I wasn't overly sold on the first book however this book made me interested in the series. I found that it was a good build off of the first book and allowed me to explore the characters and world in a way that I hadn't been able to engage with in the first book. Sometimes giving a series a second chance with the sequel pays off and this was one of those times. I found that the world building and magic was thought out more and less loose ends were in the story. The characters were fleshed out more because I had more times to get to know them and the introduction of new characters kept the story engaging and the characters on their toes. It has made me look at the first book with a new set of eyes and now I look more fondly back at the first one as well. If you were hesitant after reading the first book I recommend reading this because it might make you change your view on it like it did with me

Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi delivers an emotional, high-stakes sequel that feels like a mix of heartbreak, hope, and the inevitable pull of fate. It picks up where Faebound left off, and while it doesn’t shy away from the dark complexities of its characters’ struggles, it also leans heavily into its romantic and mystical elements. If you loved the first book for its fiery relationships and lush world, you’ll find plenty to sink your teeth into here—though not without some bumps along the way.

Yeeran and Lettle’s stories are as tangled and compelling as ever, with Yeeran caught between love and loyalty, and Lettle unraveling secrets that might shatter—or save—everything. I particularly loved Lettle’s determination; her arc felt raw and personal, and her relationship with the mysterious stranger added a gripping layer of intrigue. Yeeran’s conflict, though powerful, felt like it could have used a bit more depth to match the stakes of her decisions.

The romance remains one of the series' standout elements—tender and spicy in equal measure. Yeeran and the fae queen’s lingering connection crackles, while Lettle’s budding dynamic with her stranger counterpart has an edge of mystery I couldn’t get enough of.

That said, I did feel like the pacing was a bit uneven. Some moments flew by too quickly, while others lingered longer than needed, making the flow feel slightly disjointed. And while the plot twists delivered some “aha” moments, a few felt predictable. The world-building, though still rich, could have been expanded further, especially given the weight of the curse and its implications.

Despite these small issues, the heart of Cursebound lies in its characters and the emotional threads that tie them together. Saara El-Arifi has a gift for blending romance, fantasy, and moral dilemmas into a narrative that keeps you hooked, and the groundwork she’s laid for the finale has me eagerly anticipating what’s to come. If you’re a fan of romantasy with layered relationships and plenty of drama, this one’s worth picking up.

3.5 stars

Sequels are hard books to nail and unfortunately Cursebound missed the mark. I really enjoyed Faebound and was so excited to see where book 2 would go, and I still feel the same about the rest of the series. But, I was somewhat let down by this book. I found a lot of the characters had regressed and lost what made them them in Faebound. Some of the decisions didn't line up with what we'd seen from them and they seemed even more naive than book 1. I also found a lot of the plot points to be easy to guess, which isn't bad, I just prefer to have a tougher time figuring stuff out. The pacing felt off as well, so much happened in so little pages that it was almost too much. I would have rather this been a duology, with both books being on the longer side.

All that being said, it definitely had parts I loved and enjoyed, from the mystery about the curse to the obeah's. I also loved the romance and the focus on relationships we got during this book. There were so many tender and sweet moments mixed in with more spicy scenes. Cursebound really set up so much and I need answers to this immediately and cannot wait to see how this series ends. Saara El-Arifi is an amazing author and my feelings on this book don't change my love for her.

Insane absolutely insane... live this world and these exharacters i wanna just wrap them in bubble wrap so nothing can hurt them

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cursebound was an excellent follow up to Faebound. This book focused more on Lettle, but we still see quite a bit of Yeeran. Just like the first book, Cursebound is the perfect romantasy with just the right amount of angst. I can’t wait to see where this story goes and I can’t wait to read whatever El-Arifi writes next!

Thank you for the opportunity to read the e-arc for Cursebound, I absolutely loved it! It's a joy to read a book that that surprises me with reveals throughout the entire book. I can usually guess things ahead of time, but with Cursebound and Faebound I kept being surprised. Like, talking out loud and exclaiming at reveals. Looking forward to the third book and reading how Saara El-Arifi brings everything together for the conclusion.

4 stars

Faebound was one of my favourite romantasy's of this year, and the sequel Cursebound didn't disappoint. I also loved that it started with a recap of the first book which I wish other series's did, as it is helpful for the reader to get back into the world.
While I slightly preferred Faebound which I rated 4.5 stars I still enjoyed reading Cursebound and I couldn't put it down and I was disappointed when I finished reading it simply because I didn't want to leave that world behind.
My criticism of Cursebound as well as the first book, was that it felt a bit rushed at times. I do think that it if it was a hundred pages or so longer so the worldbuilidng could have been further developed. While there were some plot twists that were a little bit predictable there was also some twists that I didn't expect and I can't wait to see how it's resolved in the next book.
Overall I would reccomend the series so far for a fun romantasy wth great sapphic reprenstation.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

They’re no longer prisoners to the fae court, but now two elven sisters are each bound by shackles of the heart. Yeeran was born for war but unprepared for love. She has left her new lover, the Queen of the Fae, to return to her homeland. Only to find that her former lover now threatens war against the fae. Her sister Little is determined to break the curse that binds the fae to their realm.

