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beckyyreadss's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this book as I enjoy most of Marissa Meyer’s work. However, with all three series that I’ve read, I have always struggled with the first book. This book was the same. I was waiting for a big reveal or plot twist, and it sort of happened, but I wanted it to be bigger.
This book is told from Serilda’s point of view. She was cursed by the god of lies and has developed a talent for storytelling. Serilda and Gild cannot break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle. There they remain trapped for eternity. On the night of the Endless Moon, the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and so be reunited with his lovers, Perchta, who has been banished to the underworld. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to alter the mortal realm forever. Serilda and Gild have no choice but to thwart his plans, all the while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name and freeing all the ghosts kept in servitude to the dark ones. As the evil forces gather, it seems only their love is strong enough to sustain them. This book is a young adult fantasy.
This series has been difficult. The world building wasn’t there and there wasn’t much character building expect that Serilda is a storyteller and she’s trying to save her boyfriend and she’s pregnant and protecting kids. I think I also struggled with this book as I didn’t understand all the God analogy of it. Serilda was a damsel in distress that was trying to save herself but just couldn’t and then rejected help and is still wanting to save herself but won’t leave Gild. Erikling’s got some back story in this, but I would have loved to have fallen for villain in this book rather than the MCs. Gild’s sister sort of saved this book and I would have loved for her to be the hero and then had to be getting the sunlight. I hated how it ended and I don’t think Serilda deserved the happy ending for being a mischievous liar.
This book is told from Serilda’s point of view. She was cursed by the god of lies and has developed a talent for storytelling. Serilda and Gild cannot break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle. There they remain trapped for eternity. On the night of the Endless Moon, the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and so be reunited with his lovers, Perchta, who has been banished to the underworld. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to alter the mortal realm forever. Serilda and Gild have no choice but to thwart his plans, all the while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name and freeing all the ghosts kept in servitude to the dark ones. As the evil forces gather, it seems only their love is strong enough to sustain them. This book is a young adult fantasy.
This series has been difficult. The world building wasn’t there and there wasn’t much character building expect that Serilda is a storyteller and she’s trying to save her boyfriend and she’s pregnant and protecting kids. I think I also struggled with this book as I didn’t understand all the God analogy of it. Serilda was a damsel in distress that was trying to save herself but just couldn’t and then rejected help and is still wanting to save herself but won’t leave Gild. Erikling’s got some back story in this, but I would have loved to have fallen for villain in this book rather than the MCs. Gild’s sister sort of saved this book and I would have loved for her to be the hero and then had to be getting the sunlight. I hated how it ended and I don’t think Serilda deserved the happy ending for being a mischievous liar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Marissa Meyer’s “Cursed” continues the spooky Rumpelstiltskin retelling she began with “Gilded.”
As fun and spooky as the book is, it’s extremely repetitive. Serilda constantly reminds us that she has to go along with the lie about carrying the child of the villainous Erlking to protect the spirits of the five ghost children that she feels responsible for. She also constantly reminds us that she can’t tell Gild the truth that the baby is his, while mentioning over and over that she has to come up with a plan to free the ghost children, return Gild to his human body, herself to her human body, and escape with her baby. The reader didn’t need so many blatant reminders to know what the stakes were.
Aside from that, I did enjoy “Cursed” and thought it was a satisfying end to Meyer’s duology.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, and Murder
mdeck24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Pregnancy
halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition
I was reminded how heartbroken the first book left me and felt it going further downhill starting this title. Honestly, I am not trying to read any books that will further upset me and am throwing in the towel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
trulyhopelessromantic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, War, Blood, Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, Gore, and Violence
indieandajean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I've been patiently waiting to borrow the audiobook of Cursed for months on Libby and let me just start by saying it was well worth the wait.
Marissa Meyer continues to have the perfect stranglehold on romance tropes that make my heart race. Someone give this woman a medal, seriously.
The pacing of this one was a bit too fast at times and a touch too slow at others and the new conflicts at every turn didn't offer much breathing room for Serilda and Gild's relationship which is my favorite element of the duology. I wish this book had some more moments of them talking and just being together to ease the conflict a bit.
Overall the HEA feels earned and the story was great, but this is the weaker book in the duology in my opinion.
Marissa Meyer continues to have the perfect stranglehold on romance tropes that make my heart race. Someone give this woman a medal, seriously.
The pacing of this one was a bit too fast at times and a touch too slow at others and the new conflicts at every turn didn't offer much breathing room for Serilda and Gild's relationship which is my favorite element of the duology. I wish this book had some more moments of them talking and just being together to ease the conflict a bit.
Overall the HEA feels earned and the story was great, but this is the weaker book in the duology in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Dysphoria, Infertility, and Pregnancy
edie_maeve's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING. I loved this book! Marissa's writing is beautiful! Possibly one of the best book series I've ever read!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
hanneke22's review
dark
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? Yes
3.0
Overall a bit of an underwhelming experience.
I couldn’t for the life of me remember the plot in Gilded, so I actually re-read that one and I flew through it and I loved it all over again. I was soooo ready for Cursed!
But it all just fell a bit flat. There was a ton of more (!) worldbuilding. And sometimes it felt MM set thing up in Gilded that didn’t work for this plot, so some loophole had to be inserted.
This book had quite a bit more horror elements to it.
I guess my main beef with this one is this: why such a build up (with so many ideas and plans that failed) with such an underwhelming battle and rushed finish?
It could have been so much more 🥲
3 ⭐️
I couldn’t for the life of me remember the plot in Gilded, so I actually re-read that one and I flew through it and I loved it all over again. I was soooo ready for Cursed!
But it all just fell a bit flat. There was a ton of more (!) worldbuilding. And sometimes it felt MM set thing up in Gilded that didn’t work for this plot, so some loophole had to be inserted.
This book had quite a bit more horror elements to it.
I guess my main beef with this one is this: why such a build up (with so many ideas and plans that failed) with such an underwhelming battle and rushed finish?
It could have been so much more 🥲
3 ⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, and Gore
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I liked this one much more than Gilded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
Moderate: Torture and Confinement
Minor: Infertility
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Most of my reading experience was *almost* as good as the first book. The main thing that made me drop the rating is the gender neutral 'gods' went from just showing up in reference to being actual supposedly gender neutral characters. I did also (trying to put this vaguely to be spoiler free) found parts of the ending to be emotional, and not in the good way, but in a stressful way that pulled me out of the story and made me resent story choices the author made.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual content