The worst part about receiving an ARC and loving it is waiting for news of the next book 😅 I love this series so far, and I am so extremely excited to see where it goes from here!

If you haven't picked up Faebound yet, now is the time. Cursebound will be released in February, and they are both so good!

I was so excited to receive an arc from Penguin Random House for Cursebound! I liked the first book (Faebound) in this trilogy but I enjoyed Cursebound even more. El-Arifi does a fantastic job of expanding this world, story, lore, and characters. This story is very complex so developing the story instead of adding many new things really paid off. Like main character sisters Yeeran and Lettle, we are also learning more and more.

The additional points of view really added to the story. We are getting new perspectives then just the sisters and seeing many new things. This helped with developing the story. After that ending I can’t wait for the third book!

Cursebound picks up right where Faebound ended, and it's full of revelations and a couple twists if you aren't paying too close attention. Once again, my issue with the book is the same as the first. The foreshadowing is put there on the page so clearly that we, the readers, can see it, yet the characters can't. So I spent some time frustrated, I mean, I don't know about everyone else, but I enjoy being as clueless as the characters and shocked with them when events happen.

However, Saara El-Arifi has a talent for building intricate worlds, magic systems, and characters that will always keep me wanting more. In Cursebound, she expands the world a little but gives us so much more in our beloved and not so beloved characters (looking at you Salawa).

We also get introduced to a new character, Alder, a man known as Wayfarer, who can not remember anything of his past prior to being found by the Nomads.

This was a solid book 2 in a trilogy. Sometimes, second books suffer because they're obviously building up to the big battle in book 3, but I didn't feel that in Cursebound. I couldn't put it down, and I'll be counting the days til I get book 3 in my hands!

Thank you Del Ray and NetGalley for the ARC!

i was so excited to pick this up and return to mosima and continue on this journey with lettle, yeeran, and the rest of the squad and i was definitely not disappointed!

i thoroughly enjoyed the deeper dive into the characters and their ethos, allowing even more connection to these already lovable characters.

perfectly paced, albeit slightly predictable, i couldn’t put this book down! the perfect 2nd book in the faebound trilogy!

as always, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

I LOVED this book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but then boom I was hooked!! I finished it in one sitting! My first by this author but will not be my last!!

Where to start? If you loved faebound then you’ll have your mind blown by how great cursebound is. The perfect continuation to an amazing story that promises even greater things to expect from the third installation of this amazing series. Certainly one to be up there with the greatest romantasy series at the moment. The author writes so beautifully that it’s easy to picture everything that you are reading.

Faebound blew my mind and I was so stoked to be able to read this. This blew me away! I enjoyed it more than the first which is wild because that rarely happens with sequels. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT AND LAST ONE.

This was such a strong sequel in the Faebound trilogy and I'm so glad that I was able to read this as an arc. I was worried that it would take me a hot minute to get back into things and remember characters, but it was so quick to reel me right in and I ended up blasting my way through this.

I think that Lettle and Yeeran were even stronger characters in this and I really enjoyed all the new POVs we got as well. Plot twists had me GASPING and new lore and worldbuilding were fantastic. I'm so excited to read more about Alder and Golan in the third book as I'm pretty sure their plot is going to be the overarching one.

I also really love Lettle's notes at the end, as I just have such love for characters annotating things in their own voices.

I think if you liked Faebound, you'll love Cursebound, and I cannot WAIT to talk about this when it releases next year!

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I love following the story of Lettle and how she now is with the king. Yereen and Furi navigating their growing relationship despite Yereen still having feelings for her former lover. They come closer to freeing the Fae but not close enough.

In the continuation of the tale of sisters Yeeran and Lettle from Faebound, Cursebound takes the story to new heights. It really ups the ante on the feud between fae and elves, and takes the characters and their relationships to a whole new level complexity. The plot twists were somewhat predictable, but the story and its delivery were still good. As the feud between fae and elves intensifies, I eagerly await the conclusion in the third book’s trilogy. Not my favorite book in the series but I'll still be back for book 3.

This was a strong sequel in the Faebound Trilogy series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from the first book. It was great getting into this world and going on this journey with the characters. It was a strong story and worked with the genre. I was invested in what was happening with the sisters and was glad I got to go through this journey with them. Saara El-Arifi always does a great job in writing this and was glad I read this.

4.5 Thank you to DelRay and net galley for this advanced copy of Cursebound. Return to the Faebound world in this second installment in the trilogy.

I was super excited to get my hands on this as I was super surprised by how much I enjoyed the first book. It was unique and intriguing to me and quite different than any other fantasy book I had read. With Cursebound it took me a bit to get back into the story but once I did I was all in. It can be hit or miss when new POVs are added into stories but I loved all the new ones we got in this. El-Arifi does a wonderful job of weaving a bit of romance into the story but it certainly is not the main focus of the plot.