When a stranger appears in the city, she is convinced that he is the key. But the Fates that once spoken to her have now since fallen silent. Can Yeeran and Little discover the secret behind the curse and unite the two worlds before they destroy each other? You’ll just have to open the book to find out.

Within the pages of this book one will find an action packed plot, relationships put to the test and new lore will be learned. An exploration of a beautiful world brimming with magic and folklore, a cast of nuanced and flawed characters that challenge and support each other and a story that will keep you guessing until the end. An epic second novel to the trilogy that works as an excellent bridge between the series like the sisters are a bridge between their two worlds.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 | 𝐃𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐄𝐥-𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢

YES YES YES! I finished this book in 1 day...I couldn't put it down. I love the recap at the beginning of the book, refreshing the story and setting up this exciting installment. The action never stopped, the love connections from Faebound were continued and tested in Cursebound. A new tribe is introduced, a new love connection was made, and a love connection was ended.

But the ending had me GAGGING!! SAARA! OMG! WHAT!?

Thank you, Netgalley, and Saara El-Arifi for the ARC of this experience! I am leaving this honest review voluntarily and without coercion.

Oh my god, I absolutely love this book! In this sequel, you are still following Lettle and Yeeran and their friends/foes as they continue to try and stop the war from raging and protecting their loved ones. You will find more heart, love, friendship, betrayal, and heartache in this sequel to Faebound. I cannot wait to see the ending to this trilogy by Saara El-Arifi!

If you enjoyed the 1st book in the series, then you'll like this continuation of the story. The author seems to have really found a good stride for pacing, although I'm sad there wasn't as much worldbuilding in this one as there was in the first, but also it's a sequel so it's not as necessary. Lettle is once again my favorite part, and I'm excited to see what happens next!

Rezension zu Cursebound von Saara El-Arifi
Saara El-Arifi entführt die Leser*innen mit Cursebound, dem zweiten Band ihrer Faebound-Trilogie, in eine Welt voller Magie, Krieg, Liebe und Verrat. Mit poetischer Sprache und emotionaler Tiefe spinnt sie die Geschichte der beiden elven Schwestern Yeeran und Lettle weiter und erweitert dabei die komplexe Welt, die im ersten Teil so eindrucksvoll etabliert wurde.

Handlung und Themen
Cursebound setzt die Geschehnisse aus Faebound nahtlos fort, wirft die Leser*innen jedoch sofort in eine neue Phase der Geschichte, in der die Protagonistinnen vor persönlichen und politischen Herausforderungen stehen. Yeeran, die Kriegerin, steht zwischen zwei Welten und zwei Lieben: ihrer ehemaligen Partnerin, die nun Krieg gegen die fae führt, und der Königin der fae, deren Liebe sie zurückgelassen hat. Ihre innere Zerrissenheit, gepaart mit der drohenden Eskalation des Krieges, verleiht ihrer Handlung eine schmerzhafte Intensität.

Parallel dazu kämpft Lettle gegen die Einschränkungen, die das Leben im fae-Reich mit sich bringt. Ihr Wunsch, den Fluch zu brechen, der die fae an ihr Reich bindet, wird durch die rätselhafte Ankunft eines Fremden noch komplizierter. Die beiden Schwestern, getrennt durch Schicksal und Entscheidungen, suchen nach Antworten, die nicht nur ihr eigenes Überleben, sondern das Schicksal zweier Welten bestimmen könnten.

Die Themen von Cursebound sind universell und doch tief in der magischen Welt verwurzelt. Liebe, in all ihren Formen – romantisch, familiär und zerstörerisch –, ist das Herzstück der Geschichte. Die Dualität von Loyalität und Verrat, sowie die Frage, was man für Frieden zu opfern bereit ist, verleihen dem Roman eine tragische Dimension.

Charaktere
Die Schwestern Yeeran und Lettle sind zwei der stärksten Figuren, die derzeit in der Fantasy-Literatur zu finden sind. Yeeran ist eine komplexe, kriegerische Heldin, deren Herz zwischen Pflicht und Leidenschaft hin- und hergerissen ist. Ihre Entscheidungen sind oft widersprüchlich, was sie umso menschlicher und nachvollziehbarer macht.

Lettle, mit ihrer unermüdlichen Suche nach Freiheit und Wahrheit, ist das perfekte Gegenstück zu Yeerans erdiger Entschlossenheit. Ihre Beziehung als Schwestern, obwohl sie in diesem Band physisch getrennt sind, bleibt ein zentraler emotionaler Anker der Geschichte.

