With some ups and downs, this follow up to Faebound has been anxiously waiting for Book 3. Giving this a 3.5 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Starting off strong, Cursebound included a summary of Faebound at the start of the book. I need more fantasy novels to do this, because there is so much information you need to remember!

Picking up at the end of Faebound, Cursebound continues to follow sisters Lettle and Yeeran as they navigate the complex geopolitical landscape (ha pun!) and Forever War. I continue to struggle with Yeeran and her waffling between factions, but this does allow Pila to absolutely shine as her "Jiminy Cricket" and moral compass. TBH Pila is one of the most standout characters in the book. I will give the author credit for her ability to write your morally, grey characters, because let's be honest all of the folks in the Faebound universe are. But that is also what makes them so endearing and does allow for some radical plot twists.

While in general I feel like the characters and their arcs were a bit of a disappointment to me personally, the world building absolutely continued to blow me away. Book 1 gave us the Elves and Fae, and Book 2 finds us learning more about the elusive Humans. You also get introduced to the Nomadic elves, including Alder, which gives you another view of Elven culture outside of the very militaristic Clans. There are enough breadcrumbs throughout that I was able to predict several plot twists, but I was still left jaw dropped at the end.

Enjoyed every second just like I did with Faebound. If you love books with Fae people and books with Elven people you will love this trilogy. I highly recommend Faebound and Cursebound to everyone.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and the second did not disappoint. It had ample POVs and the continued world building and lore made perfect sense. The revelation at the end has me super excited for book three. I think writing the second book in a trilogy is extremely difficult and Saraa hit it out of the park. This book was fast paced and hard hitting. She effortlessly introduced new characters and new lore to the story without it poking holes in the already built world. The characters saw some growth but not so much that their entire character changed. I am impressed and this series is truly a high fantasy masterpiece. I feel it is severely underrated and the representation in this book is out of this world. Anyone who reads this book will find someone like them represented and I find that so important. The plot and characters of this series always has me captivated at all times. Per usual, Furi has me utterly captivated and I am obsessed with her. I want to be her and Golan, ugh I love him!! This book was fantastic and I’m ready for book three!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So heartbroken about this one 😭 While I know there were mixed reviews on it, Faebound (book 1 of this series) was one of my favorite reads of last year and easily a 5 star read for me. I'm trying not to be too harsh on this book due to having loved the first one so much and anticipated it for the last year, but if I wasn't already attached to this series, this would've been a DNF for me. Getting through it was a slog, and it wasn't even a long book. That said, I have many thoughts.

First, I'll start with the good:
-I still love some of these characters so much. Especially Pila. I would die for Pila.
-The diverse cast in this series is such a breath of fresh air
-Least important here but this cover? STUNNING.

On a less positive note:
-One of the major praises I had for Faebound was that it just felt magical. I can't even necessarily explain why, it was just a feeling. I feel like Tinker Bell herself sprinkled pixie dust on that book and it was radiating off the pages and into my life while reading it. This lacked that sparkle for me, and I'm unsure where that went or why.
-I appreciate that the author included a brief synopsis of book 1 at the start of this book, for those who haven't read it in forever and may have forgotten. I didn't feel like the recap dragged on for too long, but it also covered enough of the important beats to refresh my memory.
-This book had middle book in a trilogy issues big time in my opinion--I feel like most of this served no purpose except to bridge the gap between books 1 and 3. Almost all felt like a side quest and it really made me care a lot less about the story overall.

For now, I am giving this a 2.75 stars, rounded up. Perhaps once I sit on this for a bit longer I might raise that a bit--it sometimes is hard to tell if you genuinely disliked a book, or if your super high hopes not really being met makes the book feel worse than it actually is. I'm having a hard time discerning what portion of my problem with this book lies with me and my anticipation of it.

Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all thank you SO much to Del Rey and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of Cursebound in exchange for an honest review! This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 so when I got the email saying my request was accepted I was so happy!

I loved Faebound so much and when I began to read Cursebound I was immediately sucked back into the vivid world of Mosima and the Elven Lands like I’d never left. Saara El-Arifi is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors because of the way she weaves words together to form her worlds and characters in such a beautiful way. Some of the descriptions had me truly immersed and imagining them as if I was there, and the world is just so magical!

