love
- the queer rep
- the importance of families
- the lore being built over and over


disliked
- how obvious the assassins were
- how quickly people die and how OFTEN
- too much happened too quickly at the end

Many thanks to Random House Publishing for this E-ARC. Thankyou so much for giving me the oppournity to review the second book in the Faebound series.
Rating- 3.5/4 stars
(E-ARC)
I read Cursebound back In December last year and when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I had to apply and request this book. I was really happy to see that I had been approved. It was lovely to see a recap at the start of the story which was really helpful. It was great to have a recap as it had been a few months since reading the first book. It was also a clever way to include it by using it as a entry in Lettle's journal. The second book really picked up during the second book but I still had some problems.

I was quite engrossed in Faebound and at times I was unable to put it down. There was multiple povs throughout the book where we saw characters from the first book and new povs from new characters such as Alder. The pacing was good and did more feel like a filler book. The second book in fantasy books often are fillers book but this added more content and set more problems up. I did feel that the dialogue was forced at times especially when the scenes were often repeated. For example, you would see a scene from one character point of view and then the same scene would be repeated. For most chapters, you were reading the same scene. I did enjoy the multiple povs that were presented throughout the novel. I really enjoyed Alder's and Golan point of views.

It was interesting to see what happened after the events of Book 1. Lettle was a lot of fun this time around and how she was coping with her diviner abilities. There was a lot of romance in this book and you could see the established romance between the characters. I did feel that the romance felt flat- it felt super underdeveloped which I think was partly due to the mistrust and the miscommunication that the characters practically had to each other. The romance I felt would have been better if the characters were more developed and there was not as much miscommunication. I don't know. I did however love one of the side characters romance (both weren't underdeveloped) which I would happily take a novella of these two. Although I guessed on some of the things that happened in this book (sixth sense with fantasy books) I was really shocked at some of the twists during Faebound. The twist at the ending shocked me. I was not expecting that and left me with questions and answers.

I feel so conflicted about this series where I find some elements amazing while others lack for me. The world building was outstanding once again. The author shines when it comes to world building and really knows how to make you feel immersed in this world. It also has amazing disability, queer, non-binary and POC representation. Like mentioned before, the characters do feel underdeveloped. I felt like the ages of the characters did not match the age or the way they were acting in this book. Too much miscommunication and very stupid decisions.

I am worried how everything will be able to be resolved in the next book as I feel there is so much to wrap up. It makes me wonder if the next book will be a lot bigger than the first two if there is going to be a third book. I did enjoy this book but there was things that made me question yet I still enjoyed it at the same time.

While elements of the plot felt obvious, it was still a good second book in the trilogy. Which can often be challenging. There was good pacing and the characters were likeable. I really enjoyed the deeper dive into the Lightless and, after discovering the author has a degree in African Studies, I could see the parallels of the Lightless’s treatment as “second class citizens” and how Black individuals has been historically treated.

This is a vastly diverse book and it’s incredibly refreshing to see the gender fluidity and use of personal pronouns so seamlessly throughout!

Really looking forward to seeing how it all ends!

eeeeeeee I love this so much more than the first one and can't wait for the epic finale. The first book that I read was on audio and I got this one on ebook, so I am not sure if that played a part in me enjoying this one more. I will say that the voices in my head still matched the audio of the first book, it was just so well done on audio. Since it is a second book, I can't say too much without giving away the plot of the first BUT I loved the mystery here and the twist. I really can't wait to uncover more of this world.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Faebound walked so Cursebound could RUN! There was a lot less world building in this book and a lot more mystery/danger/love/fitting all of the pieces together. The ending was *such* a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to read the next one! Highly highly recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy, is new to fantasy, and/or loves diverse representation all throughout the book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for this advanced copy!

The second instalment in the Faebound series, Cursebound, is an intense and immersive sequel that keeps the momentum going while expanding on the world and political intrigue introduced in the first book.

