This is an enemies-to-lovers dynamic where you can feel the hatred instead of just flirty banter. The rivalry and enmity read as genuine and more than a slight obstacle to be overcome on a stormy night at an inn.

The magic system was very interesting and I enjoyed seeing the different powers of the various characters. I would like to have seen more from the bonded wolves - I just got a taste of it in the beginning but wanted to read more about it.

I love the politics and the court dynamics with the kingdom they are sent to solidify an alliance with. I am really looking forward to seeing more of the cold and mysterious queen Gianna in future books.

This is an excellent start to a series and I am so bummed I have to wait to read a follow-up!

I received an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Release date: July 11, 2023

The Curse of Saints follows the queen's spymaster, Aya, as rumors of dark magic begin to rise. When Aya's powers begin to evolve beyond her God given ability, suspicions rise and Aya becomes at risk to be used as a pawn in an upcoming war.

This premise sounded right up my alley, so I was so excited to dive on in to it. For the most part, it lived up to my hopes, but there were some things that didn't fully work for me. That being said, I will definitely be continuing the series, as I think both the series and the author have a lot of promise!

Here is what worked for me:
- The characters. I enjoyed all the characters and can't wait to see where they go and how the continue to develop, especially Aidon, Josie and Will.
- I'll say again, Aidon. I really liked his arc in this story and how the end went with him. I continually questioned where his loyalties lie and was never quite sure.
- The epilogue. Makes me very excited for book 2!
- Fairly fast paced with some exciting scenes.
- Strong world building
- I love enemies-to-lovers, so for the most part (more on this later) I enjoyed this.

What I would like to see altered:
- More angst. As mentioned, I love enemies-to-lovers, but for a good 3/4's of the book, I felt a little too much enemies and not enough pining and angst. Knowing it was an enemies-to-lovers story line, I could assume the angst Will was experiencing, but I didn't feel it as much from the writing as I wanted. There were a lot of good lines but I wanted them to develop beyond a good line into a good scene, but scenes often seemed to be cut shorter than I would have liked.
- The spymaster. Aya is a spymaster, but we didn't really get to see this play into the story much. Aya is written as a badass character, but I wanted to see that a bit more. I hope we see her in that element more in book 2.
- Some things didn't quite tie together or were missing some of the groundwork for me. It sometimes felt as if the author wanted to have an air of mystery, so she would leave some things muddy in the beginning. But then when the author would drop a line to raise suspicions, it felt a bit out of the blue and confused me. I actually ended up rereading the first 20% of the book because relationships and interactions felt too muddled and confusing.

Overall, I did enjoy this one and as mentioned, I'm excited for book 2. The author has a lot of skill and passion and potential and I'm excited to see her skills grow in future works!

Aya and Will have chemistry so intense I was afraid this book would melt! The magic is incredible and I love when books include Saints, there is something so classic about them now in the shadow and bone era.

2/5

I really wanted to like The Curse of Saints, but unfortunately pretty much everything about it fell flat for me. I didn't feel any emotion for any of the characters, and there wasn't a whole lot that made me really want to care about them. I like strong character development and growth, and I felt almost no chemistry between the two main characters, and I couldn't tell you what any of the characters' motivations were. I didn't really get what was going on for most of the book, and I wish the worldbuilding had been fleshed out more. Political intrigue was definitely a main factor in the plot, but I have no idea what was going on with all the dynamics between the countries. There are definitely a group of people who will love this book, but alas I am not one of them.

The Curse of Saints

Plot: .5
Writing: .5
World Building: .5
Characters: .5
Themes: 0
2/5

The beginning was heavy with world building. Which, is usually expected but I felt like everything was thrown in and we didn't get much context or depth for a lot of it. I wanted more meat to really feel grounded in the world. (Bonded, talking (?) wolves, magic system, political intrigue). Why didn't the wolf go with Aya? Aren't they bonded? I think it would have been cool to have the wolves play a bigger role in the story. There was so much potential there for the wolves to be a more integral part of the story.

