You know that disappointing moment when you have high hopes about something, but it is not good and not bad either—it is a third, more terrible and crushing thing. It is mediocre. This was The Curse of Saints for me.

I did my best to try and give this book a fair shot, but I DNFed it at 22%.

Sadly, Curse of Saints is dull and unimaginative—it walked the same old worn grooves of storytelling pattern and delivered nothing new to the fantasy genre. The plot is needlessly complicated, the characters are incompetent and bland, the banter is trite and flat, the prose is uninteresting.

Other people may have enjoyed this book, but I am not them and I did not like it at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I thought that this was a fantastic start to a new series! One of our main characters, Aya, is the witty spymaster for the queen. Our other main character, Will, is the queen's enforcer. When the threat of dark magic arises, they are sent to investigate. The story has a slow burn, not quite enemies to lovers plot line, with lots of tension and banter. It does take the back seat to the main plot, which is absolutely fine as the main world is so intriguing. The rival kingdoms are almost at war, and the magic system is really fun and unique.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

This is a really promising start to a new NA fantasy series!

The court politics were intriguing and I thought both MCs, Aya and Will, were compelling. Some parts of the plot/world-building were a tad confusing at times, but for the most part I really enjoyed reading this. The story is mainly told through the POVs our two protagonists, but a third POV from a side character is introduced partway through the book which I found a bit jarring and unnecessary. I honestly didn't understand what the point of his POV was; it didn't change or add anything to the story.

The romance is being promoted as enemies-to-lovers which I'll admit is what drew me to the book in the first place. I wouldn't necessarily call them enemies, but there is definitely a lot of hate between the two MCs throughout the book which added a lot of heat and angst to the romance!

Like I said, a good start to a new NA fantasy series. If you like fast paced books with court politics, magic, betrayals, and hate-to-love romance, add The Curse of Saints to your TBR!

When I read through the first few chapters of this book, the immediate comparison was in in my brain between our FMC, Aya, and another well-known assassin Celaena Sardothian. Aya is witty and her take-no-sh*t attitude painted a great picture of her character. The downside of the story for me was that this is tagged as a fantasy romance? which, doesn't make much sense to me as the romance doesn't even come into play until the forth quarter of the book? It throws you off a bit because you're so wrapped up into the main plot at that point that the romance almost feels out of play in a way? I just wish it would have began a little sooner in the story and intertwined a bit better.

On a more positive note, I truly enjoyed this magic system. It felt unique - which lately - has been really difficult to accomplish. I do plan on reaching for the second installment when it's published, I think that after the foundational issues in book 1 it isn't enough reason not to continue. It did feel a little overwritten in certain areas, I fell like this would have been better paced had roughly 30 pages been cut. However, overall, it was a solid read and I did enjoy the story of the FMC.

A needlessly complicated plot that was complicated by flat and incompetent characters. Unfortuately, this book was not for me. I could not stand Aya - a spymaster who can't seem to do anything without being caught. This one character nearly spoiled the whole plot for me. Of course, YMMV and I hope you like this book more than I did.

The Curse of Saints was difficult for me to finish. Firstly, we have this premise that they're bitter rivals, but I don't think that quite works. I'm not sure where their rivalry stems from and even after finishing I'm still a little unclear on a)where it originated and b)all the things he was supposedly doing to help her this whole time. Since this is kind of the premise upon which the book or their dynamic works, I just felt it rang hollow and didn't provide the tension they needed. Being dual POV unfortunately didn't clear up the questions I had about their feelings towards each other and I got the feeling that they were maybe hiding repressed feelings towards each other, but even to us as areaders.

Secondly, I didn't understand the world and I wasn't sure if we were given enough early along to figure out the ramifications and scale. Because of that, some of her actions which maybe were frustration with the world or what she knew about it, didn't feel like they were dedicated enough? I was lacking a very intense feeling of risk or stakes.

Additionally, they're supposed to be amazing spies of some sort, but I didn't really feel that they were too competent at their jobs? I know that this is obviously super personal, but as a plot point I'm just not sure that worked for me.

The Curse of Saints is attempting to look at how we are made into weapons and loyalty, but because of the things I mentioned above, it was difficult to truly figure out how the elements of the plot worked together enough to be swept away.