I adore the way our main cast of characters are written; they’re all flawed and make mistakes, but they’re still so compelling and wonderful to read about. The addition of Alder as a POV character was also amazing, I grew to love him really quickly! The obeah are also some of my favourite animal companions I’ve read about; they’re so new and creative and I love them all, especially Pila! She has my heart.

I did end up guessing one of the plot twists in this, but that didn’t put a dampener on my enjoyment in the slightest! I was happy to have my theory confirmed if anything! But the ending revelation??? I had my suspicions but now I have no idea where the third book is going to go!

I’m in love with this series and I can’t wait for book 3, even though Cursebound isn’t even out yet!

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, and Inklore for providing me with copy.

While I did enjoy this book, and will be reading the third book when it comes out, I did have a few issues with it.
Some of the pacing felt quite off, particularly the intimate scenes. There were three scenes, all relatively mild to me (think mostly fade to black/some on page); but each one felt ill timed. All three came after something big and distressing had happened, or was supposed to happen. I actually found myself trying to read them as quickly as possible so I could get back to the rest of the story. I also wish that it had been a longer book. Faebound was well over 300 pages, and this sat at just under 300 (at least on the eARC). I feel like there could have been a lot more explanation to certain things or things could have just been fleshed out a bit more. All of that being said, I am curious to see where book three takes us. Now, all of that aside, I did enjoy the story!

You begin by following Yeeran back to the Waning Tribe where she hopes to deliver news that will help the fae, elves, and the Forever War. She comes across our new, slightly mysterious, character, Alder, one of the Nomads (wandering elves) who may be who they've been looking for all along. Lettle and Golan end up topside, searching for secrets that may uncover the answers to the curse. Rayan and Furi try to search out the threat that has infiltrated the royal court, as well as a deep betrayal. Mind you, all of this is going on while trying to navigate their own romantic relationships, new places in court, and their relationship with the Lightless.

I personally really enjoy the queer normativity of this world. There's even a character guide in the back providing pronouns and little blurbs about each person.

Some bits of this were quite predictable, but I still found it enjoyable enough to finish the book. Overall, decent enough book and I'll continue with the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi. This third installment in The Final Strife series offers a fitting conclusion to the saga, delivering intricate world-building and high-stakes drama that fans of the series will appreciate.

El-Arifi’s talent for crafting complex, morally gray characters continues to shine, and the themes of power, rebellion, and identity are explored in thought-provoking ways. The lush descriptions and immersive world keep the reader engaged, and the political intrigue adds depth to the plot.

However, I found the pacing uneven, with some sections dragging while others felt rushed, especially as the story neared its climax. Certain character arcs could have used more development to fully resonate, and some plot threads felt unresolved or too neatly tied up. While the world-building remains impressive, at times it felt overwhelming, detracting from the emotional connection to the story.

Overall, Cursebound is a solid conclusion to the series, but it didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by the earlier books. Fans of the series will likely still find satisfaction in the resolution, but new readers might struggle with the complexity of the narrative.

These books are art. Truly. I don’t even have words for how beautiful the world building, characters, storytelling are. I don’t want it to ever end.

I am never not nervous about the second book in a trilogy but this breaks every stereotype about them!! Safely entrenched in the world building completed in book one, this deftly introduces us to some excellent new characters and keeps the pacing quick and engaging. We’re above ground for a bit and then back in Mosima for the action-exactly what you want from this book!

Cursebound by Saraa El-Arifi is an amazing second installment in the Faebound Trilogy. I was blessed to not only read the Advanced Reader Copy of the first book, Faebound, but also now Cursebound. Huge thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Publishers!
I feel like there is always a fear of a sophomore slump when speaking of the 2nd installment in a series, more specifically a trilogy. However, this book contained just as much magic and action as the first. Every complication of the rising action was executed beautifully. They did not only just make an exciting and fast paced story (I flew through this book and couldn't read it fast enough!) for the singular book but it unraveled secrets from the first book and hounded me with more questions to do with the overall arch of the trilogy's story. The politics weren't too heavy to understand, and the plot was so mysterious and riveting.
The characters are just as loveable as ever. It was wonderful to be back in Lettle and Yeeran's world as Elves/Faebound/Seer living in the Fae's world. Reading this book felt like a family reunion with these characters. They are fallible characters that make mistakes yet remain loveable as we see their character arcs blossom. We meet new characters, and they are so well integrated into the story.
El-Arifi did so well in matching the tone of the first book but raising the stakes. I am blown away and cannot wait for the third book to see how this journey is resolved!

