Member Reviews

An excellent followup to Faebound and a great setup for the finale of the trilogy. Loved the new characters and storylines and the continued focus on relationships both romantic and otherwise. This one will definitely please the readers who've spent the past year eagerly awaiting book two!

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Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review!



This was an excellent followup to Faebound! Cursebound continues where Faebound left off, and I was able to quickly reacclimatize to the magic of the world. The pacing is great. It does a great job balancing the fantasy and romance elements, while also maintaining the wonderful world-building.



I enjoyed Cursebound just as much as I enjoyed Faebound. El-Arifi did a wonderful job in this sequel, and I cannot wait for the third installment!

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4.5 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of this book. I enjoyed as much as the first one and can't wait for people to read it. I love all the character development and the plot hath thickened. More twists and turns, assassination attempts, warfare, betrayal, Fae, new characters, some spiciness mixed into the bunch. I would definitely recommend this especially if you've read Faebound. Can't wait for book 3 now!

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This trilogy is a breath of fresh air in the middle of a straight, white wave of romantasy books. If you're looking for elves and fae and magic and queer normative romance, it is here. Unfortunately, like most current romantasy, it lacks the depth that I'm used to when it comes to the fantasy genre. If you're a big romantasy reader looking for POC and queer characters, this is a great choice. If you're more of a high fantasy reader, this probably won't get you there.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

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Thank you NetGallery for the eARC! 4.25 ⭐️

“Obeah were once humans.”

I absolutely ate this book up, just as I had with the first. I was so incredibly grateful for the summary at the beginning of this book as it’s been months since I started this series, and I was quickly thrown back into the world.

Picking up where we left off in the first novel, Yeeran is on her way to Salawa to warn her of the upcoming power in the Crescents. Let’s just say I was shocked when Salawa was killed off so early!! I was looking forward to having a messy dynamic between Yeeran, Salawa, and Furi, but the shock factor definitely got me. It seemed Salawa was suffering after banishing her love (which duh! she made a big mistake there). I do wish there was more to her character, but there was always an assumption that she was not too essential to the plot line.

Alder!!! I was waiting for humans to finally make an appearance and I am thrilled that Alder was the way in. Also, Obeah being humans?? I am excited to learn how exactly this happened and how Alder appears in “regular” human form. I was a bit thrown off by Alder and Golan’s romance plot. Don’t mistake my words, I did enjoy their romance, but it felt a bit random. Each POV we get includes a romance, which is a bit much. But I do love Golan and Alder so it works out fine in my mind.

Out of all of the plot lines occurring in this novel, the Lightless was by far my favorite. Because of the perspectives we the readers get, it almost has a sort of view point of The Capital viewing the rebellion in The Hunger Games. It was a subtle background shift that slowly seeped into the Fae’s government. The perspective intrigued me, as it took yet another outsiders view to recognize the discrimination these people have been facing forever. I hope to see justice come to the Lightless in the conclusion.

I am very ready for the conclusion to this series!! I don’t know how she’s going to do it yet, but I trust it will be good!

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The much anticipated sequel to Faebound - Cursebound - doesn’t waste any time in getting into the action. With the twist that an elf is able to become faebound to an obeah and another elf becoming the king, tensions are rising within fae society - especially from those who are called “Lightless,” those unable to faebound. In addition to the dangers lurking at home are the dangers present within the elven war, and the revelation that the fae were helping to turn the tide. With the romance between Yeeran and Furi forcing the fae to move out of the elven war, stakes are raised when this risks the fae being exposed.

This book adds another point of view that adds intrigue to the story, and despite Yeeran being separated for a majority of the novel at no point does it feel like an event isn’t necessary. Many times, authors get bogged down with too many pov characters and sometimes we feel like certain perspectives aren’t needed, or sometimes we’ll leave a high-stakes chapter to read one that feels pointless in comparison. None of that happens in this book, at every point I was engaged and felt like everything that was happening was part of the bigger picture - from Lettle’s discoveries, to Yeeran’s capture, to the very present danger lurking around every corner from every character. I also loved how it was almost impossible to tell who, exactly, was behind the assassination attempts - and yet, it never felt like it wasn’t realistic. It all led to a tension-building reveal where it forces the main characters to acknowledge the buildup of problems as tensions rise and the death count rises.