I was intrigued by the premise so I tried, REALLY tried to make myself enjoy this but it just wasn’t meant to happen I guess! I am sure other readers will have better luck with this than I did, but personally I just wasn’t connecting enough to the characters, the relationships or the story.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't a fan of the relationship between Aya and Will, the author told us why they hated each other but it doesn't feel like a concrete enough reason for how they treat each other. They are so uncivil with each other all the time to the point where its unnecessary, I would have enjoyed their relationship more if the hated each other a bit less and even when they do hate each other they should have some basic respect and trust in each other with they really should have given their closeness with the queen and how long they've been training together.
And instead of jumping into the romance there should have been a period of time when they are just friends learning to trust each other, the romance between them could have waited till the next book.
for Aya we are told how she is very capable which she is but it doesn't live up to how other characters describe her, it feels like we are being told and not show and we only see her go on half mission and have no real gauge for her skills.
Aside from Aya and Will relationship which was my main issue with this book it was entertaining and easy to follow with a nice magic system and good pacing, I'd like to see more hints earlier on about the queens intentions .

It took me way longer than I expected to finish this but I think the main reason is because I seriously do not get along with slow burn books. However, I think it was done really well in this story, regardless of how long it took me. From the start, Will addresses Aya as "Aya love" and I already knew I would be incredibly invested in their relationship. Though it was hard to keep up with at first, I gradually became more comfortable with this world that the author paints and I really liked the character dynamics. Despite the circumstances, Aya and Will always find their way to each other; there's so much support and care for each other, even if it took them awhile to realize it. Plot wise, there were some predictable moments but after the halfway mark, that's when the book started picking up for me. For the most part, I feel like nothing happened in the story. The characters (and their relationship) were developed well but there was almost too much telling and not enough showing. Even though I liked the character arcs, I thought Aya and Will were sort of bland till the last 40% of the book. Additionally, there were some confusing additions (for example: Tyr, her wolf; maybe even Tova) that didn't really have much to do with the story at all, I would have loved a deeper dive into all the characters and the world itself. Overall, this was a pretty good read and it definitely has potential to be even greater!

DNF @ 25%

This book has all the tropes and components I typically love, but it just didn't work for me. The beginning felt messy and convoluted, which made it hard to follow and the characters felt a little flat to me. Ultimately, I don't think this was the book for me, but it does still have great potential and you should absolutely check it out if you are a romantasy fan.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of 'The Curse of Saints' by Kate Dramis. This review contains my own thoughts and impressions.

For me this book had all the bearings of a solid YA enemies to lovers fantasy novel but it became overwhelmed by everything it was trying to accomplished that it fell a bit flat. There seems to be a cookie cutter style of YA fantasy novels being released in the last few years and they are all blurring together. This to me felt similar to the Shadow and Bone series but the author has tried to make it sexy and more mature for older readers.

All in all I think the bones of the novel are solid. We have a world where some people have special abilities, a tense and fragile state of cooperation between neighbouring kingdoms that is on the brink of collapse, and an underlying nefarious plot that is slowly unraveled as the story progresses that sets the stage for a second book.

One element that I think weighed down the narrative was the oftentimes tedious will they won't they romance between the two central characters, Aya and Will (both of whom look fit and fierce in their tight leather spy outfits as we are repeatedly told). Their continuous bickering and complaining about the very obvious lack of trust between them and Will calling Aya 'love' in every encounter was exhausting by the mid point of the novel.

The story definitely picks up in the middle as thing start happening but I wish the ending was indeed the ending and the author had closed the chapter on this particular group of characters.

The Curse of Saints by Kate Dramis is a fantasy debut.

The story is about Aya who is the spymaster for the queens. She is truly badass and a though and strong woman and I immediately liked her. She often works from the shadows and through that a lot of secrets can be revealed. It was fascinating to follow her perspective.

Her rival is Will who is the enforcer for the queen and both hold important positions. So when the threat of dark magic arises, both are sent to investigate it and there are also some sparks between the two of them. The romance was great and had all the slow burn tension.

