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A review by chaptersofmads
Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
A bit of a rocky sequel that seems to promise a satisfying finale to the trilogy.
It's a testament to Saara El-Arifi's talent that my least favorite book by her is a three star read; her worst (in my opinion) still remains better than a lot of the books in the same genre. She's such a gifted writer - one of my favorites - and my conflicted feelings on this installment don't change that.
With that being said, unlike Faebound I found this book incredibly difficult to get through. It wasn't bad, by any means, but it felt so... empty? for lack of better terms. Like the characters and plots were all there only because they had to be, not like the story was actually a real, breathing thing that could stand on its own. The dialogue felt clunky, the romances grating, and the political decisions felt like they were being made by a really dumb teenager.
I understand this makes it sound like I hated this book and I promise that I didn't. I didn't enjoy it, but I think a lot of that is due to it hitting a bit of a middle book slump. The world is still incredibly intriguing and I love the conversations about the twisted historical records.
I just felt like this book could have been better and I'm sad it wasn't.
The end... however... that was a good twist and I can't wait to see what she does with it in the finale.
Overall, while this disappointed me, it was still very much okay and I would definitely recommending giving it a try - especially if you loved book 1 and don't mind too many romances, with very little development.
A bit of a rocky sequel that seems to promise a satisfying finale to the trilogy.
It's a testament to Saara El-Arifi's talent that my least favorite book by her is a three star read; her worst (in my opinion) still remains better than a lot of the books in the same genre. She's such a gifted writer - one of my favorites - and my conflicted feelings on this installment don't change that.
With that being said, unlike Faebound I found this book incredibly difficult to get through. It wasn't bad, by any means, but it felt so... empty? for lack of better terms. Like the characters and plots were all there only because they had to be, not like the story was actually a real, breathing thing that could stand on its own. The dialogue felt clunky, the romances grating, and the political decisions felt like they were being made by a really dumb teenager.
I understand this makes it sound like I hated this book and I promise that I didn't. I didn't enjoy it, but I think a lot of that is due to it hitting a bit of a middle book slump. The world is still incredibly intriguing and I love the conversations about the twisted historical records.
I just felt like this book could have been better and I'm sad it wasn't.
The end... however... that was a good twist and I can't wait to see what she does with it in the finale.
Overall, while this disappointed me, it was still very much okay and I would definitely recommending giving it a try - especially if you loved book 1 and don't mind too many romances, with very little development.