We continue to follow Yeeran and Lettle’s POVs, with a few new perspectives woven in, making for a layered and engaging narrative. The setting remains as rich and vivid as ever, with fantastic world-building that adds depth to the story. The political intrigue in this instalment was incredibly compelling, adding extra tension and stakes to the plot.

While romance had potential, I felt the love interests could have been more developed. I wanted to feel the connections and the emotional depth, but it didn’t quite get there.

One notable aspect of Cursebound is its strong LGBTQIA+ representation. It was great to see so much diversity, though it sometimes felt like a lot to take in all at once.

This was a strong entry for a middle book in a series that didn’t fall into the usual second-book slump. The story remains engaging, and I can’t wait to see how things unfold in book three!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Ray for an eArc of this book; my thoughts and opinions are my own.

For not having read the first book in this series, I was very easily able to pick up the story and distinguish all of the characters. Very well written and I will be running to grab the first book.

This has quickly become one of my favorite fantasies. The world the author as created is phenomenal. Not only is she a woman of color, but she has lgbtq representation. The characters are intriguing and the world building is spot on. The plot twist. Wow. I can’t wait to read more!!

My only regret in reading this
book is that I need to
wait for book 3.

The story had a lot of unique
elements which I loved.

The multi-povs were so well
done, I'm not normally
a fan of so many POVs

I am obsessed with how the author incorporated so much representation without taking away from the book. Sometimes it feels like people are ticking boxes to include things but that was not the case here.


💙 LGBT rep War, Politics,
Elves and Fae.

The first book of the Faebound series? Good. The second book? Even better. I was thrilled with how much more El-Arifi developed the world and the story in Cursebound. Most of all, I was thrilled that the rumblings of injustice and prejudice that were present in the first book ended up becoming featured in the second book, just liked I'd hoped!

This book seemed to go by really fast. There was so much drama! I still wouldn't say the pacing was perfect, but by the halfway point the pacing came together and stayed consistent and exciting the rest of the way through. Regardless, the story was interesting! Again, I had a little annoyance at one romance, because it just happened too quickly (in my opinion). The romances that bugged me in the first book (because I felt they were unbelievable) became more mukti-faceted and faced issues, which I enjoyed seeing.

In conclusion, I really liked it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC!

Cursebound is book two in the Faebound series and is a gorgeously written romantasy. The world building was vivid and so well done. I loved the new POVs that were included. The new characters introduced really enhanced and added depth to the story. The overall plot was engaging, with plot twists, betrayal, and multiple romances. This book tackled political topics like class systems and rebellion. I thought the inclusion of the ruling family's response to those issues was also really important. There were multiple romances, but they never overtook the main storyline. Each romance was nuanced and there was plenty of conflict and angst between the characters. I absolutely adored the new romance that was introduced. The obeah continue to be one of my favorite elements of this series, and there was a plot twist related to them that literally shocked me. I can't wait to read book three when it is available.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC.

Cursebound is the second book in the series, and let me tell you, there’s definitely been some major improvement since the first one. The world-building feels stronger this time around—El-Arifi has really expanded the setting, and I loved diving deeper into the magic that shape this world. The pacing is better too; while the first book had a lot of slow moments, this one keeps things moving at a more consistent speed, and the twists are definitely more impactful.

That being said, I still didn’t fully connect with the characters like I hoped to. The main character’s motivations are clearer than before, but I still wanted more depth from her and the supporting cast. Some of the secondary characters still feel a little underdeveloped, which is a bummer because they have so much potential.

Overall, I enjoyed Cursebound more than the first book—it’s definitely a step up. If you’re a fan of the series, this one will not disappoint. It’s a solid read, but I’m still hoping for even more in the next one! 3.5 stars.

