The tension is hot!!

Astra is a total badass and Marlark is your typical bad boy that you can’t help but love. I loved his character and demeanor. The tension between the two is hot especially their steamy dreams. It was so much fun to see how they both acted around each other. I really like the world building and I cannot wait to see what happens next. I’m very eager to see what Astra does next. The ball is in her court!
The narrator, Caitlin Kelly did a great job portraying Astra and I loved how she portrayed Marlark. Eeek!! He’s my new favorite book boyfriend.
This is perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, miscommunication, strong female character, fae, and steamy dreams.

I decided to read "A Cursed Son" audiobook on account of how much I enjoyed books by Day Leitao in the past. Once again, picking up her work proved worth my while. More than that, it left me wanting more. The writing was good with worldbuilding that kept me engaged through a long commute and several evenings of dishwashing. It also certainly didn't hurt that the audiobook's narrator had a (to my mind) rather relaxing voice. I found myself sucked into the story and heartily enjoying my time there.
While I very much liked this book, however, I can't say I have no critiques. The biggest one being that the story seemed to contradict itself in some areas. For example, there was one part where a character assumed something about another, something that had long since been disproven. It was a minor detail and didn't involve anything important, but I was still thrown off somewhat.

Interesting and compelling story that hooked me. It definitely had some good narration and a nice plot!

I abhor cliffhangers! HATE THEM! And A Cursed Son by Day Leitao ends on the MOST FRUSTRATING cliffhanger!

This is enemies to lovers romantasy with some banter and definite steam. I liked Astra, although sometimes she felt naive, and other times she felt very experienced.

There’s also miscommunication or lack of communication between Astra and Marlak, which was frustrating as a reader and fed into the frustration over the cliffhanger. There was still a lot of unknowns at the end of this book that hopefully will be revealed in the next one.

I listened to A Cursed Son as an audiobook, and the narrator, Caitlin Kelly, did a great job bringing this book to life.

Thank you to Sparkly Wave publishing and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC.

This audiobook was great and I really want a second one ASAP because this book leaves off on a Cliffhanger. I was engaged from the first chapter in this fantasy romance, slow burn, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage adventure. I loved the mystery of it, trying to figure out why they had the connection they did. The male lead was a softy with a bad reputation but He always put her first. The narration was fantastic, I really enjoyed Caitlin’s delivery. I’m mad this ended on a cliffhanger and really anxious for the next book!

4.25/5

This audiobook waas so lovely. I fell for Astra and Marlak.
Astra was such a witty, strong and good character. She wasn't weak, quite the opposite.
The story was interesting, had fun moments here and there and totally a recommendation of mine for anyone who loves fantasy, strong female characters and a great enemies to lovers story.

A Cursed Son by Day Leitao is an immersive trip into a world full of magic, danger, and love. The writing is beautiful but still minimal enough to keep the pace moving fast. The magic system is unique and fun. The dream magic is so romantic. The romance is to die for. The banter is so snarky. The forced proximity and enemies to lovers tropes are a perfect combo for this story. And of course it ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you desperate for the next book.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Has potential but unfortunately fell flat for me.

I think this book would’ve been great as a humor/parody fantasy like “The Assistant to the Villain”. I wish it leaned into more of the fun and awkward aspect of the story, instead I felt like it was an odd mix of sexy, serious and fun + all of the other trope baits.

Modern verbiage like “I’m screwed” “facepalm” “ugh” took me out of the setting. However, I think leaning into more of a humorous parody, it could’ve worked.

This type of romance was just not for me, but I thought the concepts of the dreams was entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

2 Stars

3.5⭐ rounded up to 4. Although I LOVED this book when I started listening to the audio version, the plot was sacrificed very early on to leave room for romance, and there were way too many of the FMC’s inner thoughts for my liking.

