Really fun fast paced sequel that added so much to the world! Excited for more!!
Loved all the new characters and how the romances and relationships were built on from the previous book!

🥭 REVIEW 🥭

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mark your calendar and get your pre-orders in because you need to keep up with this trilogy!!

I was absolutely HOOKED by Faebound and was so excited to get back to Mosima and see how our girls were doing, and Cursebound did not disappoint!

The premise of this series is so different, so refreshing, it has immaculate worldbuilding and I just find it mesmerizing.

This series is an example of LGBTQ representation done IMMACULATELY. The characters feel so authentic and having a variety of preferences and identities and it not even be a talking point in the story, just a part of the reality of this world is beautiful.

I do think this book suffered a little from the plight of the second book in a trilogy as it felt like a slight step down from book one. At some points in the middle I found it dragging a little but BOY does the ending bring it right back in the most chaotic and devastating way.

I loved the introduction of Alder (although I did have a bit of the Manon Blackbeaks about him at first, wishing we could go back to the main POVs) and his love story was so beautiful and wholesome and heartwarming I was kicking my feet everytime they were on the page.

The setting and description in these books is just delicious, everything seems so lush and rich I feel like I’m on holiday in some beautiful tropical wonderland while reading.

I am SO KEEN for book three already and highly recommend diving into this world

Buckets of gratitude for the privilege of an ARC 🫶

Thank you to NetGalley for this review copy. I re-read Faebound to be fresh for the story but the author gave us a nice “previously on” so you get a good recap.

The story itself progressed nicely. I was excited to see the characters branch out on their own journeys. We meet a new friend who is interesting to say the least and the prophesies get tricker! I’m excited for the conclusion because the last chapter was 😱😵‍💫

Almost a year ago to the day, I read Faebound. I was brand new to fantasy, having been a purveyor of mostly thrillers my entire life. It was a 5 star read for me and set me on a path to reading more and more fantasy.

With book 2, Cursebound, on the horizon, I was given the opportunity to read an ARC. What else could I do but jump at the opportunity?

Cursebound picks right Almost a year ago to the day, I read Faebound. I was brand new to fantasy, having been a purveyor of mostly thrillers my entire life. It was a 5 star read for me and set me on a path to reading more and more fantasy.

With book 2, Cursebound, on the horizon, I was given the opportunity to read an ARC. What else could I do but jump at the opportunity?

Cursebound picks right up where Faebound left off. Our story unfolds again in alternating chapters. Our first narrator is Yeeran who has left Mosima homeland only to find out that her former lover threatens war against her current lover. As this unfolds, Lettle narrates her chapters as she works to break the curse that binds the fae to their homeland. We get to enjoy a couple of other alternating perspectives that lend much to the story as it progresses.

I enjoyed this book as much of the last and found it much more full of character development and struggle. Each different group of characters engages in a struggle that boils right up to the end, leaving us to wonder what happens to all three of the world's races in the final installment of the series.

I still love this world so so much! I love seeing a fantasy world that is not in a European style setting. Not only that but I love the LGBT rep in this series. Soul-bonded animals? Amazing! Everything was set up so so well that I am impatiently waiting for book three!

Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for this eARC!

Faebound was one of my very favourite 2024 reads, so Cursebound was one of my most anticipated 2025 releases. Returning to this world was a delight, as was reuniting with my favourite characters. The triple POV, with the fantastic new addition of Alder to the line up of MCs, helped making this rich fantasy world even more fleshed out.

in this sequel, which picks up right where Cursebound left off, Yeeran and Lettle have a LOT on their hands, with the fae curse to solve, Lettle's tragic prophecy to avoid (although she alone knows about it), an impending war to prevent and numerous assassination attempts to evade... and that tension can definitely be felt! However, I did feel that some things were a bit too easy or convenient, letting the tension fall quite quickly. That said, the plot-twists were excellent, the spark between old and new pairings tangible (and very cute, in the case of the new pairing!) and the ending made me very curious for book 3.

I'd highly recommend this series to fantasy lovers who want to delve into a brilliantly-built world, with interesting lore and well-developed characters.

A very worthy continuation from Faebound! First, I always love it when a book takes the time to catch the reader up on what happened before, a few pages refresher helps a ton. After that, we’re right where book 1 left off. Without giving anything away, this is a great example of how to do a second book right. If you enjoyed the first book then you’ll be happy with this one!

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 25%
I gave this 3 stars as I gave Faebound the same to be fair as I didn't complete it. For me the characters and their relationships didn't jump off the page and I couldn't really connect to them, it was also hard to understand why all the moon tribes were different and what made them/their cultures stand out when characters from each came onto the page. The world and magic system was original and I loved the Obeah and their sassy natures. This had a lot of promise but could've benefitted from being fleshed out!