Second books in trilogies are notoriously difficult to do, but I feel like with both of her trilogies Saara El-Arifi is able to improve her world building and raise the anticipation for how this series will end. I enjoyed Cursebound more than I did Faebound (not that I didn’t enjoy Faebound), and I am super excited for the third and final book in this trilogy. This book ends with a highly unexpected plot twist that I cannot wait to see how it will be explored in the finale. If you were looking for a political fantasy with romance, secret assassination plots, and actual conflict between the romantic leads, I’d strongly recommend this trilogy. I cannot wait to see how it ends!

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House for providing this e-ARC.

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This 2nd book in the trilogy didn't disappoint!

A fantastic series for any senior school library. I really appreciated the diversity in characters and how the plot made me reflect on the world we live in. Is it enough to be born into power? How do you unite people that are divided over differences- war is often the answer sadly.

I appreciated the different character point of views to help understand the complexities of the relationships and circumstances the characters find themselves in. Paradise underground, but if you can't leave, even paradise is a prison...

An act of mercy by one causes others to unite and bring war.

Congratulations on a fabulous 2nd book and I eagerly await the 3rd. I really appreciate the opportunity to read an advanced copy for an honest review.

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The second book in the Faebound trilogy continues to follow sisters, Yeeran and Lettle, Elf’s who have found their fates woven with the Fae’s. A race thought to be extinct by everyone but them.

This story has multiple POV’s which are easy to go between and flow nicely.
I love the new character. Their name begins with an A, I just adore him.
Social statues and segregation shows that maybe not every Fae is happy with how the hidden Faes live.
This book has love’s old and new.
Prophecies that change everything and a seer struggling to get the fates to speak to her.
Betrayals that cut deep and shock you.

I am so very grateful to netgallery for sending me this arc of cursebound. What a journey this was.

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This book is such a fantastic sequel—I enjoyed it even more than Faebound! I loved reconnecting with Yeeran and Lettle, and this time, the sisters’ struggles felt even more real and relatable. Yeeran’s heartbreak as she tries to balance her love for the fae queen with her duty to her people was so raw and emotional. And Lettle’s determination to break the fae curse added a great sense of urgency and mystery to the story.

One thing I have to highlight is the journal-style recap at the beginning of the book—it was such a clever touch! It made it so much easier to jump back into the story, and I wish more authors did this.

The pacing was spot on, and the twists kept me hooked. While the worldbuilding didn’t feel quite as magical as it did in the first book, it was still beautiful, with some truly vivid scenes. This time, the focus felt more on the characters and their choices, which I didn’t mind because it made the story feel so personal.

I can’t wait to see how everything wraps up in the final book. The stakes are high, the emotions run deep, and I’m completely invested in these characters and their world!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Cursebound is a wonderful read. I honestly love this world and the obeah. The writing is great and so readable, I feel that this fantasy is really accessible to all. The prophecies, assassination attempts, political strain and general turmoil make for a fast paced adventure. The multiple point of views work well, there are times I want to get back to certain plot points but this just kept me reading.
Although I lost a bit of the magic of the world with this book, I felt this was a bit more of a backdrop. The world is still vivid with some beautiful scenes but with the first book I felt more immersed.
The romance also takes a bit of a backseat to the plot, I didn’t mind this at all though. The last book was full of yearning and angst so I liked that there was some development here.
Overall a solid fantasy that’s fun, full of animal companions and fatal for some characters.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Saara El-Arifi, and Del Rey for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

4.5 stars

Omg, this was so good. This book felt like the second book in a series rather than being a filler. There were so many reveals that were so interesting. I did figure out one of the reveals earlier on but it didn’t take away my enjoyment. I find this world to be so different than anything I have ever read. I do wish we had more history and world-building. I can’t wait to read the next book.

I highly recommend it!!

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I wish I had loved this one as much as I did the first book, I really grappled with giving it 4⭐️s instead of 3, because I do love the characters and lore. But I had to be honest and give it 3.

I find lettle to still be my favorite. I would be surprised if the author didn’t write her with her being autistic in mind. So I did enjoy seeing those traits play out.

The new characters and POV’s were a good and much needed addition. I hope to see more of alder’s pov in the last book.

I was happy to finally get more lore and info on Mosima. But the way it’s written I find it hard to visualize how big it actually is.
The talks of the palace, the talks of cliffs, of tunnels etc. Yet when characters are moving around from place to place, sometimes things that are supposedly on opposite ends of the boundary it reads as if it’s only 100 feet away and not say half a mile.