❤️ There’s a DARK unicorn named CHERRY CAKE
❤️ The “princess doppelgänger” storyline
❤️ FMC has purple (not white or silver!!) hair
❤️ Interesting worldbuilding, lore, and court intrigue
❤️ Sexual tension and dream-connection smut
❌ MISCOMMUNICATION GALORE
❌ Plot sacrificed for romance very early on
❌ Only surface information of the (interesting) worldbuilding and lore
❌ Too many of the FMC’s inner thoughts
❌ Flat writing style

Trigger warnings: violence, blood and gore, death, kidnapping, forced marriage, emotional abuse, death of a parent, death by fire (mentioned, off-page).

Plot:
As part of the elite guard, Astra’s role is to act as a doppelgänger for the princess in the human kingdom of Krastel. Her life is not her own, and her only comfort is a dream connection to her kindred soul. During a mission where she takes the princess’s place, Astra and the Krastel prince are ambushed by Marlak, the Crystal Court’s powerful, but disgraced prince. It turns out he’s the man in her dreams... and he wants to ask the king for her hand—her hand, and not the princess’s. But this man is nothing like the one in her dream, and Astra has a dark, dangerous secret.

There’s a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, forced proximity, forced marriage, dream smut… and tons and tons of miscommunication. If you enjoy these tropes and “romance over plot” high fantasy, you’d probably enjoy this one. Unfortunately, it’s not my cup of tea and I feel like this book didn’t live up to its potential. I’m curious about Marlak’s backstory, but not enough to read or listen to the second book, unfortunately.

Characters:
Yet another obliviously-superpowered not-like-the-other-girls FMC with a dark secret! Hey, at least she has purple, rather than white or silver, hair! I wasn’t crazy about Astra, but I really liked Marlak and some of the secondary characters, like Nelson the purring Fae and Cherry Cake the dark unicorn. I was also very intrigued by the Krastel prince and would have liked to see more of him. Even if it’s a character-driven book, I think that we could have seen more character growth and depth with dual POVs and less miscommunication.

Writing:
The writing was alright, but not exceptional. Some parts were beautiful and evocative, others very flat. Most of all, there was simply too much of Astra’s inner thoughts. Most of the books felt like internal ramblings, and there were so. many. questions. Why is he doing this? What does this mean? It was repetitive and annoying, especially since the answers were pretty obvious most of the time. Astra just sounded naïve and clueless, almost dim.

Audiobook:
The audio was fine, but I’ve heard better. It has nothing to do with the narrator; I simply think I’ve grown accustomed to multi-POV books where there’s more than one voice actor, and it helps keep me interested.

I had a really great time reading this book! I loved reading Astra's story, learning more about this world, and rooting for her as she dealt with conflicting loyalties, because this one kingdom raised her, but this prince is not what he seems. I had to know more! I was full to the brim with giddiness reading this book, the set up and these characters were so cute!

Astra's life is not her own, she's been raised to be the body double of this princess, to put her life in danger to keep this girl safe. She was housed in the castle, but kept secluded, trained, but wasn't paid. And she has a secret about her heritage, which makes things all the more complicated.

That they are soulmates, with that dream connection, was so much fun to read, because she feels embarrassed by the contents of the dreams, whereas he thinks she's that powerful, that she's making it up, which causes a lot of banter which was hilarious to read. I was a tad bit confused-was it a mix of things that'll happen in the future, and a more loving version of the present? Because there was that once scene where he was poisoned and that was happening in real time, but the other ones, they seemed to be at a time that hasn't happened yet...I'm not sure, maybe we'll find out more in the sequel!

Yeah, that ending got me! I'm glad that she figured out at least a part of the truth of what was going on, and was making a plan to get him out-but in the meantime, he's being held prisoner by someone who doesn't wish him well, and I know it's not going to go well, and I need him not to be in that awful situation!

Loved reading this book so much, and I'm so exhilarated for the sequel!