The series hits its stride in this sequel. I was fully invested throughout the story, which dove deeper into the lore and history of the world. The romances felt more organic, thankfully with less of the "forbidden romance" drama, and the characters more developed. I appreciated the further exploration of Fae society, addressing issues such as the Lightless's lower status and the use of labor as punishment for crimes.

We are introduced to new characters, whose perspectives add a lot to the story, and a new romance that was so sweet. However, the multi-POV narrative means that readers always have more information than individual characters, which was often frustrating when the characters struggled to pick up on solutions that felt so obvious to me.

I was also frustrated by how frequently I saw lines to the effect of "and then Lettle explained what she had discovered" or "Yeeran explained it all in detail." I understand the need to skip over exchanges that would be repetitive for the reader, but this felt like a clumsy way to accomplish that. There aren't that many POVs, yet that sort of line came up often enough to feel repetitive in itself.

Still, this book exceeded my expectations for a sequel, and I felt that it was better than the first book. The conclusion left me reeling, and I am so excited for the next release.

Bonus points for including a brief recap of the previous book. I still love this series for showing a queer normative society that is inclusive of nonbinary and trans people.

Yeeran has left her new lover, the Queen of the fae, to return to her homeland and her former lover. Her reasons for this are to end the war which she has always dreamed of, Yeeran must get back to the Queen of the fae, but she will not return alone. Her sister who followed after her exile in faebound remains as royal consort. Lettle is guided by the fates that a stranger who falls upon them could be the key to breaking the curse. There is uproar rumbling against the lightless putting Lettle in grave danger and this leads to shocking twists.

I really struggled with this book, it took me a while to get into it. I loved seeing relationships build that we never knew could happen from book 1 as well as those evolving from book 1. We went on some adventures, and one plot twist i predicted one I did not and that was more shocking. Thos book felt like a filler to me and I feel like whilst a lot happened nothing also happened. Honestly I am unsure If i will read book 3 at the moment.

I loved faebound so damn much, I literally devoured it in a day, it was such a breath of relief from your everyday fantasy romance, and it's one of the reasons I'm thankful to subscription boxes for working with a wider range of authors.
Not only is there such a beautiful romance plot, the worldbuilding keeps giving, and it doesnt sacrifice the heavy political topics and themes we saw in book one.
I am dying for book three pleasseeeee

4 🌟
3 🌶️

This is the second book I have read recently, which is a second book in a series, and there is no second book let-down. I must say, in fact, that I did not read Faebound; just never got around to it. So, I wondered how it would be to read the second book without prior knowledge. The author does a great job of reintroducing readers to the world at the beginning of this book. I went in knowing who the characters were and the relationships already established. This book had many twists and unexpected events, but we never wavered from the plot's core. I now know several things:
1. that things are more intriguing than ever.
2. we have a wild ride ahead for the next book.
3. I am definitely going to read the next book.
4. I want my own obeah (read the book).

This book had no lags; once you get going, you do not put it down until it's finished. I was surprised at how quickly I read this one. It was fun, diverse, and a well-told story. Very inventive world-building and the connection like beings, at the core, are the same whether they are elves, fae, or humans, making the story relatable from all perspectives.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, Del Ray, and Inklore, for the eArc. These opinions are mine.

I wasn’t really sold on the series after book 1 but this book was far more gripping for me. The plot was more interesting and the lore and world building felt far more in depth. The relationships felt less rushed too and the plot twists kept me engaged right to the last- and after that ending I do definitely want to know how the trilogy wraps up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC

I think that sequel gets a lower rating because the first book is like a revelation, we didn't expect to like it that much. While the second one we expect a bit more, we wish to have answers to our questions.
So yes it is a 4, but still, this is a good romantasy, especially because it is accessible to new fantasy readers.
And of course because the representation is amazing ; POC, queer relationships, disabled characters, and nonbinary characters.

