Loved it! I’ve now read the three books that are available in this series, and, can I just say, this prequel enriched the story so so much! ✨🖤🗡️ 🔥 It not only explains a lot, it’s the perfect telling of their joined history. Highly recommend all of these books. In fact I think I’m gonna need to reread the others now — which I absolutely LOVED — to see if I notice anything new and just basically because more Memnon and the Empress is always good!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Curse That Binds by Laura Thalassa
NetGalley Review

This book destroyed me in the best possible way. Laura Thalassa knows how to serve tension, angst, and that slow-burn, soul-shattering romance that leaves you breathless.

The world? Dark and dangerous. The romance? Painfully good. I was hooked, obsessed, and fully unwell the entire time. Every twist had me gasping, and by the end, I was emotionally wrecked and already desperate for more.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the early copy! I’ll be screaming about this one forever 🖤

The prequel to Bewitched. Roxilana loses her family in a Roman attack at a young age and is stolen and adopted by the Romans. When she starts hearing the voice of a boy in her head she thinks at first she is crazy but slowly developed a deep connection and friendship with Memnon, a Sarmatian warrior who begins to teach her about her magic. When they finally meet their connection is so deep it’s love at first sight. She becomes his Queen and together they build and defend their kingdom but Memnon’s magic comes with a dark side and every time he uses it he loses a little more of his humanity. Enemies are closing in from all sides and Roxilana makes a heartbreaking sacrifice to save her husband’s soul.

This prequel was beautiful, heartbreaking, intense and sexy. After reading Betwitched and Bespelled finally getting to see how Selene/Roxilana and Memnon started out adds new layers to their relationship.

I have some theories on Eislyn’s true identity and goal. I’m really looking forward to book 3 and seeing Selene and Memnon take her down once and for all.

This was intriguing and adventurous and an amazing prequel! I love love Laura Thalassa’s work and have been so excited about this prequel. This was emotional and funny and made the world building feel so much richer having read this after Bewitched.

I knew I already loved this couple but this prequel made me love them even more. I’m already obsessed with this world that’s been created… and Laura’s writing… but the depth that we delve into knowing these characters. I am so ready for their HEA!

I wasn't a big fan of the first book in this series. But I thought I love prequels why not give it a go.
Unfortunately this didn't work for me. I found it too Repetitive. I also didn't like going through the different ages and she sounded the same. She's meant to be 7 at the start but it read like a 16+.

I love Laura Thalassa and her writing so much, it is an absolute honour to have access to this book early. Just like the rest of her books, this did not disappoint.


The romance was beautiful, the characters were so well rounded and I just cannot fault this at all.

My only problem, and it’s not even a real problem, is that I constantly read Memnon as Manon (from ToG)😂

After reading the first two books, I desperately wanted to know more about Memnon and Roxilana’s life before the curse. This book gave so much foundation to these two and I enjoy that we will able to move forward to the third book with a deeper understanding of their characters.

Memnon’s authenticity is as heartwarming as it is tragic and he’s just so sincere in EVERYTHING he does. (Take that as you will)
Roxi seems to be dealt crappy hand after crappy hand and after reading this book, I am personally invested in watching her burn down the whole world.

My true enjoyment while reading this book came from how well the atmosphere was delivered. You can tell so much care went into the building of this ancient world.
The only complaint I have is that I wanted more details from the battle scenes. Personally, they ended too fast for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Simply put, this book was incredible.
From chapter one it is very intriguing, and from chapter two I was totally hooked. The pacing is perfect, and the relationships don't feel forced in the slightest. The magic, although a mystery for much of the book- isn't confusing to understand and I don't feel it is overused.
The Universe this story takes place in, and the timeline itself, had me in chokehold. I stayed up reading until 2am with my heart racing thinking about what would come next. I also loved the history the author tied into the story and appreciate the amount of research she did for the book.

Roxilana's childhood was pretty sad, and through her mental bond to Memnon we get to see her blossom into a woman who overcomes the past, trusts herself and owns her power.
Memnon is the epitome of both: "if he wanted to, he would" and "burn the world for her." His love, devotion, and adoration leave zero room for misunderstanding.
Their love was both sweet, and wild. He would do or give anything for her, and she would follow him anywhere. This prequel was the perfect way to get to know who they were, and how they ended up where they are.

