The Encanto's Curse is the second book in The Encanto's Daughter duology by Melissa de la Cruz. I enjoyed the first book very much and was looking forward to reading this one, hoping that it would be as good as the first. I can happily report that it was. MJ is a new queen and she's trying to find her way, and find out why she can't seem to call her magic to her anymore. She's also wondering about some crazy dreams she's been having, where she's a monster who craves blood and wants to tear anything with a heartbeat to pieces. When she finds out that there is a creature out attacking her subjects, just like the creature in her dreams, she puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that she's the monster here. She immediately sets out to find out what's happening to her, and why, and of course, that's when trouble shows up in the form of Prince Qian of the Jade Empire, and the brother of her best friend, Nix. She now has to deal with 2 crises, which is going to go about as good as you think it will.

While this was the second book in the series, it actually had a whole new feel to it, which worked so well with these characters and this author. The mystery was unique and engaging, the characters were well fleshed out and likeable, and the pacing was spot on. And, just like in The Encanto's Daughter, the world building was phenomenal!

All in all, this was a very satisfying conclusion to this story and I highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Melissa de la Cruz, for the opportunity to read and review The Encanto's Curse.

MJ has recently been crowned queen, and her first duty is to bring peace. However, when she realizes that the creature attacking her kingdom is herself, she must learn why she has been cursed. MJ flees her court to get answers, but with a broken heart and no one she believes she can trust, she has her hands full. Can MJ break the curse before it takes over her forever? Will she be able to find love amid terror?

The Encanto’s Curse is the second book in The Encanto’s Daughter series. Although this story is the second in the series, readers could easily pick up this book and enjoy it as a stand-alone tale. The book does end with a satisfying conclusion, yet de la Cruz has created a world that has many possible stories available to be explored. The Encanto’s Curse is a fun read for those who like mythological tales.

I was so mad when I finished The Encanto's Daughter and had to wait for the explanations and resolution. That said, I was both looking forward to and dreading The Encanto's Curse, because I didn't know if I would be happy with how things turned out.

That said, I loved this book. While I am not familiar with the folklore that this duology is based off of, it was a fresh and interesting take on magic to me. I didn't know what to think of the "monster" in this book, but the resolution felt real and concrete, without going into detail, I can say that many people will find it relatable, I certainly did. As for the things that angered me in the first book, I can't tell you how they were resolved or if I was satisfied with it, but I am definitely glad this book lived up to expectations.

This was a solid continuation of the storyline that we were introduced to in The Encanto’s Daughter. It was nice to see MJ become queen and use her power for good, and I loved the Filipino setting and folklore. The love triangle between MJ, Lucas, and Qian added interest to the romantic plotline, and the mystery of the manananggal added excitement and suspense. It was very easy to guess who the manananggal was, what was causing it, and which boy MJ would pick, but I think that’s because this book was written for the younger YA audience. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t read it again.
♥️
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
♥️
Read if you like:
▫️YA fantasy
▫️Filipino culture and mythology
▫️fairies, witches and magic
▫️court politics and intrigue
♥️
Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Teen, Melissa de la Cruz, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow - what a thrilling continuation to the first of the series! As in the first, I loved the incorporation of Filipino folklore into the story as well as the introduction of MJ to the politics of running her kingdom. This story had everything – intrigue, fantasy, romance, folklore, cryptids – and, though it was fast-paced, I never felt lost or confused. Highly recommended but start with the first to get the full story. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

The Encanto's Curse is book two in The Encanto's Daughter series by Melissa de la Cruz.
I love and devoured book one The Encanto's Daughter.
A phenomenal YA romantic fantasy that is inspired by Filipino mythology.
Full of court intrigue, mystery, witches and fairies Melissa de la Cruz did not disappoint when it came to making this book as magical as possible.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this book, The Encanto's Curse by Melissa de la Cruz. I really enjoyed this story. I never read the first book, but this one was a very good fantasy. The cover to this book is also very beautiful.

Melissa de la Cruz returns to the world of Biringan with the second in the Encanto's Daugher series.

MJ is now the queen of Biringan, but continues to struggle with harnessing her power. She is stinging from discovering that her love interest, Lucas, is marrying someone else. As a bonus, she is also being haunted by some pretty horrific nightmares of transformation into a monster.

The first book in this series underwhelmed me - it didn't seem to know if it was designed for Middle Grade or YA readers. This one works better. Lots of drama here that will appeal to YA readers - love triangles, relationships that aren't what they seem, hot guys with arrows, monsters, legends to be unraveled. I was originally a little thrown off by the lean into horror, but de la Cruz makes it work, and it's a stronger book for that lean. There is a pretty marvelous twist I wasn't expecting that strengthens the story as well.

