I was so excited to read this as cursebound picks up where faebound left off.
whats beautiful about this book is that the characters are learning from their mistakes and improving and becoming better.
there is betrayals, new loves and queer representation full of diversity

the book leaves us on a cliffhanger that immediately makes me want to read the 3rd book but I will have to impatiently wait for it 😂

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this early review copy.
This book, this series, absolute magic! I love the characters, the setting, the magic, the story, just everything about this! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

An incredible follow up to Faebound, the series starter. Cursebound takes us through political turmoil, worldbuilding, an expansion on the magic system, and evolution to the romances within the book, all seamlessly integrated and in a way that's impossible to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Loved. I found Faebound a little slow, but this book kept my attention the entire time. Really fun read. Can’t wait to continue the series.

I absolutely loved Spellbound, so I was so excited to read Cursebound to find out what happened next. The writing continued to keep me hooked, and I absolutely loved all the political nuances, both within the fae bonded to Obea and those not, and between the fae and elves. I wish the story focused more on these conflicts, as well as finding the solution to freeing the fae, though instead I found this volume much more focused on the romances. It's not that I don't enjoy romance in my fantasy, but with such interesting things happening in the world, I found the romance subplots starting to take over, and even felt forced in my opinion - too many people seemed to be in love much more than to me felt realistic for how long they'd known each other, and that really took away from the story for me.

Yes. This was a great follow up to Faebound. First of all, I want to thank Saara El-Arifi and the publisher for that prologue/recap. This was great and well-needed! I feel like this should be included in all book series sequels. I really loved the pacing in this book, I really flew through this book and could not stop reading. All the characters are so fleshed out and I didn't see any of the twists coming. I really liked all the different points of view and how they were all so important in the story. This was really perfectly weaved and I'm really excited for what's coming next to. Truly another great series by Saara El-Arifi!!

Curesbound, the second book in the trilogy, takes us back to the world of Elves and Fae. We meet new characters that have importance to the story as Lettle tries to break the curse that is over Mosima, and Yeeran travels back to their home land to warn their tribe about imminent war.
There were many twists and turns that I did not see coming! Whilst it took me a little while to get back into the plot, it was a cosy fantasy read and it was the perfect set up for the last book in the series! I’m definitely invested in the lives of Lettle and Yeeran!

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.
I am conflicted on this one.
While it's an absolute wonder of world building, Cursebound takes the groundwork laid by Faebound and gives us a whole new depth to its world and mechanics, but it fell short with it's characters and their relationships. If you are interested in stories that give fresh takes on elves, magic and diversity this is an excellent addition to an excellent series for you, unfortunately that was not enough for me though.
My main gripe with Cursebound is that its not a teen book. There's a difference in how much I can suspend my disbelief between adult books and teen book and unfortunately things were just a little too unrealistically convenient in Cursebound for me to enjoy it as its meant to be enjoyed. The writing is too juvenile, the intimate scenes to prominent, and the romance too rushed for an adult series. romantasy or otherwise.
I truly believe it is wasted potential to cater this book to an adult audience when it would be received far better by a younger audience.

I’ve been waiting for Cursebound since I turned the last page of Faebound, and while this sequel delivered on the high stakes and rich world-building, it wasn’t without its slower moments. But let’s get into it.

Yeeran and Lettle are back, and the tension between them is thick—betrayals, shifting allegiances, and the ever-present question of who they can actually trust. Saara El-Arifi does a great job expanding the world here, pulling us even deeper into the fae, elf, and human conflicts. There’s court intrigue, dangerous magic, and some genuinely brutal moments that had me gripping my book. Also, the new characters? So well done. Some I wanted to throw off a cliff, others I was lowkey obsessed with.

That being said, the pacing got a little uneven, especially in the middle. It felt like the story lost momentum before picking up again, which made me a little impatient. But once things did kick into gear? I was fully invested, especially in the final act (which was stressful in the best way).

Overall, Cursebound was a solid sequel with high stakes, morally gray decisions, and a world that feels even more dangerous than before. A little slow at times, but I’ll definitely be picking up book three because I NEED to know how this ends.

A very mid sequel even though i enjoyed parts, the characters weren't as interesting as they were in Faebound but some moments were really funny.

I really struggled with the first book - but this one was much better. I still struggle to attach myself to the characters and be truly invested - but the world and magic system is really cool. The plot was still a bit clunky for my taste.

So thankful to have received an ARC of this after reading faebound and loving it so much. Every trilogy book should start with a recap like this one did for the reader to easily catch up. I loved jumping back into this world and these characters feel so real they are jumping off the page. Cannot wait until the final installment!

