Reviews

Cursed by Marissa Meyer

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audrey_ung's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

analia_arri's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition

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3.0

In this second book of the Gilded duology, Serilda and Gild are both trapped in the Erlking's castle. Serilda is forced into a sham marriage with the Erlking, so that he can claim her child as his own. Gild knows that if he could just remember his true name and find his body, they would be able to free themselves of their curse, but none of their plans against the Erlking succeed. He is too wily and too powerful. Serilda tries everything she can think of to find a weakness in the Erlking, some way to trick him or defeat him. But at every turn, he laughs in their faces and continues to terrorize humans, ghosts, and every magical creature in the realm.

This second book is just as ghoulish and brutal as the first book. Just about every side character is dead at this point, so there weren't many people left for the Erlking to kill, but he keeps things horrific by torturing the ghosts of those who are already dead. There is a big battle against some magical folk, and plenty of them die gruesome deaths.

The lesbian couple who were flirting in the first book get married in this book. And there is a legend of a prince and a peasant who have a gay marriage, and rule a kingdom as two kings.

I liked the main romance better in this book, since Serilda does not spend so much time overthinking every little aspect of their relationship. Serilda and Gild grow a lot closer on an emotional level in this book, which I enjoyed. I liked that the focus was more on their emotional connection rather than just their physical attraction.

They also have some good character development. In the first book, Gild is just a mischievous prince, playing pranks on the Erlking. By the end of their story, Gild is ready to protect his family and sacrifice his own life in order to secure the safety of others. Serilda is full of fears and doubts in the beginning, but she gains courage and discovers that there is something worth fighting for.

However, I did get tired of the way the narrative constantly retells the motivations of the characters. We already know that this character wants that thing, but can't tell anyone because of this secret reason. You didn't need to tell me three times.

The middle of the book gets really slow. They just keep trying this and that to defeat the Erlking and their plans always fail. By the time the ending came around with a new plan to defeat the Erlking, I was just ready to be done. I couldn't even appreciate the clever ending, because it just felt like another plan like all the other plans that slowed down the plot in the middle.

The writing style itself is really good, but the structure of the book could have been condensed. This duology should have been a stand-alone.

angleon13's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

catie_cat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jadekay02's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cee_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I always love Marissa Meyers books and Cursed didn't disappoint. It fully brings together all plot point which was satisfying. I found parts of the ending not super satisfying but that's just me. The actual ending fits with the over arching story very well.

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