I just love the world El-Arifi has created so much. I CANNOT wait for book three.
I do t want to give too much away as this is book 2 but if you are into magical worlds, fae & elves, bonded companions and plot twists then don’t pass up this magical trilogy

This was such a fun sequel!

After reading Faebound I was so glad I already had an eARC of Cursebound because I would not have wanted to wait at all. This sequel continues with a big journey for Yearan, a quest for information for Lettle, and a difficult reign for Fury and Ryan. These plotlines send the characters in different directions which keeps the book always full of happenings. This book though we also get the POV of Alder, an elf from the nomads. When everyone came back into Mossima though, I started enjoying the book even more.

So much happens with all the characters and there are some real big things they have to deal with. Lettle was a joy to follow around. She has such a bright mind and sets her mind to improving life for the Fae. Her story was one of hidden secrets and political fights. The way she handled that all though was really fun to read. We also get more time of Yeeran and Lettle together and their sister bond is something that always warms me from the inside.
Alder was a new character that I absolutely loved. When he's introduced it's still quite unclear what he's doing as a POV character in this book. But when he stumbles across the Fae his story gets shape in a way that had me on the edge of my seat. He has some mysteries that the group of main character is trying to solve, and a quest for answers is always something I enjoy in books. Alder also starts making bonds with the Fae in Mossima which was so sweet to see.
Yeeran has to deal with death this time around, death even more unsettling than everyone she has killed in the war between the elves. When this comes to stand inbetween her and Fury I was so anxious but hopefull they could work this out. They are a power couple that I ship so hard. With all that they're going through in this book their sweet moments together felt even more wholesome.

When all of this comes together towards the end of the book I couldn't wait to see how it would end. And end with a bang it did, but you'll have to read this book yourself to figure that out.

Concluding this is a book with many characters going on their own journey to work together towards an ending building on the future.

I adored faebound so much and this sequel was the perfect continuation of it. There were many different times where I was shocked by what had happened!

The ending has made me SO desperate for book three - I will be checking Saara El-Arifi's social medias everyday, waiting for an announcement.

I loved seeing the relationships deepen throughout this book, seeing them get even closer and bond. I also loved our new characters; Alder may be my favourite, along with Golan (although he was in the previous book as well).

I am so invested in this trilogy and I never found myself growing bored once. The multiple points of views definitely helped keep me interested. I would love to see a Pila point of view, just her and Amnan hanging out, eating mangos.

This was easily a five star read, I would rate it even higher if I could. I am both desperate yet terrified for the next book, I have grown so fond of our main characters and I will be devastated if anything happens. 🤣

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Cursebound is the second installment of the Faebound series. Yeeran and Lettle are no longer prisoners but still tied to the fae through love. When Yeeran discovers a fae secret and the end of book one, she leaves Mosima to travel home and speak to her previous chieftain and lover Salawa. Lettle is determined to break the fae curse but now can’t seem to use her seer magic. She is not deterred from this radio silence and continues to fight for the fae’s freedom along with other injustices.

Picking up this book was like visiting old friends. El-Arifi’s characters are so life like. The story is compelling and it made me want to turn page after page. I love the way the world is built and how beautifully Mosima is explained. The only drawback is how many loose ends there are. I feel like there are so many characters and so much information in this book that it won’t be wrapped up by the end of book 3. After reading El-Arifi’s previous series I am nervous about this story’s ending. I am hoping there won’t be too much left behind from this story, especially with the introduction of new characters. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I want to continue to the next one. 4/5 stars!!

I ended Faebound on very unsure footing. I felt like the romance relied on insta-lust and the plot lacked proper tension. But I could see the potential of the series, which is why I decided to pick up Cursebound. Unfortunately, once again, I felt as though my expectations were not met. Nor did I find any further depth given to our characters and their relationships. I feel like none of our characters THINK. They’re extremely hot headed, clueless, selfish, and honestly quite cruel. Now in a different light I could have come to love some of these qualities in a darker, more gritty fantasy. But in a romantasy? I want to actively root for and admire my characters. Instead, I felt like none of them should be together. It was even hard to stay on their side against their “enemies.”