I wanted to love this so badly.. (if you’ve seen some of the character art you know why..) but my overall feelings is that it felt to juvenile. This read like a YA book. So when the spice came I was had initial feelings like, “oh no honey.. you’re too young for that.” But she wasn’t. The FMC read so young I couldn’t enjoy this adult fantasy fully. The narrator probably didn’t help as her voice also sounds like a teenager. I might have felt differently if I read this physically, but I doubt it. (I did see after reading that this is the authors first adult fantasy book..)
The writing had some miffs as well. Between the repetition, overused words, and juvenile dialogue and inner monologue.. just brought me out of the story.
The MMC on the other hand was quite lovely. I really enjoyed his character. He kept me going.
I enjoyed the plot, the magical powers, political intrigue, and the world.

Tropes & Themes 🌿
* Enemies to lovers
* Marriage of convenience
* Forced proximity
* Slow burn
* Soulmates
* Miscommunication

Narration: 4/5
Spice: 🌶️ 1.5/5

I think the world building was interesting and really enjoyed the premise. Astra being raised and trained as a decoy for the princess while having a deadly secret was intriguing.
The first person POV had such a strong focus on the FMC thoughts that it didn’t feel like much was moving along at times.
Dialogue had moments that certainly made me cringe and just didn’t feel very believable or natural. Overall there were many repetitive aspects.
This certainly had potential but fell short for me.

I really enjoyed this book but it could have been shorter I enjoyed the last little bit and am curious about where the author will take this story next. This story has magic betrayal romance enemies to lovers and soulmates

This audiobook was addictive, I couldn't turn it off. I loved the complexity of the story and the structure of the plot. The characters are rich and unforgettable. It was an excellent read

I absolutely adore this book! I can't stop recommending it!!!

The narrator did such an amazing job! Her narration was so much fun and made this book so easy to listen to.

Astra and Marlak are both such fun and complex characters. I love their witty banter and the FMC's sassy inner monologue. The angst and tension between the FMC and MMC is perfection. 👩‍🍳💋 Marlak is such a softy on the inside and I am here for it!!!

This book has a variety of side characters that I'm excited to see develop and grow in book two. I loved the elemental magic, world-building, and foreshadowing. And the dream connection! 🫠

That ending had my head spinning. This book made me laugh out loud, it's a fun adventure from beginning to end. I cannot wait for book two, to continue these characters' stories. I have so many questions that I need answers to!

⭐-5
🌶️-3

I enjoyed this but found myself a little lost at times and wanting a bit more from the narrators. I think I could have used a different narrator but the story was there for me that kept me pulled in.

𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Overall: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5)
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚: 🌶🌶🌶

I listened to this on audio.

I really enjoyed this audiobook, and loved the tropes, but did find some things a little repetitive, and the MMC to be a bit immature, which irked me slightly. I also had a few moments of confusion, especially when the scenes changed from dream to reality, as it wasn't always clear which was what.

I loved the single narration, and found it to be well done and very nuanced; it was always immediately clear who was speaking.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕: narration, arranged marriage, forbidden/ awakening magic, plot twists, diversity, queer rep, slow burn to steamy

☆I received an ALC of the audiobook from the author, publisher, and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.☆

This was ok, the audio was very well done and i like the voices, the book is good , the story interesting and it does keep you captivated , I enjoyed and Im interested on more about this world and this characters .

This is a very interesting story about a girl who lives in hiding because of her origins. She is taught that her kind are monsters and that she must hide who she truly is. This story takes a lot of twists and turns and is very fun to read. It made me laugh and go “WTF?” at times, and was just a joy to read. Can't wait for the next one.

A Cursed Son follows Astra as she impersonates the princess of her kingdom. She goes on her first mission to a neighboring court. There the coach that she is riding in is ambushed. Astra has been having vivid dreams involving a man with a star tatoo on his chest. During this ambush she finally faces him in the flesh. This book was good. Enimies to lovers. It did leave in a cliff hanger and will have to wait until the second book is published to find out what happens between Merlock and Astra.