I loved this read! A little slow at times but I got into it just as much as the first book! Diving back into this world with more details really expanded it for me and I can’t wait for the next!

4.5 stars for this amazing sequel!!
This book did not fall victim to the dreaded 2nd book curse. It was just as incredible as the first book!!
We continued plots from the first book, met new characters but still followed our favorites, had some great mysteries come up, and got some fun plot twists.
This book has less action than the first I feel but we got to see more political components and character driven plots.
I could not put this down!! I read it in 3 days!! And for a toddler mom, that’s fast!
I am so excited to see how what we learned in this book plays out in the next one. We are building up to a big battle and some crazy revelations.
The only thing I didn’t like was that I guessed basically all the plot twists or mysteries. There were about 6 “big reveal” moments and I saw 5 of them coming from the beginning of the plot line. BUT it was still so fun to read.
I highly recommend this series!

I had high hopes and expectations for Cursebound because I genuinely enjoyed Faebound so much. Unfortunately, this one was a bit of letdown for me. I had an appreciation for the unique the magic system in this world and the complicated political environment Saara introduces to this story. It felt well executed in the first book but for some reason, the characters in Cursebound were insufferable and the plot is all over the place.

The character relationships began to feel superficial and any interaction they had with one another was so surface level for a second book. The dialogue was cheesy & corny for the events going on around them (it's giving try-hard). in the end, I lost interest and care for where they were headed and when you don't care about the characters it's hard to care about the story.

In addition, the events in this book are so random. There's two big separate things going on here, the Fae are trapped and we're trying to find out why and how to free them. The Elven lands are at war and Yeeran, who still considers this her home, is trying to negotiate peace. However, the war somehow ALWAYS feels like an after-thought to the reader but because that is what is driving Yeeran as a character, it leads to some very big moments in the book. that connection to the war doesn't resonate or come through to me with any significance. (view spoiler)

Now let's account for the fact that someone is trying to kill Lettle with a secret-underground rebel group. This entire part of the narrative is so unnecessary. It's introduced, it's resolved once with a mistaken culprit and then finally with the true killer but it adds nothing to the story. there are strong ways to give depth to a character's arc than this, in my opinion or if this is something we wanted to commit Lettle's character too, it should have been developed well ahead.

And finally, we've reach the Nomad Elves who don't belong anywhere and also are harboring a human - again, another species thought to be extinct. Where this all plays out? We have no idea. I guess that's for the third book.

I understand and feel for the fact that second books in trilogies are hard to write but this one felt underwhelming. I don't feel as a reader that the plot developed any further than where we left off in Faebound. I will be honest, I mistakenly though this series was a duology so when I was approaching the end i couldn't believe I had just read that entire book only to feel like that & have to wait for ANOTHER book to get anywhere.

In the end, there's too much going on too fast. Did I buy the Fairyloot special edition to match Faebound? Yes. Am I going to do it all over again for the third? Also, yes. I love Saara's writing and I think she has grand ideas, but the execution is where it's lacking.

TW/CW: Violence, death, sex

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and DelRey books and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! El-Arifi’s writing was as engaging as always and I love her unique take on fantasy tropes. Her inclusive and interesting characters are also a favorite for me!

While I can’t go into much detail on the plot of this book without including spoilers for Faebound, I thought this one moved even more quickly than the first book. It didn’t seem to suffer from Second Book Syndrome, as it had a definite beginning, end, and plot structure of its own while fitting in the main plot of the series as well.

I look forward to the final book in this series and more from El-Arifi in the future!

I wanted this to be a 5 so bad, my main issues were in the foreshadowing elements, which I felt were just a little too obvious and so the big reveals like that of the protagonist was not only not much of a reveal at all, but I felt very frustrated with Lettle in particular for not coming to the conclusion herself, I think this was a case of second book syndrome, but the information we got I think will at least set us up for a good conclusion. Love Saara and her writing.

I received this as an advanced readers copy from Del Rey and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book picks up where the last left off. The fae are trying to adjust to their new rulers, Yeeran is on her way to try and save her people from war, and Lettle is trying to find a balance with her partner, and her own goals. This book is a lot more fast-paced than the last one, and while we still get the agonizing metal tension from miscommunication, there is a steady forward momentum throughout the entire book. There are a bunch of surprises and twists which I can't spoil, but make this book more exciting than the last. Overall this book was great and I read it quickly. I love that the world building was still growing, love the different cultures, and I'm excited to see how it all begins to connect in the last book.

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.