Dnf @60%

I'm pretty bummed about this one. I thought that Faebound was a very promising start to a new fantasy series. I didn't think it was perfect, but I saw a lot of potential. I thought the the world building and the lore were very interesting and I was excited to see where the story went.

I think this sequel really highlights the weak points in the writing. My biggest issue is with the characters and dialogue. Here, the writing feels flat and flimsy. I was hoping that the scope of the world would open up a little bit but even over halfway through the story I feel like almost nothing has happened. What should be a complex and dynamic story feels underdeveloped. I feel like if the characters were to all sit together and have one long conversation, it would solve 98% of the conflict but they're always running off by themselves half cocked or sitting in a room alone stewing about their feelings without saying anything and it's pretty frustrating. I also wish more time was spent establishing/explaining the connection with obeah.

I really struggled to even get this far in the book. Unfortunately, I don't have any interest in continuing on in the series. I will still recommend to customers, but it just did not do it for me.

This was such a fantastic book! I loved jumping back in after Faebound and just being immersed in this world again. Lettle has a lot on her plate, and Ryan has even more as the new king. Yeeran is making amends in the best way she knows how, and Furi continues to take blow after blow as more secrets are revealed.

The prophecy that's keeping the curse alive must end if they want to survive. But how? Lettle has one clue in the form of a travelling nomad, but can she convince him to help? Will they be able to drive the change that is necessary for the people? I loved watching everything unfold. I loved watching the characters be there for each other and keep one another whole. I cannot wait for the last book!

Hot of the heels of reading The Ending Fire trilogy … Faebound felt like a rushed side project that was submitted last minute to the science fair. The building of relationships felt rushed and off kilter compared to those in the first series. The plot itself is solid but also felt rushed to have an outcome for multiple characters. I wanted to DNF but since I had an ARC for Cursebound I wanted to continue. I enjoy that this author recaps events and characters in a prologue which is helpful and saves doing a reread. Yet, Cursebound just wasn’t enough to keep me interested in the journey of the characters. I wish more time was taken to develop this trilogy as it has immense potential.

Something about this series is so easy to read. I find myself finishing them so quickly and only over two or three reading sessions. I enjoy the characters and especially the obeah. I find the world interesting. I do think there is some plot lacking but I am not bored ever.

Cursebound is a brilliant follow up to my favourite read of 2024. Saara El-Arifi does a brilliant job reestablishing her readers in the world of Faebound and getting them situated. El-Arifi does an astounding job at creating multiple perspective and having a consistent flow to the storyline. Cursebound does introduce a new perspective to readers, and honestly probably quickly became one of my favourites.

All in all I would recommend this book, and series. I cannot wait for book three,

La saga sigue la historia de dos hermanas Elfas, Yeeran y Lettle, mientras intentan navegar el nuevo mundo Fae que descubren en el primer libro y desentrañan diferentes intrigas a la vez que intentan proteger a las personas que aman.
Está continuación de la trilogía ha sido increíble y la verdad que me ha gustado incluso más que la primera. El libro está menos centrado en la trama de amor de las hermanas protagonistas, dejando espacio a las intrigas políticas, los misterios de una maldición y una posible guerra a punto de estallar. Lo que más me sigue gustando de la saga son los Obeah. Estas criaturas mágicas, descritas como gatos gigantes con cuernos, son la razón de que la magia fluya por el mundo creado y los Fae tienen un vinculo de por vida con ellos que les permite acceder a esa magia.
Este segundo libro incluye nuevos POV respecto al primero, lo cual no me ha terminado de gustar. En la primera toma, seguíamos solamente a las hermanas. Ahora, en cambio, de incluyen capítulos de otros POV que a mi forma de ver, hacen que el libro pierda un poco de intriga al darse más información. Así el “plot twist” del final no me ha tomado tan de sorpresa, pero sigue siendo muy bueno.

I was so excited to read this as I loved Faebound and I’m so glad that it lived up to my expectations!

Sarra El Arifi is such a talented writer and I really felt drawn in so much I couldn’t put it down. Second books in a series are always difficult but the twist at the end has me counting down the days until book three!

Saara knows how to do sequels!!!!

Cursebound is an excellent follow up to Faebound. The story remains fresh and exciting, with El-Arifi keeping up a strong and steady pacing, introducing new characters and new plot threads. And in my god, the reveals!! I saw a lot of them coming (sometimes literally a page before the character revealed it themselves) and it was sooo good. I was gasping and yelling and closing the book to freak out!!

This book really threw everything in to turmoil and changed up the game and I’m so excited to see the fall out in the third book. SO excited!!