I really enjoyed the story, i like the setting, how Roxi lived in Rome,and the ancient history.i also loved her panther Ferox and how there bond was. plenty of spice in the story.

I have to say I was ecstatic when I got the approval for this! I adore Laura Thalassa and it was her books that really brought me back into reading as an adult!

I really enjoyed reading and getting context for Roxilana and Memnon’s relationship. It was very interesting. Loved the ancient history involved.

This enlightened me to many things but also brought a couple of questions up that I’m confident will be addressed in the last book for this series. I really want to know what happened to Roxilana’s sister and what exactly Eislyn’s whole deal is.

There wasn’t much conflict in this book and plenty of spice throughout but it made sense. They’d known each other for a while before meeting and didn’t need the time for an emotional connection. That already existed.

I am so ready for the last book but also sad that it’s ending. I can’t wait to see what Laura cooks up next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom for the gifted arc!! I actually liked this so much more than the main series—I could’ve read an entire series set in this time period. I’ve always been so fascinated by the Roman Empire, so this book was an absolute DREAM!!! You can tell the author did a ton of research in order to write this book
Having read the first two books in the series, I already knew how this would end, but I was still SO invested. I absolutely loved getting Memnon’s and Roxilana’s full history, and WOW did it make this series so much more heartbreaking.
So many of the problems in this book can simply be boiled down to the greed of men. Memnon and Roxilana really could’ve had it all, but Memnon got greedy for power under Eislyn’s manipulation. Another moral of the story: listen to your damn wife!! Roxi’s intuition told her that Eislyn and Zosines were bad, but Memnon trusted them both for some reason, and everyone paid the price. Despite reading the ending of this in bespelled, my heart was hurting so much for the way everything went down and had me wishing for an alternate ending. It was so much harder to read having actually gotten to know the characters in this book.
This has made me so much more excited for the third book, and I’m DEVASTATED that I’ll have to wait until 2026 to read it.

I previously read Bewitched and Bespelled, so you know I had to jump on this prequel. I would definitely recommend reading both of those first so that this has the most impact. It was really interesting to see how young they met and get to see their progression over the years, and to see how their "separation" unfolded in more detail. I know he can be a total a$$ but I have always loved me some Memnon, and his devotion to Roxilana/Selene. He is the true definition of "burn the world for her". I am so anxious but excited to see how this series wraps up in book 3.

Laura Thalassa you did not come to play. I was hooked from the first chapter. It’s so dark and swoony, I loved the tension, and the magic system was perfection. Worth every second.

If you like morally gray love interests, high stakes, and romance that hurts so good, this one’s for you. Already counting down to the next book.

3.5/5

The Curse that Binds by Laura Thalassa is a prequel to Laura Thalassa's Bewitched series but it can be read as a standalone novel.

Although I have read books by this author before, I haven't read her Bewitched series to which this book is a prequel to. It did make me very curious about the main series since I don't know anything about it so I might have to pick those books up soon. There were things that I enjoyed about this story but there were also things that didn't work for me as much, which I will talk about below.

First up is what I enjoyed about the book. It's setting was my favorite. I really liked that the story was set in ancient times and that Roxi lived in the city of Rome during emperor Nero's reign for a while. Roxi and Memnon even meet Nero! If you know me you know that I'm a ancient history girl and so I can't help but loving that aspect. I also liked reading about the characters of Roxi and Memnon. I did enjoy their love story and how for years before they even met they heard each other's voices inside their minds. They fell for each other even before meeting. I thought that was a really lovely aspect of their relationship. And I've absolutely got to shout out Roxi's black panther 'Ferox' that she shares a bond with and rescued from gladiatorial games. I loved him so much!