I didn't feel invested in much of the story or characters. There really wasn't anything about the characters or the relationship that I loved. It wasn't until the reveal in the last 10% that gave us any explanation. It was like a switch was flipped in the two MCs liking each other romantically.

There were many times were the tenses were confusing and I had to go back and re-read or just keep reading and hope it gets cleared up. I liked that the magic has consequences. I really wanted more explanation on the powers though. I think we'll get more on that in future books.

Look, I don't expect books to be perfect. But this one didn't have enough good things to balance out the things I wasn't a fan of. There are so many things listed about this book that I vibe with. All of the tropes--fantasy romance, hate to love, interesting magic system, political intrigue...but the execution just didn't do it for me. I still think there is an audience for The Curse of Saints. I would recommend it as a good starter YA Romantasy to a mid/older teen who's getting into reading.

I also think this author has a lot of potential and am excited to see Kate Dramis grow.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eArc of The Curse of Saints. This is my honest review.

This fantasy debut of Kate Dramis will bring dark magic, kingdoms, blood and oaths together, all while giving fans of “Priory of the Orange Tree” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” the thrills they seek. Kate Dramis, you have my heart! I want to encourage all of my readers to fly to bookstores in your hometown, Atlanta, and eagerly wait for you to show up and give autographs because of this amazing debut novel - The Curse of Saints is everything a YA fantasy should be! The Waterstones edition has a beautiful cover that I hope to get my hands on for my students (and my own personal collection!). This will totally satisfy anyone wanting to dive into dark fantasy worlds and escape into a smashing love story! This is the first in a trilogy that we all can’t wait for already….

Aya is a high ranking spy and third in command as her Queen’s eyes. Her rival, Will, is along for this adventure. Watching Aya and Will’s relationship was like watching the tides of the ocean, and readers will love to “set sail” on this wild ride, which hit me at about 35% of the book. In the battles and enigma to follow…. will Aya become the weapon or the savior…or both? Can anyone be both and still find hope through strength, and love as well when all seems lost? I was blown away with strong character development, empowered women, strong world building, and hyper-intensive political intrigue through all of the 490+ pages. My only suggestion is an edition with a map. I need maps, outlines, etc because I couldn’t dive into this story enough! Five of five huge stars, and please….give us more!

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for this arc. I voluntarily read it and all thoughts are my own. I will publish my full review according to the timeline suggested by the publisher.

OMG MY GOSH THIS BOOK, I have no words. But man was it a wild ride. This is the first book in the series so be prepared for a lot of world building and politics BUT it is much needed to understand the story. For my it picked up around 40% and then I could not put it down. This book did not disappoint.

THE SLOW BURNNNN i am so here for this troupe. I love love love it. I love that this book has a morally gray MMC but also a FMC. This is a must add to all fantasy readers list, you will not regret it. I hope to post a more comprehensive and cohesive review closer to release date but READ THIS BOOK!!

Thank you to the author and Netgallery for this eARC. This review is MY OWN opinions and thoughts!

Wow. I have been following Kate Dramis on tiktok since the beginning waiting for the fay this book would finally come out, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I loved the story line and the characters (Will especially). There was so much depth and just the right amount of lightness to this book. I seriously loved it.

The Curse of Saints by Kate Dramis focuses on the story of Will and Aya. They are the best of the best with their magical powers and work closely with the queen. After a troubling event happens, they have to travel to a neighboring land to earn the alliance as well as knowledge which will help them in the coming war.

This story has a lot going for it - magic, intrigue, strong women, mystery, enemies to lovers, and more. One thing that did stand out to me was the discussion of darkness and anger that seemed to come out of nowhere and then it was all that was talked about; there may have been too much focus on those words. But ultimately there was a payoff.