Cursebound is the second book in the Faebound trilogy - it picks up pretty much after the first book ends. Yeeran has left to warn Salawa that the fae are working with their warring tribe, Furi and Rayan are learning the ropes of being the new King and Queen and Lettle is struggling in her role as seer because she is unable to see prophecies. There is also a new character with his own POV - he is a nomad who stumbles upon Mosima and the core group.

We explore the relationship between the Faebound and the Lightless. The Lightless are no longer willing to stand for mistreatment and have a plan to kill Lettle to make a point to the new royalty

There are some unexpected twists in this story and the story itself is fairly fast-paced.

I do feel like we could have explored more of our main characters - we did learn a little bit more about them but I feel like there is still so much more to learn. I also feel like Yeeran took a bit of a backseat in this book.

This series continues to be very LGBTQIA+ friendly with a good array of couples that are spotlighted in this series

Thank you, NetGalley, Del Rey, and Saara El-Arifi!

I really loved the first 3/4 of Faebound, but I felt myself loosing interest in the last portion. I feel like that fatigued transferred over in my reading of the sequel. I agree with other reviewers that this book felt much tighter, and better written than the first (and the first was good, so that's saying something), so I'm glad that this didn't suffer sophomore syndrome. I think maybe I need to just try again from the beginning which I plan on doing when the final books comes out.
I love that we get an expansion of the world building and especially magic system! After reading this book, it's easier to see that the first book was entirely ground work, and now we're really getting into the tale here.
Can't wait for the third so I can power read the series in a weekend haha!

What an incredible follow up to Faebound! I will be recommending this to anyone and everyone who will listen. There was less romance but I actually preferred that as it gave a chance for us to explore the world and the characters and we ended up with a lovely balance.
I adore the exploration of both fae and elves (which we don't see enough of) and I *gasped* at the twist. Stunning.

This was a very fun follow up on Faebound! I enjoyed reading more about the characters, and the plot was what had me hooked. It was nice to learn more about Mosima and the fae, and also the introduction of new people and characters was nice. I wish there had been a bit more worldbuilding - I wanted to know more about the different people/elven folk, the Nomads. El-Arifi managed to build a really complex network of characters, and I feel like adding just a slight extra touch of worldbuilding will really bring the whole thing together even more! Overall, had a good time reading it and finished it in a day and a half!!

I enjoyed how the series is expanding for the characters, the romances and the non-romance plot. The pacing of the story was great!

After the way the first book ended I was desperate for some answer! This book! It did not let me down at all! I enjoyed every page!

3.5 ⭐️

This is the second book in the Faebound trilogy and I think the better written book of the two so far. Like book 1, Cursebound is written in a multiple POV but within the POV's it seemed to repeat things more than Faebound did. It did get a little irritating at times to read the same thing 3 chapters in a row which is mainly why my rating is lower.

With that being said, if you enjoyed Faebound I think you will enjoy the continuing storyline of Cursebound. You get even more world building, character development, love/loss, and of course new characters. There were parts of the story I found myself guessing what was going to happen next, just to find myself happily wrong. There is a fun twist at the end of the book leaving me wishing book 3 was out right away.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars
——————

I was pretty neutral going into this book, having had mixed feelings about Faebound. I’m glad I tried it, but I just really struggled.

Picking up where Faebound left off, this book starts with a great summation of the first book making it easy to jump back in without a reread. This book dives deeper into the world, the fiction and the characters. In spite of this, it definitely struggled from second book syndrome. I just found myself incredibly bored throughout. The writing was uninspiring and lacked depth. There was plots that happened too quickly and easily. This book really lacked suspense. There is very little that happened that wasn’t solved, leaving very little plot to carry into book three. I can’t out a finger on whether this was suppose to be plot or character driven, but neither carried enough substance to really carry it. Like the plot, the characters lacked depth. I appreciate the use of multiple POVs in this one. With so many subplots, having a better overall understanding of them all from varying POVs really helped. But the voices felt too similar and hard to distinguish.

I have so many mixed feelings with this book, I’m not sure if I would continue the series.