Die Nebenfiguren, insbesondere die fae-Queen und der mysteriöse Fremde, bringen zusätzliche Dynamik und Intrigen. Saara El-Arifi versteht es, Nebenfiguren Tiefe zu verleihen, sodass ihre Motivationen und Konflikte ebenso spannend sind wie die der Hauptfiguren.

Stil und Weltaufbau
El-Arifis Stil ist lyrisch und doch prägnant, was die emotionale Tiefe der Geschichte verstärkt. Sie erschafft eine Atmosphäre, die zugleich magisch und düster ist, und lässt Leser*innen die Spannung und Schönheit ihrer Welt spüren. Der Kontrast zwischen den beiden Reichen – das chaotische, von Krieg geprägte Reich der Elven und das geheimnisvolle, magisch gebundene Reich der fae – ist beeindruckend und wird durch detaillierte Beschreibungen lebendig.

Die politische Intrige und die mythologische Tiefe des Fluches, der die fae an ihr Reich bindet, verleihen der Handlung eine zusätzliche Ebene. Die Fates, die im ersten Band eine bedeutende Rolle spielten, bleiben ein rätselhaftes Element, das Fragen aufwirft und den Drang weckt, mehr über die Mechanismen dieser Welt zu erfahren.

Fazit
Cursebound ist ein würdiger Nachfolger von Faebound und führt die Trilogie mit intensiver Spannung und emotionalem Tiefgang fort. Saara El-Arifi beweist erneut, dass sie eine Meisterin darin ist, persönliche und politische Konflikte miteinander zu verweben.

Für Fans von epischer Fantasy mit starken, vielschichtigen Frauenfiguren und einer Prise bittersüßer Romantik ist Cursebound ein absolutes Highlight. Das Buch ist nicht nur ein packender Roman, sondern auch ein Nachdenken über die Natur von Liebe, Loyalität und Opfer. Mit diesem zweiten Band setzt El-Arifi die Messlatte hoch und weckt die Vorfreude auf das finale Kapitel der Faebound-Trilogie.

3.5 stars rounded up

This was an exciting follow up to Faebound. I think El-Arofi did a really good job with the second book in the trilogy- it was much more than just a bridge between the first book and the conclusion. There was lot of excitement and was a great bridge for the upcoming last book, but also had a very explicit subplot specific to this book.

Like the first book, I found I was wanting more details and felt some things were rushed. Nevertheless, it didn’t take away from the excitement of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This review was left voluntarily.

10/10 book! I feel that giving 5 stars for this book is super low. Such a good book. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
El-Arifi does it again: she intended to enlarge her public by writing a romantasy trilogy, starting with Faebound, and she is doing it perfectly, with one difference among all other romantasy authors I've read so far: in this trilogy, the fantasy element doesn't get cast in the background, serving for a mere branding purpose, but it's actually interacting with the characters and vice versa, and it gives some compelling original idea to the already widely explored world of the Fae.
What I wished for this book was only one thing: for it to be longer. There's so much at stake while every character does their own thing, and while something else is brewing on the background of the overall plot, plus there are new characters and new relations, and it all felt a bit rushed. Stuff was happening at such a faster pace that I didn't have the time to dwell and reflect on the consequences of something, that some other thing was getting started in some other place, something fundamentally important. Also, this happened for me with the characters too: their relationships switch and change, and it feels like they themselves weren't given enough time to ponder on what happens to them, which is... a lot.
P.S. What a cliffhanger! That was unexpected (as for the rest, a bit predictable but not too much).

I think this was a perfect 2nd book in the series, it was faster paced vs book 1 and I felt the writing was more fleshed out this time

This book was great! I really liked the first book and I was so happy to be able to read the second one and some how it was better than the first one. I would highly recommend this book!

As the sequel to Faebound, Cursebound picks up the threads of the intricate world of elves and fae, continuing the story with a blend of intrigue, danger, and romance. The plot is rich with deception, betrayals, and the looming threat of war, yet there are still moments of heartfelt connection between the characters that provide a welcome balance.

While the narrative is compelling overall, there were moments where character decisions felt frustrating, especially when certain plot points seemed painfully obvious to the reader, but the characters remained unaware. This can be a bit exasperating at times, yet it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. The stakes continue to rise, and despite a few predictable missteps, the plot remains engaging enough to keep me invested in the series.

Cursebound successfully builds upon its predecessor, offering a satisfying continuation of the trilogy. It’s an exciting, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enjoyable read that leaves me looking forward to the conclusion of the story.

Ok next installation. There's something about El-Arifi's writing style that I do not particularly gel with but I think others will like this.

Thank you so much for this ARC!
I always am nervous about getting a series as ARCs because I read them so far away from each other, but Saara did a fantastic job at getting the reader back into the story and the world and reminding us exactly where we left off!
I loved to get more of Lettle and Yeeran, and I also loved getting more POVs and getting to hear how more of these characters are navigating this storyline
I know I just read this book but I’m truly excited to read book three in this trilogy and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together and concludes as the end!