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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
- Finally we get Roxi’s and Memnon’s origin story. This book could easily be a book all by itself but the fact that it’s then tied to a present day urban fantasy? This series is something else.
- I loved the setting of Ancient Rome. The clothes, the weapons, the battles, the gods… all with a twist of magic and fantasy. If you didn’t love Memnon before this book I don’t know how you can’t love him here. It really makes the betrayal of their past life together hit harder.
- Spice is peppered throughout the book and it makes for a fun, light hearted break between the very serious and usually deadly scenes. It balances the bloodshed with love and levity.
- Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Because of how much I love The Bargainer series— and I know what Laura Thalassa is capable of— I continue reading her books hoping to see her replicate that magic once more. Sadly, she has yet to do so. While we do get to see Roxilana and Memnon start as friends, their interactions after meeting-in-person/marrying fall either into 1) sex or 2) midst of a battlefield, squandering all the potential at her fingertips for a truly developed relationship.
Further, there are a number of scenes in this book we’ve already read in the previous book, including the entire ending of this book. This series is my least favorite of all her books, and I am losing hope she’ll ever write another series like The Bargainer.
Further, there are a number of scenes in this book we’ve already read in the previous book, including the entire ending of this book. This series is my least favorite of all her books, and I am losing hope she’ll ever write another series like The Bargainer.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Ms. Thalassa does it again. I loved being able to go back and experience the love story between Roxi and Memnon. It was heartbreakingly short.
adventurous
emotional
medium-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:
N/A
I recommend reading in order of publication, Bewitched, Bespelled and then The Curse That Binds.
I think this is my favorite book Thalassa has ever written, she gives a beautiful backstory to Memnon and Roxilana and even though I knew how the story would end, it didn’t make it any less heart breaking.
I’m going from The Curse That Binds straight into a re-read of Bewitched and Bespelled because I love their story so much
I think this is my favorite book Thalassa has ever written, she gives a beautiful backstory to Memnon and Roxilana and even though I knew how the story would end, it didn’t make it any less heart breaking.
I’m going from The Curse That Binds straight into a re-read of Bewitched and Bespelled because I love their story so much
adventurous
emotional
medium-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:
No
Amazing story! Complex characters! Beautiful and intense romance! Perfect really!
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The prequel to the Bewitched series unveiling the life of Roxilana and Memnon all those years ago before Roxilana became Selene. Set around 50AD, Roxilana has lost her family but has gained a mysterious voice in her head, one that keeps her steady in her dismal life being abused by her guardian. When Roxilana is forced to marry, the comforting voice in her head is finally made corporeal as she meets Memnon who sweeps her away from her wedding to another and becomes her husband. Roxilana is now queen and has much to learn about ruling and the threats to their people, as well as understanding her own magic.
I absolutely love the Bewitched series and I think Selene is a fantastic character. I wasn't quite sure what I would think of Roxilana - she starts off quite timid but definitely undergoes some interesting character development. She's a little conflicting at times because at first she has a real distaste for the violence Memnon shows, but she grows to accept it and then even partakes in it. I did prefer her when she disagreed with the violence, I think because that aspect of her character feels more fitting with Selene, whom I do ultimately prefer.
The setting was vastly different to Bewitched and actually this book could easily be read on its own. Set in the time of the Roman Empire, there is a lot of fighting and much less focus on magic compared to Bewitched, though we do see Rox and Memnon wield it. It doesn't have that magical, atmospherical feeling that Bewitched does, but fundamentally, it's supposed to be very different in setting and tone compared to Bewitched because it's a different story, but one that does have connection to Bewitched.
I absolutely loved Rox and Memnon getting to know each other and I think my favourite part of this book was the beginning when they are conversing in their minds. It was so sweet to see them grow as friends and then into something more, always being made for the other and so neither has taken another partner (which you don't often see - both characters being intimate for the first time together). I actually would have liked more of seeing them together after they marry because I felt like the story then drifted more to the political side of things as Rox takes over as queen, so we saw a little less of their relationship and romance together.
That being said, this story focuses on Rox and Memnon's relationship during a time of constant war, but it also takes time to explore some more solemn themes like grief and miscarriage which was very well done and good to see in a fantasy book as you rarely see something like this represented in this setting.
I enjoyed seeing how Memnon got cursed and Rox's part in it, leading up to Bewitched in the present day and how Selene came to be. Not my favourite book of the series, but it was a welcome addition to the Bewitched series and definitely fun to read!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What to say about this one. First, I've been buddy reading this series with Destiny. This is book 2.5 in the Bewitched series by Laura Thalassa. It was meant to be a novella, but the author said the story just got away from her and it ended up being a full-length novel. I wanted this one to work for me but sadly it didn't. I was sucked in from the very beginning and I was having a good time with it but then when Memnon and Roxi are finally together things slowed down a lot and this is where it went downhill for me. We were literally just following their day to day which got boring fast and there were some instances where things got a bit repetitive. Not to mention pretty much all of the characters really got on my nerves at some point. And some characters even made me angry at times and then other characters were stupid when it comes to said character. I also felt like Memnon used sex to get what he wanted from Roxi, and she was just always going along with whatever he wanted even if she didn't agree with it. In the end things started to pick up again but I pretty sure we got all of that information in one of the previous books. I admit that my slump made things worse for me where this book is concerned. Like yeah things were annoying me but I don't think they would have annoyed me this much if I wasn't in a slump. I do still plan to read the final book in this series when it's released. Lastly, I definitely think you should read this after reading the first two books. I think the author says you can read this one first but if you're anything like me if you read this one first you will not believe these characters actually fall in love with each other. Because I read the first two books, I was able to believe it in this one even though the author didn't do the best getting that across in the beginning.