“a flare of petty drama possessed me. i’m made of poison. i’m a black hole. i’m a parasite that always kills its host.”

“cursebreakers” was an easy favourite for me in 2023, and "angel eye" lived up to the expectations, taking a far darker turn than i had anticipated.

if i had to describe “angel eye” in a word, it’s dread. dread, sinking deep into my stomach, making me shiver feverishly. each page, the tension building and building, knowing and seeing what adrien doesn’t yet see, until it all implodes. nakamura built a gut-twisting, chilling atmosphere. a killer you may pinpoint with relative ease, yet be unable to guess the next steps.

the character work was as compelling as the last book — adrien, always teetering between his pride and the lurking shadow of doubt that hides his daemon. malaise and gennady who, despite not shining quite as prominently, stealing the show when they appear. and oliver, sweet wonderful bisexual who is so instantly lovable and who brought colour into the bleak terror of the setting.

“angel eye” felt far more introspective than “cursebreakers” and a lot more claustrophobic in its structure. it felt somewhat a shame — what glimpses we get into the world are intriguing, and more books should have a field trip to the local museum as a worldbuilding device. i would love more of a historical exploration, something to bring some more life into the surroundings.

we get a brief flashback into adrien’s youth, giving a better understanding of how his illness has impacted his life over the years, as well as how it correlated to his hypersexuality. however, some more of such introspective moments would’ve been a treat. the 280 pages left somewhat restrictive for the plot, leading to the ending feeling a tad rushed. we get some interactions with adrien's students and peers, but they also feel cut short to account for the page count.

although it didn't leave me quite as enchanted as its predecessor, “angel eye” is one to keep the reader wide-eyed and shuddering, as they piece the puzzle together, just a few steps ahead of adrien — and just one step too many behind the angel.

I had a great time reading Cursebreakers, and Angel Eye lived up to all of my expectations. Adrien is one of my all-time favorite narrators, even though I usually prefer third person point of view. His worldview, shaped by his experiences and his illness, is equal parts witty, self-deprecating, and insightful, and it’s a joy to share in it. The nuanced system of social services and psychiatric care is the most interesting part of Nakamura’s worldbuilding, and I think it will be living rent-free in my head for a while yet. Overall, I highly recommend this series, and have my fingers crossed for future installments.

Just as brilliant as the first one.

Picking up a few months after Cursebreakers, Angel Eye sees Adrien thrown again into a deadly conflict, and the stakes are higher than ever. A serial killer is on the loose, and the inquisitors tasked to solve the case might prove to be just as dangerous.

This book was everything I wanted and more. It was heavily character-driven while still maintaining an engaging plot, and I loved just how personal the conflict felt for the main character. It was definitely darker than the first book, but I love the rawness with which the author tackles the subject of mental health.

The relationships between the characters, new and returning, were the crux of the story, and I cannot stress enough just how much I loved that the friendship between Malise and Adrien was treated just as important as his romantic relationship. I hope we see more of these new characters in future sequels, especially Xantha, I found her very endearing.

Angel Eye has truly solidified the Cursebreakers series as one of my favorites, these books are truly hidden gems and I am so glad to have discovered them.


Many thanks to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for this Advanced Reader Copy!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Content warnings: institutionalisation, torture, gaslighting

DNF @ 49%

I loved the first book so I was excited to read this but I had to DNF.

I like this world, and I love the characters, but like the first book, Angel Eye deals a lot with mental health, particularly with medical institutions. I suppose it is deliberate, to be compared with real life medical malpractise, but I hate how Adrien is mistreated and gaslighted. He's been through so much in Cursebreaker, and now he has to suffer some more?? I DNFed because the way he is being treated is infuriating and since I'm at the halfway point I predict things will definitely get much worse before they get better, and idk if I have the strength to get through that.

There are some positives: I loved getting to see Gennady again, I think he's my favourite character in this series also he should be allowed to do as much violence as he wants. There is also a new romance for Adrien! This guy seems nice and genuine, and is easily much better than Casmir.

Honestly I'm just not in the right headspace, this book is too heavy for me right now. I might try to get back to this again in the future.

Angel Eye is the second book in a queer friendly mystery fantasy series by Madeleine Nakamura. Released 3rd June 2025, it's 280 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an often disturbing, directly written, and engaging novel. It would not surprise me one bit to find out that the author often has to explain on public appearances and signings why she tortures her characters so unrepentantly in the course of the books. Sensitive readers should be aware going in that there are disturbing themes including psychological manipulation, gaslighting, grooming, and abuse. Additionally, there are scenes of graphic violence and torture which were difficult to read in places.