This is the first of a trilogy that I am very invested in and can’t wait to read more. It definitely reminded me of Brigid Kemmerer and Sarah J Maas. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I saw teasers for this book all over my Tik Tok and instagram so I was super excited to be able to get this ARC because I had such high expectations. The premise of this book was super interesting as we get introduced to Aya, an elite spy for the queen. The opening scene was really fun and I wanted to know more. The magic and religion system are very complex and fascinating but I wanted to really understand it better, there was so much going on so fast that at some moments I would start to get confused. I really liked the tension and the characters in the beginning. Especially between Aya and Will, who was made out to be her enemy but read more like a chosen rival to me. I sensed there was an interesting story about them and really couldn't wait to know more. The downside for me in their relationship was that it started to get so push and pull with miscommunication that I was getting annoyed with both of them. I think my expectations of what the romance was going to look like mislead me and because of it the rest of the romance felt rushed. Overall, I did enjoy this book but I felt there were some aspects that could have been better.

I was so excited to receive this ARC, the teasers on Bookstagram were to die for!
I think I'm going to have to give this another read through to see what I'm missing, because I was
just looking for the hot romance, but it fell a little flat for me.

The author does a great job of dumping you right into the world which is great, but I think things could've been explained or fleshed out in a better way. I was confused about certain things throughout, and the chemistry I was hoping for wasn't there. I thought they were enemies, but it just seemed like Aya was annoyed about him mostly like a little kid rather than a lover.

If there's a sequel, I think the author can really hit a stride here.

I think what I'm really missing from Will and Aya, is why? Why do they care about each other?

This book was incredible and absolutely unexpected!!! For a debut book, Kate Dramis knows exactly what she’s doing. This is a new adult fantasy romance that is everything and more! Aya an elite spy, and third in command as her Queen’s eyes. Then there’s Will, her majesty’s Enforcer and person that makes Aya’s blood boil with anger who has tried to ruin her life every since she joined the Dyminara (crown’s elites force). The two of them must work together to find the one who is planning to help Kakos take over the realm unless they find the Second Saint who is said to save them all. This book is filled with tension, magic, friendship, betrayl, and romance. Filled with the kingdoms at war, morally grey, burn down the world for you, powerful WMC tropes. The characters, banter, relationships and their developments are to die for and made this book so enjoyable!! Thank you Kate Dramis and NetGalley for this eArc!

Not a bad read - its not quite my bag (dint quite grab me) but its good to read these to know whose bag it is ;)

Politics, magic, intrigue: The Curse of Saints has a lot going for it, and while I overall enjoyed the story, there were a few issues that kept this from being truly awesome.

Let’s start with the good things. The magic system, the world building, and the politics are all very well developed and interesting. I usually don’t like extensive politics in my books, but Dramis makes it a main plot point without making it overly complex or heavy. The different orders of magic are reminiscent of the Grisha but are still unique, as is the history behind the Visya. I quite enjoyed the religious aspects of the Visya and seeing how this varied between kingdoms.

And the things I liked…less. For being the Queen’s Eyes, Aya doesn’t seem to be a very good spy. She gets caught far too often, and her exploits rely a bit too much on telling rather than showing. I do like Aya as a character, though; she’s complex and conflicted, and her path seems ominous in a way that I’m interested to follow.

I’m less interested in her romance with Will. This felt less like ‘enemies to lovers’ than ‘rivals to lovers,’ which, yes, I guess could be the same, but I was expecting a romance between true enemies, maybe spymasters from warring kingdoms or something similarly dramatic. The relationship between Aya and Will seems overly complicated and unnecessarily antagonistic due to miscommunication and secrets, and it takes too long for the air to be cleared. The romance feels a bit rushed after that; I would’ve liked a period of learning to trust and like each other once Aya and Will knew each other’s secrets. I do think there’s promise for these two, but I wish the start of their romance had gone differently.

The ending has several great twists, and the epilogue is dark in the best sort of way. I’m definitely interested in seeing where this series goes!

I received an advanced reader copy for review.

