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theladygonzalez's review
4.0
The Curse of Gremdon was a well crafted fantasy rich with adventure and excitement. I loved the idea of Arianna being the only girl in a boys club. She is the only female warrior left in her rank and it has worked extremely hard to prove her worth. Arianna has been through a great deal during her life and she has faced every obstacle head on. When the book begins she is partaking in a fight with Tardon in hopes of becoming an elite warrior.
Tardon himself is an Elite warrior and he plays a large part in the story. You see, Tardon and Arianna fall in love, but they are forbidden from being together. It is against the law for Arianna (a female warrior) to have sex - which is something that I really didn’t understand. The reason given in the book is that it is believed it would mess with her ability to fight or something. The man warriors are encouraged to give into their desires; the Elder’s even send them “gifts” when they succeed in a battle. I understand that the double standard was necessary for the plot to move forward, but I wish it would have been explained a bit better.
Anyways, long story short, when the two are discovered a death sentence is hefted onto them. The only way they can redeem themselves (and earn the right to be together) is to set out on a dangerous quest for the Elder’s.
For me, this is when things started to fall apart a bit. About halfway through the book the plot began to drag. I especially had a difficult time getting through the scenes featuring Saldor. Saldor is the Dungeon Master (I don’t really know if that is the proper tile) and sort of takes Arianna under his wing. He develops a very strange attachment to her; much to Tardon’s (and my) dismay. I could never really understand what Saldor wanted and he just really rubbed me the wrong way. He is one of those characters that tries to do what’s best, but ends up making a huge mess of everything instead. And he does this repeatedly. I believe Knight intended readers to be sympathetic towards his character, but unfortunately I disliked him more and more as the book progressed.
Although the plot was slow at times, I did enjoy the overall story. And Let’s talk about the plot twists of all plot twists. About three quarters of the way through something happens that throws everything in Tardon and Arianna’s world on its head. It’s insane and I absolutely loved it.
I honestly enjoyed The Curse of Gremdon. It was heavier on the romance portion than I expected, but that didn’t really bother me. The underlying story was still well developed and the fantasy aspects well crafted, so everything balanced out rather nicely. Often with romance stories I find that the plot suffers, but that certainly wasn’t the case with The Curse of Gremdon.
Tardon himself is an Elite warrior and he plays a large part in the story. You see, Tardon and Arianna fall in love, but they are forbidden from being together. It is against the law for Arianna (a female warrior) to have sex - which is something that I really didn’t understand. The reason given in the book is that it is believed it would mess with her ability to fight or something. The man warriors are encouraged to give into their desires; the Elder’s even send them “gifts” when they succeed in a battle. I understand that the double standard was necessary for the plot to move forward, but I wish it would have been explained a bit better.
Anyways, long story short, when the two are discovered a death sentence is hefted onto them. The only way they can redeem themselves (and earn the right to be together) is to set out on a dangerous quest for the Elder’s.
For me, this is when things started to fall apart a bit. About halfway through the book the plot began to drag. I especially had a difficult time getting through the scenes featuring Saldor. Saldor is the Dungeon Master (I don’t really know if that is the proper tile) and sort of takes Arianna under his wing. He develops a very strange attachment to her; much to Tardon’s (and my) dismay. I could never really understand what Saldor wanted and he just really rubbed me the wrong way. He is one of those characters that tries to do what’s best, but ends up making a huge mess of everything instead. And he does this repeatedly. I believe Knight intended readers to be sympathetic towards his character, but unfortunately I disliked him more and more as the book progressed.
Although the plot was slow at times, I did enjoy the overall story. And Let’s talk about the plot twists of all plot twists. About three quarters of the way through something happens that throws everything in Tardon and Arianna’s world on its head. It’s insane and I absolutely loved it.
I honestly enjoyed The Curse of Gremdon. It was heavier on the romance portion than I expected, but that didn’t really bother me. The underlying story was still well developed and the fantasy aspects well crafted, so everything balanced out rather nicely. Often with romance stories I find that the plot suffers, but that certainly wasn’t the case with The Curse of Gremdon.
momwithareadingproblem's review
3.0
The Curse of Gremdon by Ciara Knight was just an okay read for me. It is set in a fantasy realm ruled by Elders with feminine oppression and fear of the unknown set the tone. It’s billed as a fantasy, paranormal romance and it is that, but there was a little too much romance for me and not enough story.
Arianna is a warrior, the only female warrior (at least from my understanding), training and fighting her way to the top to earn elite status. She’s cunning, ruthless, and guards her heart with a stone wall. When the kingdom fell (more on that in a moment), she lost everyone but her younger brother and she will do whatever it takes to protect him. You gotta love that about her!
Tardon is already an elite warrior when the book starts. He is alone and wishes for a family, something forbidden under the Elders. However he accepts their “gifts” willingly until after a training fight where Arianna gets the better of him. He realizes he doesn’t want the cheap whores the Elders send every night, he wants Arianna. His mind is consumed with her and honestly it was a bit odd. A warrior who was content in his ways all of a sudden wanting another warrior? Hmmm….
The plot was ALL OVER THE PLACE for me. I really struggled with it! There wasn’t much, if any, backstory about why the inhabitants of Gremdon all lived at the castle, why they weren’t allowed beyond the walls, why the all had to wear an amulet from the Elders, etc. As the reader, you are dropped into this fantasy world and while it is haunting and horrific, you have NO clue what is going on. There is little to no world-building til close to then end but then it makes sense. So if you read and you are lost, stick with it!