That being said, the plot is sound and the pacing moves along at a good clip. The characterizations are well rendered and believable for the genre.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Slow-burn story with tension, trauma and psychological manipulation.
The first part of the book is trying to figure out the antagonist. The second part is how to get away from him. I did like the concept even though I had figured out who the villain was. There was a lot of gaslighting and grooming scenes here but they worked with the plot. There isn't much world building, but I think that's with a purpose. If this had been explored further, it would have diminished Angel Eye.

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for an ARC.

To be honest, this book stressed me out in a good way. It was a great sequel to Cursebreakers but I was feeling bad for our MMC. He was going through so much in this book. I loved the romance in this and the protective friendships. Just felt simple and natural to the story.
My only suggestion is for adding trigger warnings about torture and a few other things but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I have to admit that I found the earlier book in this series a little too drawn-out and talky, and the protagonist, while sympathetic, not very compelling. This installment is much a retread of the primary plot of the first book: Someone is Doing Bad Things, and said Bad Things get pinned on Innocent People, and People Suffer. I wish the world was a little richer and more interesting--it has all of the elements, but none of the depth or engagement between characters and the world that can make a world fascinating to the reader. Overall, it's not terrible, but I really hope the next one in the series has a more original plot and better immersion.

Madeleine Nakamura is very consistent with the conciseness of her writing. Adrian is just as heartbreaking in Angel Eye as in The Cursebreakers. I’m glad that Nakamura spent more time exploring all sorts of relationships for Adrian, but I do wish more time was spent world building and expanding the magic system, as well as giving Malise and Gennady more of an arc, rather than focusing so much on new characters. I think that the plot lacked tension, the antagonist was given away too early and I didn’t really feel any sort of stakes throughout.

Angel Eye is a rich, dark continuation of the Cursebreakers series, deepening Adrien Desfourneaux’s arc with emotional nuance and sharp tension. Madeleine Nakamura skillfully balances political unrest, magical decay, and mental instability without ever letting the story lose its human core. Adrien’s relationships—romantic, platonic, and professional—carry real weight, and the mystery of the healer-turned-murderer unfolds with compelling dread. While the plot occasionally treads water, the atmosphere and voice are consistently strong. A layered, queer fantasy with teeth and tenderness in equal measure.

i’m probably kind of biased because the author was kind enough to offer to give my oc-pharmakeiasona-guy a cameo in this book, which of course makes it an automatic five stars—because canonically existing in one of my favorite series is not something i ever thought id be able to claim—but even ignoring that angel eye was everything id hoped it would be. it’s just as hard-hitting as cursebreakers, some parts even more so. when i saw that the arc was free to download on netgalley i dropped EVERYTHING and read it in a night

adrien is just as entertaining and relatable and witty and tragic as ever. i really like the new characters in this—the villain of this book is SO entertaining and fun to hate. they’re absolutely diabolical and make kirchoff and mulcaster from the last book look boring. and adrien’s love interest is ADORABLE. i tend to dislike romantic subplots but this one was really cute and well deserved and i love seeing a story where someone who struggles as much as adrien does still gets to experience love.

i do wish malise and gennady were a little more present, because it didn’t feel like either of them had much of an arc, instead being sidelined for the sake of the new characters. i do kinda love how casmir was just completely written out of the story LMAO like yea we’ve had enough of him. and nitpicks about the magic system and worldbuilding being a bit sparse are valid, but i can’t really bring myself to care because the characters are the heart of everything here and that’s why i love this series so much anyway. there are plenty of books with steampunk vibes and elemental magic systems, but this is the only series ive encountered with a protagonist that makes me feel so, so seen.

edit: lol it’s kind of funny seeing the name on my review pop up as adrien d. like i’m literally just some guy that happens to have the same first name and last initial haha

Building on all the strengths of the first book, ANGEL EYE is a great sequel that focuses on the characters we know and characters that we are coming to know in the second book. These character dynamics are really the strong point of ANGEL EYE, so much so that I was willing to overlook some of the weaknesses (world building and politics) and had an enjoyable time while reading.

An interesting book… fantasy, characters that you get to know deeply. I hadn’t read the first book so not sure if that impacted my experience. Well written and slow burn story.. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher.