Would have greatly benefited from a map. I assume the final published copy will have one because there is a credit in the front matter for an artist, however it wasn’t included in the review copy I received. I had a lot of trouble differentiating between countries, cities, continents, types of magical people and creatures toward the beginning of the book. By the time I reached around 30% through, I was making sense of it and the story picked up.

I will say I found the rivals to lovers romance arc a little disappointing. It was completely transparent to the reader that the male love interest was simping for the female main character from way before the start of the book, and not just because of the alternating narration. I find it hard to believe she was so obtuse as to never ever notice he called her love all the time or was looking out for her. She’s not portrayed as being oblivious to social cues, she picks up on the rival prince flirting with her all the time, and even mentions that it’s a big part of her work as a spy. The blind spot just doesn’t make sense to me, otherwise I did like the story and side characters, and will definitely read book two when it comes out too!

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Curse of Saints follows Aya, who has committed herself to a life of discipline and service as the Queen's Third-in-Command and an elite spy. She uses her god-given abilities to prevent the return of black magic to the realm. She has taken an oath to ensure the kingdom's safety, which includes Will, her biggest rival and also the Queen's Enforcer. Aya and Will are forced to cooperate when she releases a power which hasn't been seen in over 500 years. One that requires her to collaborate with Will in order to identify who—or what—she truly is. And one that may make her become a weapon in a war she doesn't understand how to win.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this, but I feel like it doesn't live up to the full potential of the story as there are some areas that could have been a little more refined. The book has a very intricate worldbuild with a rich magic history and complicated (i.e., realistic) politics. Especially the political tensions I found very interesting, but I wish they had been more detailed. Writing about different groups (ranks in the military, rebels, religions, political views) in this world would have been very interesting.

I felt like there were some plotholes or loose threads throughout the story that seemed either unnecessary or just straight up didn't make any sense. For example, the Dyminara (the Queen's elite warriors) have these bonded wolves, which make a big appearance in the beginning of the book, relevant to the advancing of the plot, and then are never mentioned again. Furthermore, Aya is a supposed high elite spy, yet oftentimes is caught when spying, is easily recognizable when walking around in her city (main character vibes, I guess), and does barely any spy work in the story. Her character felt like it wasn't fully fledged out yet as she lacked personality, besides hating Will and struggling with her new powers.

I also just wasn't convinced by the enemies-to-lovers trope this book is very strongly advertising for. There was no real romance until the last 100 pages or so, and even then, it felt rushed. For the biggest part of the story, it just seems like they don't get along and are rivals. They aren't enemies at all, since they are on the same side. Their chemistry also felt inorganic at times where the only point of attraction was their likeness in "darkness" and them both being beautiful/handsome, of course.

The book definitely picks up in the middle. At this point, I was a little more invested in where the story was heading and also understood more about the world we're in. I think it's a good debut novel, but I think there are improvements to be made for a sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, this was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I'm so happy I got to read it early! I started following the author almost a year ago and was really excited to read this book, and it didn't disappoint but it also didn't completely give exactly what I was expecting.

The world building, history and magic system were absolutely brilliant, you can tell the author worked really hard on it. The political intrigues and magic system were so interesting and I was surprised more than once by the plot twists. It reminded me a bit of shadow and bone but done so much better in my opinion. I also loved how all the characters weren't completely black or white, you didn't really know who you could trust and that made the whole reading process so much more exciting.

Now, here comes what bothered me: this was almost exclusively promoted as an enemies to lovers fantasy, but the truth is, we barely had any romance until the last 100 pages. Now I'm not someone who absolutely needs romance to enjoy a book, I LOVE fantasy and political intrigues and could completely love a story that focuses on those only.

However, when you go into a story expecting one thing (again because that's how it was promoted) and then get something different, it is a bit annoying. What I got was the romance really being a subplot, like maybe 5% of the book and it was frustrating because truly there was time for more romantic scenes. I honestly found a big part of the book a bit slow, from around page 100 to page 240 because it felt like nothing much happened? Then the last like 100 pages were amazing but yeah I wish we had seen a bit more romantic moments before that.