Salawa is the most underutilized character I’ve ever encountered. When I first started Faebound, It was actually her character and her relationship with Yeeran that initially got me excited about the story. To see her character arc completely fumbled and destroyed was difficult to watch. It was the moment I made peace with the growing reality that this series would never be what I wished it to be.

Alder and Golan were the absolute highlight of this book. Despite them also falling into the insta-lust trap, I found their dynamic to be the most believable. I could feel the tenderness and love between them. If anyone could keep me interested in the third book, it would be Alder. Him and the Nomads were the most intriguing part of this story, even with the super obvious twists.

This is a wonderful follow-up to Faebouond! I was immediately pulled back into the world with Lettle and Yeeran, and adding in additional POV was an interesting, and very well done choice to expand the girth of the story's world building. The characters are just as charming as last time, the plot is just as compelling, the ending twist had the right amount of breadcrumbs so that it still made me go 'wait what?' but also 'oooooooh, yeah, makes sense. But also EXCUSE ME?' Haha!

Cursebound is a WONDERFUL novel, and it was a TREAT to read. Will 100% be recommending it to both those who have read Faebound and those who haven't, as it's now a duology until the next book comes out, and they need to share in my shock and love for this book.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to review.

Cursebound is the second book in the Faebound trilogy. I always recommend this series to anyone who wants to read more fantasy romance, there is F/M and multiple queer relationships, and I love each one. Faebound was one of my 5 star reads last year and I loved being transported back into the world and with the characters I love, plus new characters to add into the mix! The book picks up where Faebound leaves off and things quickly escalate. One thing I loved about this book was how quick of a read it was, it is so action packed that I couldn’t put it down! I almost wish it was 100 pages longer so I could stay in the world. Overall, I love this series and can’t wait for book 3 to come out.

Saara El-Arifi’s *Cursebound*, the gripping sequel to *Faebound*, deepens the series’ rich worldbuilding and high-stakes magic. Yeeran and her allies face greater dangers, uncovering secrets that challenge their fate. With intense action, emotional depth, and lush prose, *Cursebound* is a thrilling continuation that leaves readers eager for more.

The much awaited follow-up to Faebound did not disappoint! I was hooked from beginning to end.

It has been a long time since I read Faebound and was somewhat concerned about forgetting what had happened in the book. I did not do a re-read, but I immediately found that I did not need to because there was a journal entry that gave a recap of book one! This was such a nice surprise and it helped me dive head first into Cursebound.

I love the world so much. It is so unique and vivid. I feel like there is so much of the world to explore and would love to be able to jump in and experience it first-hand.

This book deals with some very poignant topics such as segregation, rebellions, etc, and I feel like it does so in a very effective way.

Sometimes the second book can be a huge disappointment, but I think I liked book 2 more than book 1! I am very excited to see where the story takes us in book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Del Rey - for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chose not to continue reading this series as the premise was no longer for me and the writing style wasn't one that I enjoyed.

Cursebound picks up shortly after where Faebound left off - Yeeran leaves Mosima to warn Waning tribe of impending danger, while her sister Lettle tries to find a way to break the curse that binds the fae (so she can return home).

A lot of positives for the first book still apply here - I enjoyed the overall story and still want to see how the series ends. This was a quick read (when I actually picked it up)! I thought the story moved relatively quickly and didn’t really drag in many places.

That said, I think a lot of the problems I had with book 1 still remain… I don’t really feel anything for most of the characters or their romance. Often times I feel like I’m told that the main love interests are in love (through side characters) but, I’m not shown that through the MCs actions. I also still felt that some things were very predictable but, there were some surprises towards the end that have me excited for book 3.