Overall this book was just ok for me. As I already stated the world-building was lacking and with fantasy that’s a big no-no in my book. Also the romance was a bit over-the-top. It’s a forbidden romance that blossoms between Arianna and Tardon, but I felt like it was more lust than love that the author conveyed. If you enjoy new adult, paranormal romance, than I believe you’ll enjoy this one. It just wasn’t for me.
Arianna is a warrior, the only female warrior (at least from my understanding), training and fighting her way to the top to earn elite status. She’s cunning, ruthless, and guards her heart with a stone wall. When the kingdom fell (more on that in a moment), she lost everyone but her younger brother and she will do whatever it takes to protect him. You gotta love that about her!
Tardon is already an elite warrior when the book starts. He is alone and wishes for a family, something forbidden under the Elders. However he accepts their “gifts” willingly until after a training fight where Arianna gets the better of him. He realizes he doesn’t want the cheap whores the Elders send every night, he wants Arianna. His mind is consumed with her and honestly it was a bit odd. A warrior who was content in his ways all of a sudden wanting another warrior? Hmmm….
The plot was ALL OVER THE PLACE for me. I really struggled with it! There wasn’t much, if any, backstory about why the inhabitants of Gremdon all lived at the castle, why they weren’t allowed beyond the walls, why the all had to wear an amulet from the Elders, etc. As the reader, you are dropped into this fantasy world and while it is haunting and horrific, you have NO clue what is going on. There is little to no world-building til close to then end but then it makes sense. So if you read and you are lost, stick with it!
Overall this book was just ok for me. As I already stated the world-building was lacking and with fantasy that’s a big no-no in my book. Also the romance was a bit over-the-top. It’s a forbidden romance that blossoms between Arianna and Tardon, but I felt like it was more lust than love that the author conveyed. If you enjoy new adult, paranormal romance, than I believe you’ll enjoy this one. It just wasn’t for me.
gypjet's review
2.0
I'm trying to be more positive in my reviews. Sometimes I don't like a book and that doesn't necessarily mean its poorly written or junk fiction. The Curse of Gremdon has some good themes. It is a novel about people being controlled in every aspect of their lives. They eventually discover that the most important thing is marriage and family. Excellent theme. I like characters who don't take any crap from anyone and this book had that. I also liked the unique take it took on the bad guys and how they dealt with the non-compliant outsiders. (I'm trying to write spoiler free, but it's impossible so from here on there be spoilers!)
*spoilers* I thought it was really original of the author to have the amulets keeping the kingdom "protected." I liked the twist that it was really a control device. That was nice and it kept it interesting since the reader knew something was rotten in Denmark, but not the extent of it. I loved the twist with the Cursed (awesome!).
Now for the issues. Sure this is a romance/fantasy. I love a good romance, but this one kept me gagging. Every five minutes Tardon is dreaming of her "lush breasts" or having an urge to touch her. His firm and pulsing manhood was just too much, I don't know how the dude walked around. It would have read better toned down and spaced out to better fit the story. If you removed every time he dreamed of having sex with her the book would have been 2 pages long. It was a little overdone. I picked up the attraction, please let it grow normally instead of having them yearning for each others bodies every second. Also, when they finally are married and get to be together, they go to a lake and rub 'tonics' all over each other. Really? Tonics? Those are the things my grandparents drank for the 'rheumatism.' Also, what manly warrior is going to rub flowery smelly stuff all over his woman? It may be a female fantasy, but if men can't lick it or eat it off of you it isn't going to happen. The next thing that bothered me was that Ariana was supposed to be a warrior equal to Tardon, but she was completely helpless for most of the book. She was either wounded, or in danger or just whiny. I don't know, but let the girl be strong for crying out loud. Let her kick some ass.
So, those were my issues. The writing didn't flow very nicely either and there were some plot holes and awkward spots where I wasn't sure what was going on. It was an easy read though, and quick, I did want to know what happened, but I wouldn't read it again or any sequels.
*spoilers* I thought it was really original of the author to have the amulets keeping the kingdom "protected." I liked the twist that it was really a control device. That was nice and it kept it interesting since the reader knew something was rotten in Denmark, but not the extent of it. I loved the twist with the Cursed (awesome!).
Now for the issues. Sure this is a romance/fantasy. I love a good romance, but this one kept me gagging. Every five minutes Tardon is dreaming of her "lush breasts" or having an urge to touch her. His firm and pulsing manhood was just too much, I don't know how the dude walked around. It would have read better toned down and spaced out to better fit the story. If you removed every time he dreamed of having sex with her the book would have been 2 pages long. It was a little overdone. I picked up the attraction, please let it grow normally instead of having them yearning for each others bodies every second. Also, when they finally are married and get to be together, they go to a lake and rub 'tonics' all over each other. Really? Tonics? Those are the things my grandparents drank for the 'rheumatism.' Also, what manly warrior is going to rub flowery smelly stuff all over his woman? It may be a female fantasy, but if men can't lick it or eat it off of you it isn't going to happen. The next thing that bothered me was that Ariana was supposed to be a warrior equal to Tardon, but she was completely helpless for most of the book. She was either wounded, or in danger or just whiny. I don't know, but let the girl be strong for crying out loud. Let her kick some ass.
So, those were my issues. The writing didn't flow very nicely either and there were some plot holes and awkward spots where I wasn't sure what was going on. It was an easy read though, and quick, I did want to know what happened, but I wouldn't read it again or any sequels.
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