As in the first book, this one features lots of Filipina culture, legends and food. The world is immersive and beautiful. I'd love to have students create visual impressions of the vacation palace in this book.

3.75 stars bumped up to 4.

“None of us are immune to change. But it’s how we accept and move with that change that we are truly able to find peace within to become our best selves.” MJ, as a newly appointed young Queen, has a long road ahead in finding herself both as a person and as a Queen. Amidst friendships, relationships, possible war and a quest to survive, MJ learns so much about herself in the process.
De La Cruz’s plot captured me early on and held me throughout MJ’s story. Her characters and their experiences held adventures and transformative wisdom that brought the story full circle. This is an excellent YA fantasy sequel to The Encantos Daughter, which I highly recommend.

First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

Melissa De La Cruz is one of my favorite authors and this one didn’t disappoint. I believe this is the conclusion to the Encanto’s Daughter. It follows MJ as she is now Queen and has been heartbroken over Lucas, who is betrothed to another. She becomes cursed. All of the emotions that she goes through as she tries to break the curse is so relatable to a first love heartbreak. There are secrets and betrayals, and of course found family with her best friend Nix. I love that Melissa brought in her Filipina culture into the story, even if it is fantasy. I would love to see artwork for all of the “monsters”.

This is the second installment in the encanto’s daughter series. The story follows the main character MJ, the newly crowned queen of Biringan, who grapples with a sinister transformation into a manananggal—a vampiric creature terrorizing her own kingdom. As MJ battles her inner demon and navigates complex relationships, she must find a way to break the curse before it consumes her and threatens the stability of her realm. This book was a breath of fresh air. I really enjoyed this read.

Okay so this book made me happy, then mad, then happy again. I don’t want to go too much into why I felt all the range of emotions with this book as it would spoil the book. I just appreciate that this book ended in the manner that it did and that there were enough twists and turns to resolve the main hurdle that MJ was dealing with. Thank you to Penguin Group Young Readers Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

What a fun sequel to Encanto's Daughter, and such a delight to read. Melissa de la Cruz can do no wrong, and I love everything I read of hers!

Thank you to NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fun sequel to The Encanto's Daughter! I was engaged the entire time. I had a great time reading this book. I will say I feel like this book (the writing style) feels more Middle grade versus like Upper YA, but despite that I had a good time reading. The plot twists! The scandals! The adventure!!
I really loved reading about the different mythological creatures and learning about the Filipino lore. I think that's where these books excel is telling the reader about the Filipino culture/lore.
Really enjoyed reading this book and it was my first time reading on the NetGalley Reader and it was awesome!!!

This is pretty cute. I am not the intended audience for this series. I thoroughly admit that. This skews toward the younger YA audience, in my opinion. I appreciate the fact that the author is using cultural elements to create her own fantasy world. As this is the second in the series, I don't want to give a lot of detail in case of spoilers in the first book. I will say that this is quite a cute friend adventure with some romance thrown in. Once this got going, I basically devoured the second half of the book.

The second and final book in this duology picks up pretty much where its predecessor left off, with our leading lady MJ adjusting to her new role as queen. I read the first book about a year ago so I don't remember every detail, but the drama was pretty unforgettable. It was easy to slip back into that, and the stakes were even higher here.

As she figures out how to rule, MJ begins to experience strange symptoms that point to her being cured: she is becoming the manananggal (a vampire-type creature) that is terrorizing the kingdom at night. I really liked the way de la Cruz leaned more into the Filipino mythology in this sequel and how it's presented in such a way that it's accessible to anybody (like how explicit connections between the manananggal and vampire legends are made). Many of the supporting characters are presented in different lights here too which was interesting. I also appreciated the way that de la Cruz handled MJ and Lucas's tentative romance from the first book, making their relationship far from perfect but also providing a good sense of closure. It was realistic and made it feel like a true teenage love story.

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Encanto’s Daughter. It was an engaging and easy read, and I flew through the pages. While it could potentially be read as a standalone, I highly recommend starting with book one for the full experience. The story includes a bit of mystery that keeps you hooked until the satisfying resolution at the end.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

Wow. What a great read. This book had magic and curses, mystery and suspense, tenderness and brutality, failures and successes, diversity and love. It was unpredictable. I was so wrong about who had cast the curse. And it was emotional. I was repeatedly in tears towards the end.

Tight and clean with a compelling plot that kept me riveted.

The second installment of this fantasy series for fans of ya. I loved this book and the character growth and relationships featured. Our Mc has a journey of finding herself and saving her kingdom with the help of old and new friends. A great read for all fantasy readers.