This was a great sequel to Faebound, book 1. The writing and imagery make this series excel. I love the characters and was happy to be back with them on their adventures. I really appreciated Lettle's journal at the start to help recap the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I love Saara El-Arifi's writing - her imagination, imagery, and writing are so beautiful and well executed. Her writing is whimsical yet real and it's just a joy to read.

While I still did not love Cursebound as much as I loved her Final Strife (The Ending Fire Trilogy), I did enjoy it more than Faebound. It still lacked the depth of The Ending Fire, but it felt closer to that level of quality than book 1. I was able to easily guess at the "twists" and "reveals", but they were still satisfying in their own ways and I really did enjoy the character and world development. It did feel a little bit like an over-correction; while in Faebound I felt like we were just expected to take things on faith for a lot of big plot points and foundations, Cursebound overexplained certain things and that made those "twists" easy to guess, but it was still good.

I am very excited to see what comes next and how she will wrap things up in book 3, especially with the addition of the new conflict and characters.

Overall I do recommend this though it is not the jaw-dropping, incredible level of The Final Strife. But I am anxious for the sequel and think all fantasy lovers will fall in love with the Faebound trilogy too!

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for this ARC! I was reached out to about this second book, which delighted me as Faebound was one of my first and still one of my favorite ARCs to have received!

I found myself so quickly reabsorbed into the beautifully crafted world of the Fae and the Elves. I missed all of the characters, their personalities rich and captivating from their first introduction — including the new faces we come to know and love! There was so much tension and beauty in this story; I find El-Arifi has beat the curse of the slow moving and uninspired middle book! I was consistently on the edge of my seat, with both smiles, tears and gasps. My only negative feeling about this book is the waiting between now and the next release! I cannot recommend this series enough; I wish I could scream from the tallest point in the world and let all hear my proclamation. I suppose my Instagram following will have to do instead!

I really enjoy Saara El-Arifi’s writing and world building.

Unfortunately, I found Cursebound less compelling than the first novel in the series, Faebound. Some of the big themes felt unresolved, likely left for a third book, but this made the story feel incomplete. The final twist also wasn’t as developed as I’d hoped.

Overall, I’m still curious to see how this series wraps up.

I was very glad to see the characters again and also glad to see that any relationship strifes at the end of the last book were not magically fixed. I also enjoyed that realism of how trauma affected the characters and how they respond to new situations. Lovely continuation, can’t wait for the next installment!

4.25 stars

oh how saara el-arifi did not disappoint us in book two of this series!

it picked up perfectly from the ending of faebound, there was action pretty much from the get go & i love the constant switching of multiple povs & the new ones we obtained added so much depth to the existing characters & plot! i was eating up all the crumbs we were getting and last 150 pages were a whirlwind with plot twist after plot twist! and that ending had my jaw on the floor!

i loved how we got to see more politics in general in both the elf & fae land, following topics of segregation and hierarchy of classes.

there is definitely something for everyone in this series! from the romance, to the found family & the suspense & action!

i have high hopes for the final instalment!

a big thank you to Del Ray & Netgalley for providing this anticipated e-arc!

Miss Saara can do no wrong!!! This is how you do a plot twist! Her writing is always consistent and keeps me on my toes!!

Incredible sequel to Faebound, I love the recap at the beginning in the form of Lettles Journal, although it was a little repetitive as I read these back to back, I can appreciate how helpful this would be for those that wait between books.
I absolutely adore the characters throughout and the new POVs in book 2 add depth. I can't wait for the final installment in this trilogy.

book twos in trilogies scare me because they usually always feel like filler

i’m so glad this one was not that

from the budding new relationships to the trails of breadcrumbs leading into an explosive final chapter, this book was packed and i loved every second of it

alder discovering his place in world after being a nomad for so long was heartwarming and i just want to hug him and tell him everything will be alright. plus i love him and golan. they better stay together in the final book

the tension presented between lettel and rayan, as well as yeeran and furi felt natural and not like it was forced for the sake of tension. i wanted to physically crawl into the book and shake them all.

i am absolutely loving this series and i can not wait for the conclusion!