Cursebound was a solid follow up to Faebound, with continued world building and some interesting new characters that further expanded the world. I'm excited to see how the trilogy wraps up in the next book. I loved how the book started with a journal entry that essentially recapped the previous book – something I now need from every fantasy series! The book was so character-driven and had twists and turns a plenty, and I absolutely flew through it. The writing was often more formal than I would have liked, but it didn't get in the way of the story too much. The magic system, characters (Pila will forever be my favorite), and world are all so unique, this is definitely a must-read series for me.

I have an unhealthy love of this world -- it just pops off the page in the most brilliant color. It's written in a way that scratches all the right places for me, and because the plot of Cursebound isnt entirely unpredictable, it almost fits with the idea of a cozy fantasy. The stakes increase from the first installment in this series, but you know where you're going to end up with the interpersonal dynamics. The twist at the end regarding the provenance of the Obeahs set us up for an exciting book three in this series.

I also want to take a minute to express appreciatioin f or the joournal entry that starts off the book, recapping the events of the first book tidily. It really helped launch me right back into the action without the frustration of trying to remember court politics I'd last read about a year prior.

We get a new character, Alder, and several chapters from his POV. While it definitely added intrigue (and a great new relationship), at times the additional POV almost felt busy. However it all came together in the end for a cliffhanger that will have readers begging for the last book.

As with so many second books in trilogies, I felt like at times Cursebound struggled with pacing. But all in all it was such a fun read and I can’t wait for book three!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I think this was a solid follow up to Faebound. I will never not be impressed by Saara El-Arifi's world building. It feels so unique to any other fantasy book I've read. I did deduct a star as I found myself not as invested in the main characters. It could just be that I am more of a mood reader and I may not have been fully ready to jump back into this world. The plot did drive this for me though and I definitely recommend reading it if you enjoyed the first book.

“𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙢, 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙞𝙩.”

after an abbreviated synopsis of what happened in book one (faebound) cursebound picks up right where it left off. yeeran is captured by her former lover after leaving mosima to warn the elves of what is to come. meanwhile, lettle and rayan are left behind to search for more answers on how to break the curse that trapped the fae. unbeknownst to lettle and rayan, a rebellion is starting and they have their sights set on murdering lettle in order to bring around actual change.

something that i really enjoy about the writing of the faebound series is that it is extremely character driven while still flowing so well. the characters are so diverse and they feel so beautifully natural within the pages of this story. the writing is a bit formal at times but with the characters and lore being based around elves/fae/humans it isn’t out of place. i also thing el-arifi does a great job at tackling topics like class division and segregation.

some of the things that made this a four star read and not a five star read is that at a certain point, some of the problems within characters felt repetitive. i’m also a huge hater of a miscommunication trope, and characters deceiving and keeping things from one another to “protect” one another so that influenced my rating a little bit as well.

after that jaw dropping information drop at the end i cannot wait for book three. i can’t wait to see where she takes the story next.

on another note — i saw someone describe this as “gay lord of the rings” and honestly they’re not wrong???

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 🫶🏻

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for a review.

After finishing Faebound I was excited when I got accepted to read & review the second installment of the trilogy, Cursebound. I really appreciated the general rundown of the first book at the start of the second whilst it still flowed in the story.

I really enjoyed this read and it was great to see the development of the characters - in particular Lettle. The introduction of new character Alder provided heartwarming friendships & relationships as well as furthering on the story and aiding a bit of a juicy plot twist 👀.

I love the inclusivity and the way it "just works" in this book. The representation doesn't feel like an afterthought or like it's just thrown in to tick a box. It flows really well.

The world is truly intriguing and unlike anything I've read before - the way it is described alongside the characters and the magic system, the book felt very comforting and in my opinion gives off quite a cosy fantasy vibe with low-medium stakes but with enough to keep you interested and engaged.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the author wraps up the story in the final book!

This series delivers a fresh take on elves and fae with amazingly detailed and beautiful world building!

This is the second book in the Faebound trilogy ( My Faebound Review ) and follows two elven sisters, Lettle and Yeeran, as they try to navigate the fae world and protect those they love. This story is set in an afro/arab inspired and queer normative world and there are both F/F and M/F main love stories as well as lots of additional LGBTQIA+ rep.

Cursebound is less romance focused than Faebound but did up the angst and conflict between the main characters as well as give all the main characters growth. The plot twists are one element that have been consistently done well in this series and I can't wait (and am scared) to see what happens book3! I also really appreciate how Saara El-Arifi is able to craft a fast moving and enjoyable epic fantasy in less than 350 pages.

One of my favourite elements of this entire series remains the obeah (giant cat-like animal companions that the fae are telepathically linked with and can ride) and I love how unique not only each POV in this book is but each obeah is. New POVs are added in this book and I can honestly say that I loved every POV in this book (if anything bad happens to any of them in book 3 I will RIOT).

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as Faebound but this remains one of my favourite fantasy series and Cursebound was still a great read.

Thank you to HarperCollins for sending me a physical proof copy of this book!

I was a little nervous to pick up Cursebound, the second book in the Faebound trilogy, because I did not remember much about the first book beyond the basic premise that the main characters had been banished from their elf kingdom and wound up living among the Fae. I have to give the author huge kudo's for writing one of the best summaries in the form of a diary entry from Lettle (one of the 2 banished sisters) that hit all the right cues in my brain to help me remember, not just what happened in the first book, but also what I enjoyed about it. After just a brief few pages, I was ready to dive back in! In my humble opinion, more author's should do this, and I believe this positively affected my ability to enjoy this second volume.