Now what didn't work for me... I felt like after the first half of the book the story became a little bit too repetitive. It became a lot of battles and Roxi saving the day with her magic. And I remember this being an issue also with some of this author's previous books I've read since they were also quite repetitive with the story. I also thoguht that Roxi's magic was sometimes a little too easy and convenient. For example, she could just say "die" to her enemies and they would just kind of die. This is a over simplified example but that's basically how it went. I would've loved more explanation about her magic but I also keep in mind that I haven't read the main series so maybe there is more about it in there?

Overall, I think that people will enjoy The Curse That Binds by Laura Thalassa more if they have read the Bewitched series since I was a little lost on some aspects of it. But I also think it's a fine story that works as a standalone novel as well. It will depend from reader to reader. It had both its positives and negatives for me but with the positive being more overarching for me.

Absolutely fantastic, I was completely captivated right from the very start and didn't want it to finish. Perfectly written, perfectly paced and fantastic characters. I loved it.

Forewarning: this is a prequel for Bewitched and Bespelled! Technically you can read it before the others, but I highly recommend reading both of them before reading this one (or at least Bewitched) for the highest emotional impact.

This was the PERFECT backstory, like absolutely mindblowingly perfect. I love love LOVE the true details that went into the Roman and Sarmatian culture (amongst other ancient cultures). The plot pulled me in almost immediately, and I was gripping my kindle with an unnecessary force at the end (even though I very much knew how it was gonna end).

I loved seeing the growth and development of the characters over the course of the years, I think Roxilana is one of my favorite FMCs to date (as is Selene Bowers). She grew into her power and confidence so beautifully, in such a believable way. It didn’t feel rushed or forced, it felt very natural and realistic. Memnon’s character development was so important to see, since when we meet him in the other books he’s so seemingly cruel and mean. I think this book did him SO MUCH justice in how he became who he is and why he did.

I was afraid I wouldn’t be as drawn to their back story as I am to their story in Bewitched and Bespelled, but I think it just made me appreciate their story even more. It helped me understand them in a more up close and personal kind of way.

I highly recommend the entire series, but I do recommend reading the other two first! There’s so much more to appreciate that way, and so much more interest and intrigue. I think had I read this one first, I’d be a little bit less emotionally attached to the characters overall. Their story wouldn’t grasp me in the way that it did knowing what was at stake.

I love the story in the fisrt two books and I'm really looking forword to the story unfolding in the future. However, this one draged a little. I still liked the story and the look into Roxi's and Memnons past, but I can't wait to continue with Selene and her morally gray soulmate.

This was sooooooo good. There is nothing I don’t love that Laura Thalassa puts out. This was definitely a dark and unhinged love story but also so beautiful because of it. You learn about Menmon and Roxilana and how true their mate bond is. The emotional damage of this with the betrayal and loss is on a whole other level. The ending was amazing!!! Can’t wait to see how this series ends all together. Soooooo freaking good.

Good Gods! The Curse That Binds is probably THE best prequel I have read to date. This was everything I had hoped it would be. Seeing how Memnon and Roxilana came to fruition is so incredible. The devotion this man has for her is earth shattering. This, THIS, is what it means to burn the world for you! I was mesmerized by their connection; and the fact that it spanned their entire life is just mind blowing to see. Watching their relationship build and grow through their lives was remarkable. I also loved seeing the events unfold that led to his “sleep” and that, in the end, Roxi did everything she could to protect him despite what it cost her. It was heartbreaking and tragic, to say the least, yet so exquisite.

This book provides so much depth to the Bewitched and Bespelled world that Thalassa is magnificently crafted. The lore throughout this book just made it that much sweeter and is absolute perfection! I thoroughly fell hard into this book and devoured it in no time because I was so obsessed with their enchanting story. The relentless battle and action will leave you breathless trying to keep up. This story viscerally moved me in all the best ways getting to see the sweet, tender, and banter filled moments, as well as, battle hardened and painful moments. And I fully enjoyed the banter these two shared. Let’s not forget about all the toe curling steamy moments these two shared.

The Bewitched series is probably my most favorite series by Thalassa thus far. I cannot wait to come full circle back into Memnon and Selene’s world to see how this magnificent story wraps up.

Thank you, so very much, to Sourcebooks | Bloom Books, NetGalley and Laura Thalassa for another opportunity to read an advance digital copy in this series!