The plot was also very engaging as there are rival kingdoms on the brink of a war and lots of political and religious intrigue. In addition, there is a mystery surrounding the magic and some unexpected powers are discovered and I really liked seeing that.

Overall, The Curse of Saints is a really intriguing romantasy story. 4 stars.

(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

A very fun fantasy read with a hint of romance. The world was so intriguing 🧐 and I wish we had spent more time discussing the lore and the abilities. I hope to see more in book two!

~ 4 Stars ~

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly really enjoyed this book! It was a breath of fresh air and was gripping from the beginning. I was intrigued by the world and I really loved the banter between the two MC’s, it absolutely sizzled. I also really enjoyed felt like the world building wasn’t so dense, it was definitely layered in and done in digestible bits, which I think is essential when it comes to world building. The only thing was that there’s a lot of key info in the first few pages, and I found myself wanting to go back and trying to clarify terms, people, and other specifics. I also felt this book NEEDS a map. I am hoping it gets one in final production but it would’ve been SO HELPFUL to have seen where our characters’ were journeying to. There’s a lot of travel in this book, and a lot of political intrigue between kingdoms. I definitely need to see how it’s all set up.

I felt like our intro to the MMC we find he’s been in love with the FMC forever. It’s clear as day how he feels due to the multi POV’s (his being one of them). While it’s never explicitly stated, it’s made very clear, but he has his reasons for keeping our FMC at arms length. It was interesting stepping into a story where one character already has formed deep emotions and feelings for another, and in a way, because of that factor, this came off a bit insta-love like. The push and pull felt like it was going on FOREVER, and even in the end, there’s not really a full coming together. I feel like, when they do finally express “more”, they’re in survival mode, and it’s one character persuading the other into a decision. Like, it was a well written moment, but for as much build up as there was, I was really hopping for a more concrete joining of our MC’s. I feel like I, the reader, am getting left out of the resolution, and that is more than a bit unsatisfying. As an adult fantasy book, I just expected a bit more adult content, to actually make it an adult book…

I also would have liked for the author to hit on some of those plot points with a bit more force/emotion. Like the idea of having a love triangle, but FMC and MMC #2 don’t get as emotionally involved as it could have played out. Yes, it would’ve been torture as a reader, BUT that’s exactly the point! I would have had more emotional investment into the story. That plot point alone could’ve had any reader hanging on every word and every chapter, it just needed to be played up a bit more. But in a general sense, there was a lot to dig into here, and while I liked the story, had those points just hit a bit harder, this would have been 5 stars for me.

Overall though, this is an easy gripping read, gorgeous descriptions, and will absolutely be picking the next book up as well!

WOW! I was not expecting to love this the way I did. I was honestly sucked in pretty quickly and flew through this so fast.
It's got so many things going for it: super morally grey MCs, hate to love, forced proximity, magic, bonded wolves, political intrigue, hidden agendas and betrayals, kingdoms on the edge of war. If you liked the section in ACOMAF where Rhys and Feyre go to the Summer Court, I think you'll like a big section of this book too.
The angst and hate and tension and back and forth between Aya and Will was so delicious. Plus both of them have so many demons to confront and work through, but I thought their journeys were really well done.
Honestly, this was just so engaging, fast paced, and the end definitely had my jaw on the floor. I can't wait for the next book!

4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Okay, I really liked this book! I loved the real animosity between the characters. Each time I picked it up I had a hard time putting it down because I was so intrigued. I found the main character to be relatable. I had a lot of moments where I would think, this *specific thing* is like another book I have read. So I kept drawing similarities. I was getting Grishaverse vibes throughout. I am looking forward to more of this series because there were some things introduced that I hope come back into play later. Also I look forward to more romance!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 46%

I could not with this book. I was promised a good enemies to lovers with two skilled spymasters that work for the queen, and that’s not what I got at all. Will and Aya’s reasons for being enemies are flimsy at best and so obviously a miscommunication that I was not invested whatsoever. No one in this book actually does their job at all, the competence is nonexistent. The queen, Gianna, also does nothing except thirst for Will and talk about how she needs to show strength as queen.

