A review by anna4
The Curse of Sins by Kate Dramis

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Not counting the prologue, Curse of Sins picks up right where Curse of Saints left off. 

Due to my own stupidity, I accidentally spoiled myself with what happens on the last 20, maybe 30 pages, and I was somewhat worried that it wouldn’t have the effect on me that the author intended. Which yes, but also, no. It affected me even though I knew what was coming.

Don’t be like me. You don’t want to know what happens until it actually happens.

Compared to book one, this sequel had way more monologues from pretty much everyone who had their own pov. Which was nice, because we got a more in depth view in their minds.

Yet it also felt a bit too much at times, because those monologues might feel repetitive to a certain point. 

Especially when those feelings, thoughts and doubts often enough boil down to the same issue the character in question was facing from the beginning of the book/series. 

And it’s not like I can’t understand those emotions, it’s just from a reader pov you’re like ‘ok I think I got it now’.

One might argue that those parts could have been shortened or felt dragged out and I am inclined to agree.

I loved Aidon + Josie in Curse of Saints and was very happy to see that they played not only a bigger role, but we also got to see frequently through their povs what was happening in their lives and in Trahir, especially after the events in Curse of Saints. 

But I love them even more now!

An arguably important part of the book was Tova and her relationship with Aya. I would have loved to read some of their conversations through Tova’s pov, so we can understand her own frustration and general emotions better.

We were also (re)introduced to (some new) characters not only around Aya and Will, but also Aidon and Josie and I am very interested to see how these new relationships will develop in the next book.

Some of the cursing felt a bit off, and it’s not like I am against dropping the f-bomb or a curse in general (one might argue I am actually the opposite of being against it), but there were some moments where it did feel almost forced and not really necessary to convey whatever frustration the character was feeling. 

This is also something that I felt during Curse of Saints, but can easily look past.

I also felt like some of the revelations came way too quickly to Aya and Will. How are you not able to connect the dots and see through all of the issues and yet here you are suddenly understanding everything without a second thought?

With how Curse of Sins ended, I am VERY excited to read the next book and hope to explore even more of the world! I would also really love to read from some more characters point of view.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

read in: May 2024