I really had higher hopes in the writing improving and that just wasn’t the case. If anything I found it declined in this book, especially towards the end of the book.

The switching between the timelines, and POV’s which I thought were so well done in the first book were really chaotic in this book. Mostly toward the last 2/3rds. You have one scene and 4 different POV’s going back to the same scene at different points in time. Having them rehashing everything while also advancing the timeline at the same time. It was too much and honestly causing unnecessary confusion and pulling the reader out of the flow of the story.

I also unfortunately found most of the plot to be predictable. I don’t know if that’s just because I have high pattern recognition, or the author just made the characters so incredibly nieve to what is literally right in front of them.. but I did find it really annoying when sign after sign was ignored and brushed off. That not a single one of them had any critical thinking. It made the characters appear childish, immature, and not a single one of them should be in politics or positions of power. Having to wait for the main characters to catch up to me over and over again, incredibly frustrating.

Like I said I do love this series, I do love the lore and characters for the most part and I will be reading the last book in the trilogy. Because it genuinely is a good storyline. I just wish the writing had been better this time around.

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This was so good! I love the uniqueness of this series and I think cursebound was even better than Faebound..hard to do as a follow up book! The new character added the missing depth to the story.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Cursebound is the second book in the Faebound series by Saara El-Arifi. We pick up where we left off in Faebound and follow the characters as they face war with multiple enemies, some unseen. Sisters Yeeran and Lettle fight to break the curse that holds the Fae prisoners in their own land. I loved that the sisters were similar yet so different. They both are strong women, and they fight for what they believe in, but the similarities end there. They don't always see eye to eye, but they compliment and love each other. Fair warning, the book does end on a massive cliffhanger. If you need me, I'll be sitting here twiddling my thumbs, waiting for book 3!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore, for an advanced readers copy of Cursebound. I seriously can't wait for the third!

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First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the eARC!

This was a lot of fun! I loved the cute little diary entry serving as a recap; I probably would have struggled to remember where exactly we left off if I hadn't gotten a reminder. I appreciated the fast pacing and intrigue. I was a huge fan of Faebound, and this was a great follow-up book for that storyline. It sets up a sure-to-be thrilling book three that I can't wait to read. The stakes were definitely raised, people!!

My only issue is, again, the predictability of the plot twists and mysteries. If you can overlook that and were a fan of book one, don't let this one pass you by!

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Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi is everything you want in a sequel: fast, fierce, and totally bingeable. It skips the filler that bogs down so many middle books, instead diving headfirst into the action. The characters remain a highlight—brilliantly crafted and full of life—and the dynamic, tense relationships only get messier in the best way possible.

El-Arifi proves she knows how to handle 'book 2' like a pro, balancing world-expansion and high stakes without losing sight of the story's emotional core. The pacing is tight, the stakes are high, and the vibes are immaculate. I really loved the quick journal recap of Faebound at the start, and I am begging other authors to take note! 🙏

If Faebound hooked you, Cursebound will leave you desperate for the finale. It’s a short, sharp burst of fantasy brilliance, proving that middle books can absolutely shine when done right. Bring on book three!

A big thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

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Cursebound wastes no time jumping into action. Not only does it avoid the sophomore slump, but it surpasses the first. The addition of new POVs adds to the richness of the story. Some beats were predictable and the plot armor of our favorite characters is strong, but the political intrigue and action made for a fast and fun read. The new romance was truly such a lovely surprise. This left me more excited for the third which is all you can ask for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for a review!

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Action packed, thrilling and a world so immersive that the pages keep you on a chokehold.

Thankyou netgalley for the arc. All opinions are my own!

#Cursebound #Netgalley

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Cursebound is a great follow up to the first book faebound and I did enjoy this one even more then the first one.
It was action packed and you just wanted to turn the pages so you could continue the story. I really got hooked and I’m looking forward till the next book in this series.

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Thankyou to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Saara El-Arifi for the opportunity to read Cursebound in return for my honest review.

Cursebound is an excellent follow on from the first book (Faebound) and actually was a more natural, easier flowing read, you'll find your favourite characters from the previous book thrown into new exciting situations.
The world as always was stunning and the characters very likeable.

Can't wait for the third book already.

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