thank you to netgalley & random house publishing for a copy of this book in return for an honest review !!!!
yall. omg. i haven’t read many book series before but this is the first time ive loved the sequel more. because DAMN this ended up being scrumptious!!!
compared to the first book, the plot is more engaging, with more stakes and tension. the characters are developed a lot more, making them feel more realistic (although i’ll be real and say rayan does not fall into this category… he just feels like a placeholder if im honest). the mysteries built up in this sequel are not only more interesting, but more of a mystery, with more danger for the characters. also this book delves into the politics of not just the fae kingdom but the forever war in the elven lands, and not only was it interesting but it was engaging and not cut & dry which was great. the amount of shocking plot twists increased, and i think they were done a lot better compared to the first book. like there were certain moments i was reading and fully pulled a “😨” face. the plot with the authority was done a lot better than the first book’s overarching mystery, and although i worked out the mechanics of the mystery in this sequel just as fast, it didn’t feel as cheap. not only was it more gradually explored, but the amount of layers related to the authority plot kept me gripped even though i knew most of the facts regarding said plot.
i’m actually shocked by how much i liked this because the first book was simply ok. it was interesting but simple. but this? this has a lot more depth which was great. however, i did have a few issues, but i think these issues were generally more personal than an actual issue with the book.
for one, the book at points felt like a rehash of book 1. i don’t want to spoil what exactly happens, but it felt like the exact same plot beats was followed with lettle here. sure they were done ‘better’ in this book but it still doesn’t negate the fact that the plots of both books was the same except with the culprit & the motive(s) being different.
speaking of plots, i did think that there were a bit too many going on at once. to be fair, by the end most plots were either nicely wrapped up or explained enough yet still allowing room for book 3 in the series. but there was so much going on at times i couldn’t keep up. we have alder’s plot, then the authority plot, then the berro plot, then the forever war plot, then the grimoire plot, then the yeeran plot, then the fates plot…. i could go on. at times i almost couldn’t keep up so much was going on.
also if im honest, some plot points felt a bit… contrived? a lot of times i was reading and it felt like i was more so reading a self-insert fanfic. at times the book was giving “my name is ebony darkness raven and i am the most beautiful girl at school but also i have these two hot boys i have to choose from and also im super smart and super fast and super athletic and also im the queen of vampires”. elements at times felt forced and it kept breaking my immersion.
honestly though, what critiques i have about this book are mostly personal. but sadly they are what held this book back from being a 5-star for me. however, that isn’t to say i didn’t completely adore this book. it’s rare that after i finish a book i still go back and think about it, and yet i still keep thinking back to what happened throughout this book. it’s living in my head rent free.

Whilst I enjoyed Faebound and will want to read the conclusion of this trilogy, it unfortunately has fallen a bit short for me. I absolutely LOVED Saara El-Arifi's Ending Fire trilogy and the world building and lore here I have also enjoyed and has a lot of promise. I am interested into why humans have disappeared and how the story will be resolved. I also enjoyed the twist with the obeah which I didn't see coming. However, other plot lines I did. From the very off I had correctly guessed who had betrayed them which was a little disappointing. Also there was a lot of build up of the eleven tribe led by Yeeran's ex and former chief and the threat of them discovering the fae, but the fight was over in the blink of an eye and the tension with it. I felt that storyline could have been more developed. I also really struggled with the romantic plot lines and how the characters seemed to brush over killing family members or exes quite easily, the love stories felt a little forced and undeveloped which meant I couldn't really be fully behind them.
So some issues but some good world building and I will look forward to reading the conclusion.

This was so good. I loved the plot and characters. It was paced perfectly. I didn't wanna put it down and was on the edge of my seat. I had waited so long for this sequel and it was incredible

This book was kind of a let down for me. I loved the world building and the characters but the story is overtaken by lackluster romance.

I really loved the first book so I was super excited to get the arc. I was unfortunately let down by this one though. I felt like it was really dragged out and was not nearly as good as the first. It took me till the end to really start to enjoy it and by that time it was over. I am hoping for a better 3rd book because the end did make it seem promising.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for a copy of this arc.

Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi shifts focus to Lettle and ups the politics and tension, but loses some of Faebound’s magic. Loved Adler’s POV, wasn’t sold on Lettle, but Pila remains the best. Mixed feelings, but still eager for book three!

This book picks up right where the first book - Faebound - left off. Thankfully there was a recap included in the beginning. While Faebound was focused more on Yeerin and Furi, this book it was Yeerin’s sister Lettle’s time to shine. While Yeerin is off trying to prevent a war, Lettle is caught up trying to break the curse that binds the fae to their lands while also attempting to hold off brewing civil discontent. If you liked the first one but wish it had more politicking, scheming and war, you will enjoy this book.

I feel like Yeerin was kind of pushed to the sidelines in this book to help advance the overarching plot of the curse of the elves. She and Furi have several scenes that are clearly emotionally charged but ultimately fell flat for me. Lettle did most of the heavy lifting in this book. I got nervous for a bit, I was suspecting Gohan of being a bad guy but thankfully my fears were unfounded.

We also get a new POV in the form of Adler, and I am interested to see how his arc wraps up in the final book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for this ARC in exchange for my review!

I was so excited to get my ARC after reading Faebound. This novel picks up shortly after the events of the second book and keeps the same pace as the first. It was a fast paced book with twists and turns, some more obvious than others, and continues the story of Lettle and her sister Yeeran as they try to bridge the gap between Fae and the Elven tribes.
I really liked that we got to see more of the Fae lands as well as the lands that lay beyond the Elven tribes as well. The descriptions made it feel as if you were walking along some of the characters at times and really added to the reading experience. I also loved that we got to see more of the magic system in this novel as well and it helped to solve a lot of the confusion that I had with the first book.
While this novel is labeled as a romance I really enjoyed that the romance plot lines weren't at the forefront of the novel and like the first book, they blended in naturally with the main storyline instead of being the main focus.