Thank you net galley for the copy

This review contains spoilers!!!
Faebound was one of my absolute favorite reads last year, and I’m happy to say that this sequel, the middle book of what’s shaping up to be an incredible trilogy, continues the story in the best way possible.

One thing I really loved about this book—especially since I’ve been struggling with other sequels lately—is that I didn’t feel like I had to re-read Faebound to pick up where things left off. It never left me feeling lost or bogged down with info dumps. The transition was so smooth, and I honestly can’t praise that enough.

This book was a whirlwind. So much happened in just 400 pages, but it didn’t overwhelm me. Saara El-Arifi nailed one of my favorite tricks in a series: just when you think the main conflict is wrapped up, she flips the script and reveals that a smaller, seemingly less important issue has actually been the heart of the story all along. The Lightless and their plan to overthrow the Dynasty due to the massive power imbalance between the two factions seemed like a minor plot point at first, but it really turned out to be the backdrop for something even bigger. I loved how this played out, and it was great to see more of that class struggle explored in this book.

The characters really shine in this one, and I especially loved Lettie. She’s hands down my favorite now. I loved how, in book one, she was kind of figuring out her place in the world, and now she’s grown so much—she has a clear purpose and goals she wants to achieve. She felt like the real lead in this book, while Faebound seemed to focus more on Yeeran.

We also get more on the Elves and their ongoing war, which I think will be a major focus in book three, and I’m really excited to see how that all plays out. Sadly, Yeeran’s mission to warn her tribe went pretty much how I expected, setting up what’s looking like an all-out war between the Fae and the Elves. Can’t wait to see that come to a head in the final book!

There were some betrayals and plot twists I saw coming, but I definitely didn’t predict who was behind the conspiracy. This story really made me feel for Furi, though—after becoming Queen, it seems like she’s just drowning in betrayal and loss, and I’m not sure how much more she can take. Having Yeeran there to ground her was a nice touch, especially after all the tension between them in book one.

And that final chapter? The reveal about spoiler Humans and Obeah? I did not see that coming. I literally had to pick my jaw up off the floor. It’s got me so hyped for the final book—I can already tell it’s going to be an epic conclusion to what’s turning into one of my favourite trilogies!

The second book in the Faebound trilogy is here. With it brings Alder, a new character and new POV, Also, while the last book was told specifically from Lettle and Yeeran’s POVs we do have previous side characters POV’s in this as well which opened up our story line more to what is going on in the world.
So I do like how the world expanded. How we get more information and world building/background information as the story progresses. I did find that, for me personally, the latter half of the book was a bit faster than the first half. While I like Lettle, I personally prefer Yeeran’s POV’s and that relationship a bit more.
I do really like the representation of the LGTBQIA that Samara El-Arifi brings in this series. I really can’t wait to see how she ends up wrapping it all up with the last book in the trilogy.

As a huge fan of Faebound, I was thrilled that Cursebound exceeded my expectations. I eagerly dived back into this wonderfully unique world, expertly crafted by the author. The challenge of reintroducing the complex world without overwhelming the reader was handled brilliantly. The intricate politics and vastness of the universe truly captivated me.

Although the pacing was initially slower than I preferred, the final sections more than made up for it with their intensity and excitement. The plot, while somewhat predictable, was still engaging, and I appreciated the new points of view introduced in this installment. The character growth was commendable, and I loved seeing the characters evolve throughout the story.

Overall, Cursebound was a fantastic addition that left me eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I'm excited to see where the story goes from here!

For a second book in a trilogy, I was floored by how much I enjoyed this. I often feel like the second book is used as a way to carry the characters forward with no real action happening, but the way I was entranced by the writing and the story proved me wrong. The addition of POVs added depth to characters I did not realize I was missing and an element to the story that made it feel complete.

I thought the pacing of this book was perfect. There was enough action to keep to interested and the addition of political intrigue had me wanting even more. I did not see what was going to happen coming and had me all the more excited for book 3!