A review by danni_readss
Of the Curse or the Crown by V.B. Lacey

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

V.B. Lacey does it again. An EASY 5 ⭐️ from beginning to end. I couldn’t stop reading; it was a page turner, and the only thing keeping me from reading it in one sitting was my lack of sleep. 

“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘥”

There were so many layers to this novel, and I loved that it could stand as a standalone even with it being the second book The Veridian Empire series. Shoutout to the Shrek, ‘onions have layers’ reference in ch. 68! I LOVE Clarissa and Throne soooo damn much. V.B. Lacey does no spice romance perfectly - there is no one that does it like her 🥹 Ch. 39 has my whole heart 🥺🥺🥺

“𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦”

Clarissa has risen to be one of my fave FMC’s. She’s resilient and strong throughout, staying true to herself and her beliefs. Her character growth is phenomenal and her honesty, loyalty, and perseverance is so commendable. 

With this novel being a twisted blend of King Midas with a plethora of princess diaries references throughout (most esp ch 41, “𝘢𝘯 [𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴]  𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺”. Lacey drew out a wide array of emotions from me as a reader, and for that I am truly grateful. I highly HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys:

👑 forbidden love

🦊 shifters

👑 princess diaries x king midas

🦊 no spice, swoonworthy romance

👑 meddling Fates

🦊 stuck in a cave 

👑 wittiest of banters

🦊 mental health rep

👑 curse breaking