✧₊‧˚⁀➷ 4.02/5 .ᐟ

genuinely mad at how good angel eye is because i tried reading two other books after i finished this and both are annoying me because they don't measure up.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ characters .ᐟ the main highlight of angel eye, like its predecessor cursebreakers, is very much the characters. adrien desfournraux, of course, was complex and fascinating and even more lovable than he was in the last book. i love the deeper exploration of adrien's akrasia, both in general and specifically how it was affected by the events of cursebreakers. his narrative was concluded perfectly. gennady was my favorite part of angel eye (brooding depressed 20 year old boy is such an excellent trope when he's not the romantic interest), and my one complaint is that i wish he would have appeared more often. his arc is satisfactory, but i do wish it would have been more fleshed out. like what happened to masha? of course, angel eye is from adrien's pov, and he had much bigger things to worry about. the other characters were lovely as well. malise is a gem, and i love that there's so many people in adrien's corner now. he deserves so much love.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ plot .ᐟ riveting, truly, but i do feel that the antagonist is given away too quickly. you can tell from their second or third appearance what's happening, and the suspense lies not in the mystery of the killings but when the characters will find out what the readers have known since chapter five. but i suppose that's a quite accurate depiction of abuse/gaslighting/grooming situations. and regardless, i was incredibly invested in the plotline.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ worldbuilding .ᐟ cursebreakers, as a whole, is somewhat weak on this point. i've been imagining a random ancient rome x steampunk victorian england mashup this entire time, and i genuinely don't know if it's meant to be that. the little explanations of the politics of astrum helped, but not as much as i would have liked. the dark academia/urban fantasy atmosphere is very much there, but there's not a lot that's specific to this series. there's a few modern terms replaced with medieval/french/whatever alternatives (caleche for carriage, etc) and some latin (?) terminology (basilissae, etc), but that's as extensive as the worldbuilding gets. kind of disappointing, as worldbuilding is usually my favorite part of a fantasy, but with how good everything else was, i didn't care that much.

overall, a mesmerizing novel and a mesmerizing series. i would read literally anything with these characters or just something set in the same universe. thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!

A genuinely good sequel to a very good first book. It builds on everything the first book did right, and even improves on some. Despite dealing with serious themes, I did feel that the author wrote them well and had trust that they would give a satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Madeleine Nakamura's Angel Eye is the gut-wrenching sequel to the excellent 2023 debut Cursebreakers. It's a fast paced, tightly woven thriller, and the first half is absolutely anxiety-inducing and heart-breaking. The themes from the first novel are further explored, giving a nuanced read on addiction, mental illness, and hypersexuality, while also teeming with overwhelming kindness and understanding for battered protagonist Adrien, who just can't seem to catch a break. In this book, his support system grows exponentially, and it's a joy to read amidst the tears.

All the characters from the first novel get their moments to shine, their relationship to Adrien front and center, but it's the new characters that really sell this book and make this a perfect sequel, building on the already strong foundations and creating a perfect gem. Adrien's new keeper is an incredibly intense figure, sharp and terrifying and bigger than life; and his new love interest is just what he needs, sweet and loyal and utterly unafraid, their relationship growing organically and beautifully. There are othere addictions to the cast, all absolutely delightful.

The worldbuilding was really the only thing that I thought had some small problems in the first novel, and here the issues are corrected thanks to a more narrowed focus on the city and its politics. We also lose a bit of the focused academic setting, but it works because it allows for a more thorough exploration.

This book adds on the mental anguish from the first one by adding physical and mental torture, gaslighting, and attempted rape; as such, one might want to proceed with caution, but it's a rewarding read.

Angel Eye is an excellent sequel.

Full disclosure: I was asked to blurb this book. (Which was both easy and a genuine pleasure to do, because I loved it start to finish!)

In my review of Cursebreakers (on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6117476828), I mentioned that even though I read it in January, I knew it was going to be one of my favorite reads of the year.

Angel Eye is another favorite read. It's not only AS good as Cursebreakers but, if anything, even more compelling. All the interesting themes from Cursebreakers get carried forward and it builds so, so perfectly. The dread during the thrilling parts is so real that I found myself reading with one hand over my face as if that would help me avoid seeing it... but despite that, the humor was still there. And the kind parts were so very kind, that even through the fear I felt like I could trust Nakamura at every step.

It was such a deeply satisfying read, and I loved the characters so, so much. All the old ones get their chance to shine, and the new ones are all deeply compelling and interesting; everyone felt so real. Also I simp and would die for Oliver. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!