I am really excited to see how this trilogy will end and cannot wait for the next book to come out!

I was excited to get to this one because I really enjoyed the first book in the series. The lore of this world is very cool, and I love learning more about the history between the humans, elves, and fae. We got a new POV, which definitely added to the story. I adore the representation we get in this book, including POC, queer and non binary characters and relationships, and disability rep. However, I feel like a lot of this book was telling and not showing, which kept me at a distance as a reader. I also got frustrated with the characters just not talking to one another, which added problems. I am still going to continue because I am interested in finding out how this ends, but this one definitely suffered a bit from middle book syndrome.

I had really quite enjoyed Faebound, book 1 in this series, having found the POV characters all very intriguing and the world building so interesting. Sadly, my enjoyment was a little bit less so in book 2 as I felt it overall suffered from the dreaded middle book syndrome.

POV characters all remain the same (with some new additions!) this time round though I found myself getting so annoyed with Lettle, her chapters were a bit of a chore - her 'seer' abilities and prophecies are all a bit meh. That being said the overall story was great ad pushing in a very interesting direction!

Although this totally seems negative I did enjoy the book! I just wasn't AS enjoyable as book 1, however! I think it sets up the final of the trilogy to be GREAT so I have super high hopes to how everything will conclude.

Thanks as always to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

The story was very unique and the representation was fantastic. Although there were so many characters and so much going on, I had a very hard time understanding the story.

I loved the first book in the series, so was super excited for the newest installment. I loved the rich world building in Cursebound. I plan to recommend to all my romantasy loving patrons at the library.

I loved Faebound and couldn’t wait to read Cursebound.

Loved that Cursebound picked up right where Faebound ended. Loved the multiple POV, the continued world-building, the beautiful writing, the unique plot and storyline (though the world can be quite brutal), and I really just love the characters in this series. Excited to continue reading the series and ready for book 3.

Thank you Del Ray and Netgalley for the ARC!

The fact this series isn't more popular will annoy me until the day I die. I love the depth this sequel added to the series, it doesn't fall into the dangerous "second book" syndrome that often happens. I loved the more information we have learned about how the world works, but also the drama happening between everyone. The sister's relationship was focused more on during this book, but also the other familial and platonic relationships. I really loved the betrayals that were happening/are happing during this book, it felt believable but also made me feel like I was stabbed in the back.

Book 3 now?

this was a phenomenal sequel to Faebound! there was a quick recap in the beginning which just honestly makes me want to give it 5 stars because BLESS YOU! if every author did this I wouldn't have to re-read the first/other books in series. anyway, this was just as good as the first book with vivid magic, characters, and a compelling story that I flew through. I'm both so excited and sad for the third book to come out and come to an end, but I have high hopes for another literal stunning read.

Sadly I didn’t get around to downloading directly from netgalley but was given the opportunity to do so. I have read the book and it was magical. I looked absolutely everything about this book. The characters, story line and ending. Would definitely recommend to others who love fantasy

I sat with this book for a while because I don’t know how I feel about it. I enjoyed one characters point of view way more than the others. It’s a solid book two, but some thing was lacking for me. I’m still looking forward to the rest of the series.

I love Saara's books every time, and this was no exception. This book builds so well on Faebound, and has some crazy twists in the already unique worldbulding that absolutely took my breath away.

Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi is the action packed sequel to Faebound and it's set in a world full of magic and intrigue with a bit of drama. We follow several characters throughout the story and they are all trying their best to break free of the fae curse that was placed upon Mosimer. The first thing that i enjoyed was the pacing, while i found Faebound to be a bit hard to get going into the story, Cursebound immediately throws us into the action. I think this book is a bit more focused on the plot and there's not much world expanding which was totally fine but a bit overwhelming at times. The set of characters are compelling as ever and I was rooting for them between all the twists and turns. The tension builds nicely throughout the book and i was hooked instantly and until the end.

Overall this was a great book with an unique storyline and a great book, and for me was better than it's predecessor. This book was intriguing and quite entertaining and i cannot wait to see where the next installment will take us. I recommend it to all that enjoys fantasy with a political and romantic subplot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House-Del Rey for the Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book.

Faebound, the first book in this series, was actually one of the first ARCs I requested and received. I really enjoyed Faebound and was so happy when Cursebound was announced so soon after. At the end of Faebound we see Yeeran depart on a journey outside of the cursed but protected boundaries of the Elf’s underground prison.

Cursebound is a continuation of the two sisters on a mission to unite their old Elven tribe with the newly discovered Fae royalty. The romance continues, though remains fairly stagnant throughout the story. Unfortunately I do think this book suffers from gap filler middle book syndrome. I see a trend in Fantasy series where the book(s) in the middle of the series tend to drag for me, they offer very little plot development, typically featuring more focus on character building and politicking. We start this book and end this book with the Fae in the same position; allegedly non-existent in the eyes of the Elven tribes. We learn a lot more about a pre-Forever war era where humans, faeries and elves coexisted. There were more talking animal familiars, magical bonds and less drum magic which was a bummer for me because the drum magic is what I love, it’s unique and interesting.

I will definitely continue this series but I did not seem to connect with the story as easily as I did the first. Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for my copy; all opinions are my own. Cursebound is out now!