Overall I found the story was engaging and heartbreaking. There were a few things I did not see coming. The set up for the final book is wonderful and I can’t wait to read the conclusion.

Their world is a prison. Will they ever be free? Lettle is worried as she is no longer about to use her talisman the fates are silent. Rayan just wants to keep her safe but he fears that one day he will be too late. Furi is happy that Yeeran is back as she had missed her but she fears that they are lost to each other. Yeeran is angry but she loves Furi so she tries harder to make the relationship work. But everything that they have is about to be lost unless they find out what the grimoire means. Will they be able withstand what is coming?
A great read. It sucks you into their life in Mosima.
Great characters even the bad ones. Love the descriptions of the land on both sides.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

Cursebound is a worthy sequel to Faebound, continuing the enchanting world-building and intricate plot. Saara El-Arifi's storytelling is as captivating as ever, drawing readers into a world of magic, love, and betrayal.

The story follows the two elven sisters, Yeeran and Lettle, as they navigate their complex relationships and face new challenges. Yeeran's struggle to balance her love for the fae queen and her duty to her people is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Lettle's determination to break the curse that binds the fae to their realm adds a layer of mystery and intrigue to the narrative.

The author's vivid descriptions and atmospheric world-building create a truly immersive reading experience. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and their interactions are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The exploration of themes such as love, sacrifice, and the consequences of war adds depth and complexity to the story.

While the pacing may be a bit slow at times, the author's elegant prose and the promise of a thrilling conclusion keep readers engaged. Cursebound is a must-read for fans of fantasy and romance. It's a captivating sequel that expands upon the original story and leaves readers eager for the final installment of the Faebound Trilogy.

I absolutely adore the world building of "Cursebound" but the character growth fell a bit short.

Thankfully the author starts off with a very cute journal entry summary of "Faebound". I hadn't re-read the first book and would have been a bit lost without it.

We pick up in the second book where the first let off and it was whirlwind storytelling from start to finish. I like it when authors are clear with plot but we dipped a little bit into too much telling rather than showing to keep everything moving along quickly.

I enjoyed how there were a couple more POVs added rather than just Yeeran and Leetle's. Unfortunately, even with the added characters, we don't see much growth out of any of them. Same as the first book, I was able to see a lot of the plot twists coming (which is odd for me).

Overall, I think this falls into a lot of what many second books of trilogies do. I will be reading the third book, even if it is just to see how the world evolves.

Rated 3 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

Absolutely wonderful and captivating! Another fantasy book for your must-read list!

I love that the beginning updates you about the previous book. The book keeps you pulled in the entire time and I am definitely curious about the new characters. I didn't see a single twist coming, although I had my theories. And I love Lettle's notes at the end. I once again will be ordering my own copy. So excited that this is publishing on my literal birthday! I can't wait for book three!

Thank you so much to Saara El-Arifi, NetGalley, Del Rey and Penguin Random House for giving me another ARC! I practically begged for it and it delivered!

ARC provided by NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

I loved this!! What a wonderful sequel. I definitely don’t think it was /as/ good as Faebound, but I enjoyed this so much. The twists were a bit obvious to me, but the story and the way it was told lost nothing because of that. Saara remains one of the most lyrical writers I’ve read and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Book three will be an amazing conclusion to this trilogy, I’m sure of it

I was thrilled to receive an early copy of Cursebound, especially since Faebound was one of my top reads of 2024. As a second book in a trilogy, Cursebound could have easily fallen into the trap of feeling like filler, but Saara El-Arifi manages to make it feel like a compelling story in its own right.

Since it had been almost a year since I read Faebound, I was worried I’d be a bit lost, but the clever opening—a diary entry recapping key events from the first book—was a perfect refresher. I really appreciated how it eased me back into the world without feeling heavy-handed.

This sequel deepens the character development, and I loved diving further into the main characters’ arcs. I was especially intrigued by Alder’s introduction—his storyline promises to be a major force in book three. The layers of betrayal and deception in this book are wild, and I have a feeling there’s even more to come.

Another highlight was exploring new areas of Mosima, which added so much richness to the world-building. Despite my busy schedule, I found myself carving out every spare moment to read—Cursebound is truly hard to put down. Now, I’m eagerly counting down the days until the next installment!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Del Rey for the eARC!

I enjoyed being back in this world but found myself exceedingly frustrated by the characters, their decisions, and how they always felt 5 steps behind me. I had a similar issue where I felt plot twists were obvious in the first book but I still really liked the characters then; now I’m just intrigued by the world but that too is starting to wane. Yeeran’s decisions were very bothersome and not in a good way.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

I was so excited to be chosen to receive an arc of this second installment in the series. Not at all a sophomore slump or second book syndrome here! I thought this hit a good balance of deepening the characters and our understanding of the world without dumping too much new into things. Also didn’t feel like just a bridge to more of a finale in later books but a story that could stand on its own.