I don't know if I can say that the plot and the political intrigues overshadowed the romance, but I feel like it came to a point where I don't even think the romance was necessary. It arrived at the very end and the two characters could have just forgotten their hatred and become best friends and it wouldn't have changed anything to the plot.

I also wasn't convinced by the whole enemies to lovers thing because the characters are supposed to be allies; they work together and have to protect the kingdom together, and besides some little stuff that happened in their childhoods, they didn't really have a valid reason to hate each other. I saw them as rivals who didn't really like each other (at least from Aya's pov) but they are supposed to be be working together for years now so..... I also didn't really feel any chemistry between them besides Aya saying that Will had "a darkness that answered to her own" and Will calling her "Aya, Love."

Then at the end we get Will's pov explaining why he had to pretend to be mean and blabla but that he had always wanted to be with her deep down and I'm just like... you didn't even know her? She hated you and never really talked to you so like what do you mean "you've wanted to be with her forever but accepted it wouldn't happen"??

I also had some issues with the character of Aya. I felt like she lacked personality, like she only did what a main character would do without having her own personal touch to it. Like besides hating Will and being confused about her powers, what did she do? Also she was supposed to be a spy but, we never really saw her work besides the first 30 pages? She was just a guest wearing pretty dresses and performing her magic but that was it. I believe Will even gives her info on the kingdom they are visiting and I'm like, aren't you supposed to know that? That's your job??

I also felt like sometimes the book suffered from too much telling but not enough showing. For example, there is a point where Aya has to travel somewhere to find some people, and during the whole book everyone talks about how dangerous, long and complicated the journey is. Then she got through the whole thing in like 10 pages and when she comes back home there is this character saying "no one usually survive this" and I was like... again she did it in less than ten pages but okay lol.

This all probably sounds like I didn't like the book but I truly did!! It's a really good debut novel, I loved following the author's journey and I'm so happy her book is getting published. It's just that, like I said, I've been waiting for this book for a while and had certain expectations. I guess it's just easier to sell an enemies to lovers book so that's what most of the promo focused on. I will probably re-read it when it comes out and this little feeling of disappointment has washed away and I'm sure I will love it for exactly what it is.

I will definitely read book 2 (after that epilogue, you bet!!), I'm dying to know more about the universe and the mythologie, and I can not wait to get a physical copy once it comes out <3

Should darkness return, the gods hath not forsaken us. For a second of her kind will rise, born anew to right the greatest wrong.

The Curse of Saints was a strong debut. Well written and engaging. It had several tropes I love in fantasy, such as gods vs mortals, prophesies, and my favorite - the chosen one.

On the more personal plan, there were a couple of nice character arcs. Plus, the romance played a huge part in the book. The hate to love was particularly interesting to me, but the love triangle also wasn't bad.

What I didn't like was that the story got a bit messy towards the end. There were several instances that didn't make sense to me; I still think they could have been resolved far more easily.

As per publisher's request, I'll wait with my full review until closer to the publication date.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Though the book started off a bit slow, it turned out to be quite intriguing. The main characters, Aya and Will had great character development and were very likable. The slow-burn enemies to lovers, with all the tension and banter, was also very entertaining. Overall, with the amazing world-building, plot twists, and betrayals, the book had me hooked!
Can't wait to see what the next book has in store! :)

Dramis writes a story built in layers of deceit and slowly peels these away, one plot twist at a time. The protagonist, Aya, is a young woman intent on serving her country as the Queen's Eyes, the royal spymaster. During a festival, she finds herself using magic she didn't know she was capable of, and is thus sent to a neighboring nation to find out what she must now do.

It is fantastic to see the level of growth Aya and other characters undergo as circumstances change, as truths are revealed, as feelings change and develop. Things are not always what they seem, especially where those closest are concerned.

The magic system is intriguing, very much focused on elements and senses, while making the consequences of overuse clear. The mix of this magic, international politics, and characters learning to manage strong, conflicting and long buried emotions made for an engaging and exciting read.