Will is supposed to be a hot bad-boy who gets anyone he wants (except Aya, of course), but for some reason he calls Aya love constantly. It’s weird and annoying and doesn’t make me feel any type of way. They have no chemistry at all and neither of them really have personalities. Oh, and while Will supposedly hates her, he says this:

“Black leather pants that hugged the curve of her hips, sturdy black boots, another black sweater with a neckline that scooped just low enough to show the swell of her small breasts. Her thick dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a white ribbon - a touch of innocence.”
Did a man write this 😭

Anyway.

There was a brief thing about bonding with wolves but it’s used for a plot point for maybe two pages before never getting mentioned again. Weird, because Aya was determined to save her wolf in that scene no matter what.

A thousand million trillion stars!

The way I couldn’t stop reading this book but at the same time didn’t want to read it too fast as I didn’t want it to be over...

This book was such a entertaining read.
We have Aya who is the third in command to a queen that rules her kingdom. When sent away after loosing control of her powers she finds her in the company of the second in command and also the most annoying guy around. At least that what she keeps telling herself.

I don't want to write too much about it as I recommend going in blind but one thing I will tell you all, is that there is so much happening in this book and it feels write. There is an amazing ending to this book in terms of the possibilities that are there for the next book. No cliffhanger.

If you love having your feelings played with, it you love banter, tension ... OMG THE TENSION !! I hoped a little bit for more spice but in the end this is a high fantasy series with a very interesting plot and amazing characters I could live without the explicitly of the deed. Hopeful for the next book tho, bring on the angst.

This will be in the top 3 fantasy romance reads on 2023 for me. So much love for this book and author.

The Curse of Saints follows Aya and Will as they’re sent to strengthen allies and investigate rumors of dark magic rising. They also have to investigate the changes in Aya’s powers all while keeping it hidden.
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The Curse of Saints was an enjoyable, binge-worthy read especially for fans of Throne of Glass and the Grishaverse. The magic system is well developed and thought out from the different affinities to the Gods they developed from. Dramis also thought through how different populations would view those with affinities and how they would seek to use them in different manners. I really enjoyed how distinctly different Dramis developed the two different settings for the story. There was plenty of detailed involved with both settings. I was also a big fan of the relationship building. I enjoyed seeing how Aya’s relationship with Aidon and Josie evolved.
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In terms of the overall storyline, it was told from three different perspectives: Aya, Will, and Aidon. Having perspectives from Aidon woven in with Aya and Will provided the added perspective of a different kingdom. While at times it didn’t feel like Aidon’s POV added much to the story, looking back there were breadcrumbs woven in for one of the final twists. Also, I enjoyed the mystery of who was orchestrating kidnappings as well as what secrets Will was harboring. Additionally, Aya’s internal struggles with her power and what type of essence was feeding it was written in a very believable way. Her outbursts and anxiety were in line with what I would expect. Additionally, there were plenty of plot twists. Some of these I anticipated while others were wholly unexpected.
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Overall, I will say I don’t think this story will be for everyone. For someone looking for an utterly unique fantasy story, this will likely disappoint you. For me, though, the elements that were reminiscent of other popular fantasy novels are some of my favorites, so I didn’t mind it. I’m excited to see where Dramis takes the series as well as to see her writing and concepts evolve.


Review will be posted to Goodreads/Instagram the week of June 19th to meet the request of the publisher.

I was so excited for this book, but it didn't meet my expectations unfortunately.

I found it difficult to root for any of the characters or relate with them because they felt one-dimensional. Aya's main personality trait seemed to be her hatred for Will. I also found the reasons why she believed she was dark (once she finally revealed them) to be rather flimsy.

I also couldn't keep track of the side characters because they weren't given personalities. I kept asking things like, "Who's Galda? Who's Peter?" I still don't know who Peter was.

Some of the worldbuilding and plot points felt directly inspired by the Grishaverse. To the point that I felt I was reading Shadow and Bone fan fiction, honestly.

At the same time though, I didn't understand the magic system. I really tried at first, then ended up giving up when it appeared there were no rules. Because of this vagueness, I couldn't figure out what was going on sometimes.

Finally, the romance felt both sudden and overdramatic. There were some weighty proclamations made for something that came on so recently.

This book was not for me, unfortunately.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.