumed with remarkable writing and deeply layered characters. I particularly liked Kamira’s character!

As a big fan of Pirate Fantasies, this one had all the necessary elements to make it a standout one. The only quibble I have is that the book was too short, but it makes me only more excited about the second installment 🌊

This an enjoyable tale about a man cursed to spend his life at sea and a woman running away from her past. While it's a good story for the most part, things seemed to happen because it was what was needed for the plot, making it feel fabricated. Coincidences can happen, but I thought things were just a little too perfect sometimes.

What a fun start to the Waves of Sorcery series. The Cursed Soul is an entertaining YA read, which I was a bit skeptical about because YA books are sometimes a hit or miss for me. There was lots of plot and lore to learn but K.C. Smith writes it so clearly that the reader won't have any issues following along.

The pace had some slower moments but the back half of the book picks up with more action scenes. There are great moments of found family, being immersed in this world where you are out at sea and helps make it feel magical (because for me in real life, sounds horrible), and you really find yourself attached to all of the characters you meet along the way.

There is quite a cliffhanger and knowing this is the first of a series, readers will definitely be left wanting. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. Thank you NetGalley & K.C. Smith for the ARC!

3.5 Stars Rounded Up

There are some interesting elements to this, but I think it also suffers from "Beginning Fantasy Series" syndrome where there is a lot of telling when it comes to building the world and that can drag the pacing down.

It does kick up and then continue to ramp up to the end, with more action and a better understanding of the world. It ends on a cliffhanger that will be sure to drive readers a bit crazy until the next book.

I really enjoyed the "found family" here with Doraan, Kamira, and Cormac. All of the characters have spirit in their own, unique ways, and they blend together well past the halfway mark when everything hits its stride.

The political intrigue mixed with the adventure of pirates with heart make for an exciting tale. This is a great YA read (no triggers), especially if looking for something on the lighter side.

Thank you NetGalley and K. C. Smith for a free electronic ARC of "The Cursed Soul".
A charming Young Adult Fantasy Adventure. The premise and the gorgeous cover motivated me to give YA another chance.
I think I would have loved this work so much more a few years ago, when simplist prose was not a problem for me.
Everything here was so straigt forward, imediately told to the reader, that I found myself thinking "I know exactly where this is going" and that made me loose my intrest in continuing.
I would highly recomend this book to teenagers that want a light adventure-filled read.

Looooved this book so much!!! 5 star read for me. I recommend everyone this story. This is so so good. Loved it!

If you are a fan of pirates, epic adventures, found family, and fantasy, this book is for you. If you’re not, this book is still for you and it will make you a fan. I loved everything about this book from the pacing to the characters to the tropes and the world building. It’s found family and exciting adventures. This will make you want to run off and become a pirate. I could not put it down.

this was a strong start to the Waves of Sorcery series, it had everything that I was hoping for. It uses the sea elements perfectly and thought it worked well with the characters. I enjoyed the cursed element perfectly and I was glad it worked well. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author. K.C. Smith has a great writing style and I can't wait to read more from them.

Epic adventure through an exciting fantasy world. Enjoyed the fast paced storytelling and the characters were great!

What an interesting and unique concept for a book. I was drawn in right away. I absolutely can’t wait to see how this daring adventure unfolds especially trying to disguise yourself to survive and share my full thoughts and review. It’s been a long time dunvpce a book grabbed me right away and I knew I had to read it and this book did that for me.