As the second of three books go, the focus here is character development and world building, but in a captivating way that didn't feel at all like filler. New characters are introduced, including Golan and Alder, whose gay romance is the highlight of the book and absolutely adorable. Yeeran and Lettle on the other hand, both had to negotiate difficulties with Furi and Rayan, as life gets more complicated and politics and the coming war get in the way. I liked the maturity of this story, perhaps moreso than the first installment. We do get enough closure by the end to some of the bigger questions that drive the narrative, but the ending also hands us quite a few more in moving us to the upcoming third act.

Overall, Cursebound invested me further in the Faebound story, which was a pleasant surprise indeed! I will definitely looking for the concluding volume next year.

It was a satisfying read, lots og things happened on this book: we discover more about the humans, the obeah, the dynamics between the different couples and between fae-eleves-humans, and lots of things about the imbalace of power on the fae are bring forth. Really curious about how it all will wrap up!

Ugh, first of thank you thank you thank you for the synopsis at the beginning of the book.

Cursebound picks up right where we left off with our FMC and MMC searching for answers about how to break the curse that trapped the fae. I love how Saara does a great job at writing such beautiful character-driven stories while also giving us plenty of background and flow. The only thing that I didn't love was that after awhile, some of the characters felt like their growth was stilted and things got to be a little bit repetitive.

Finally, wtf was the information dropped at the end?!?! I need book 3 NOW. <3

Oh, man, this was so fantastic to read! I loved the first book, and I was looking forward to see what this story would bring. It was such an extraordinary read, and so thoroughly entertaining! I fell in love with these characters and this world in the first book, and it was so great to continue on with their story!

Both Yeeran and Lettle have things that they have to deal with, and both are pretty important, Lettle with finding a way to free the fae so they can leave their realm at will, and Yeeran, trying to prevent a way between the elves and the fae. I was rooting for them, to find a better future for themselves and the world!

They both had romances going on, as well, and it was really interesting to see how they developed, what with the events of the first book, and the pressures in this one. But this is the 2nd book in what I've seen some places say is a trilogy, so it wasn't all sunshine and roses.

That ending has me desperate for book 3! What with future events are looming, and Lettle's discovery, I need to know what's going to happen next! I think there might be a little bit of breathing room, but I think it's going to be pretty chaotic, pretty quickly and I can't wait to see how it's going to play out!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Saara El-Arifi, in this series and her other one!

I was so excited to get my hands on this, I can’t even describe how desperate I was to carry on the tale and get back into this world again. Was I happy, more than words can describe, what happened, well no spoilers from me but you’ll love it, I love the the different POVs, the twists, the turns and I can’t wait for more from Saara. Brilliant

I loved how this book didn’t lose itself to the romance and instead focused on character growth and tension building scenes.. the world building for this series is great and still leaves the reader with plenty of magic and epic fantasy

In "Cursebound," Saara El-Arifi delivers a compelling fantasy that skillfully navigates the tangled webs of loyalty, love, and destiny with remarkable emotional resonance.
The novel centers on Yeeran, a warrior caught between two worlds and two loves. Born for battle but blindsided by her feelings for the Fae Queen, Yeeran returns to her homeland only to discover her former lover now threatens war against the fae realm. This central conflict immediately establishes high stakes while exploring the personal cost of divided loyalties.
Running parallel to Yeeran's predicament is her sister Lettle's quest to break the curse binding the fae to their realm. El-Arifi cleverly juxtaposes these two storylines—one driven by external conflict, the other by magical mystery. Lettle's determination to solve the curse despite losing her connection to the Fates adds a layer of mystical intrigue that complements the more straightforward political tensions.
El-Arifi's worldbuilding deserves particular praise. The fae realm feels both familiar and uniquely rendered, avoiding the trap of simply recycling fantasy tropes. The curse mechanism and the silent Fates create a compelling magical system that drives the plot without overwhelming it.
Where "Cursebound" truly shines is in its exploration of relationships. The complex romantic entanglements never feel like mere plot devices but rather serve as vehicles to explore deeper themes of duty versus desire, the price of power, and the nature of sacrifice.
Though the novel occasionally relies on fantasy conventions, El-Arifi's fresh perspective and authentic character development elevate it above standard fare. "Cursebound" offers a thoughtful meditation on how our connections—to people, to places, to our own past—both constrain and define us.
A captivating addition to the fantasy genre that will leave readers eagerly anticipating what comes next.

I was so excited to read this as cursebound picks up where faebound left off.
whats beautiful about this book is that the characters are learning from their mistakes and improving and becoming better.
there is betrayals, new loves and queer representation full of diversity

the book leaves us on a cliffhanger that immediately makes me want to read the 3rd book but I will have to impatiently wait for it 😂

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this early review copy.
This book, this series, absolute magic! I love the characters, the setting, the magic, the story, just everything about this! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

An incredible follow up to Faebound, the series starter. Cursebound takes us through political turmoil, worldbuilding, an expansion on the magic system, and evolution to the romances within the book, all seamlessly integrated and in a way that's impossible to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Loved. I found Faebound a little slow, but this book kept my attention the entire time. Really fun read. Can’t wait to continue the series.

I absolutely loved Spellbound, so I was so excited to read Cursebound to find out what happened next. The writing continued to keep me hooked, and I absolutely loved all the political nuances, both within the fae bonded to Obea and those not, and between the fae and elves. I wish the story focused more on these conflicts, as well as finding the solution to freeing the fae, though instead I found this volume much more focused on the romances. It's not that I don't enjoy romance in my fantasy, but with such interesting things happening in the world, I found the romance subplots starting to take over, and even felt forced in my opinion - too many people seemed to be in love much more than to me felt realistic for how long they'd known each other, and that really took away from the story for me.