The Curse of Saints: The Spellbinding No 2 Sunday Times Bestseller

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Aidon was a new character that arrived in Part II, and while I liked the change of scenery he brought, I didn’t think he was ever a viable love interest. I did like the scheming that took place in his kingdom though. In The Curse of Saints, the first in a trilogy from debut author Kate Dramis, we are introduced to a kingdom rife with the power of Visya’s; individuals who are blessed with affinities of raw, god-like magic. Visya powers fall under any three categories: Physical Affinities, Elemental Affinities, and Mind, Emotion & Sensation Affinities. Our protagonist, Aya, falls under the last, possessing the power of persuasion. These powers, however, have been bound to never grow strong enough to challenge the Nine Divine, the realm’s gods. In a nearby kingdom, there are rumours of a dark magic arising, threatening to reach Aya’s home. It is this dark magic that sets the plot of the book into motion, where Aya, the Queen’s Spymaster, is forced to investigate this threat alongside her rival Will, the Queen’s Enforcer and Second. It is on this journey that Aya discovers that her affinity is one that spills over the bounds that restrict the Visya, placing her at risk of becoming a weapon in a war she does not know how to win, or might not necessarily want to. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, this was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I'm so happy I got to read it early! I started following the author almost a year ago and was really excited to read this book, and it didn't disappoint but it also didn't completely give exactly what I was expecting.

As Spymaster to the Queen, Aya's blood oath ensures she protects those she fights alongside - including Will, the Queen's Enforcer and Aya's bitter rival. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also wasn't convinced by the whole enemies to lovers thing because the characters are supposed to be allies; they work together and have to protect the kingdom together, and besides some little stuff that happened in their childhoods, they didn't really have a valid reason to hate each other. I saw them as rivals who didn't really like each other (at least from Aya's pov) but they are supposed to be be working together for years now so..... I also didn't really feel any chemistry between them besides Aya saying that Will had "a darkness that answered to her own" and Will calling her "Aya, Love." Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.I was hooked from the very first chapter. Fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout are bound to fall in love with this fast-paced romantic fantasy' 5***** READER REVIEW For instance, we spend some time in the first part of the novel learning that Visya’s have wolf companions that are bonded to them, something that is historically sacred within the religion that rules the realm. We even learn the names of both Aya’s and Will’s bonded wolves, only to never hear of them again. I do hope this is an element that is explored further in the rest of the series as it could definitely result in an intriguing layer to the story, because honestly – who doesn’t love an animal companion? The book opens with Aya throwing her slight weight around, so it initially seemed like she would be the usual tiny but fierce FMC. However, the reader soon learns that Aya is more apt to process information and respond accordingly. and aidon? he just felt coincidental. like the story happened to him rather than him happening to the story. it felt as though he kind of stumbled into a production that was already finished but he insisted on being involved. much like the love triangle trope in here which felt so extraneous.

The writing itself also posed a concern. It was clunky and dialogue was often unnatural. Will’s constant teasing tones of, “Aya, love,” never come across believably. The queen and other noble characters’ overly proper ways of speaking also are written so stilted and awkwardly that they feel alien. This needed so much more work to hit fluidity consistently and, like with the world building, it just seems that a lot of this was neglected on the premise that the gist of the plot and a few snappy TikToks about the tropes in the book could sell copies without any of the effort to transform this into an actually well-written story via the editing process.I was pretty convinced by the setup that I knew everything that would happen. And while it did follow a familiar path, the journey was wonderful. There is so much incredible depth and character growth that most of the characters we meet at the beginning barely resemble those we know in the end. The ending was interesting. I liked the spice addition to it and the confessions that came. The epilogue was okay-ish, idk what to make of it yet. The Curse of Saints is built on the foundations of what could have been a solid fantasy novel – a complex magic system, warring kingdoms, vague prophecies and morally grey characters. So, it is a shame that the novel ultimately fails to deliver. The book becomes overwhelmed with all of the fantastical elements it tries to accomplish, slightly skimming the surface but never exploring deep enough into the elements to have a substantial impact. The world-building, in turn, felt incredibly rushed, and so I felt very little connection to the kingdom or the characters. As Spymaster to the Queen, Aya's blood oath ensures she protect those she fights alongside - including Will, the Queen's Enforcer and Aya's bitter rival.

Perfect for enemies to lovers fans . . . with a vast detailed world Frances White, author of Voyage of the Damned This is where we always end up, isn’t it, Aya love,’ he breathed. ‘You with a knife to my throat.’ He kept still, his knife hanging by his side. ‘Kill me, or get out.’ His command was soft and vicious.” The fantasy genre is so competitive and The Curse of Saints is not quite a standout with cliche characters and plot but book 1 builds some foundation to allow the next 2 books to make it better.

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This was one of my highly anticipated reads and I wanted so much to love it with the fire of a thousand burning suns. But I just ended up having mediocre feelings at best. And really, I've forgotten most of what I read after putting finishing this on hold for a few days. Look, I don't expect books to be perfect. But this one didn't have enough good things to balance out the things I wasn't a fan of. There are so many things listed about this book that I vibe with. All of the tropes--fantasy romance, hate to love, interesting magic system, political intrigue...but the execution just didn't do it for me. I still think there is an audience for The Curse of Saints. I would recommend it as a good starter YA Romantasy to a mid/older teen who's getting into reading. The ending felt so hopeful. Aya and Will may not be heading off to a happy ending, but they’re together, they’re being honest with each other, and they’re ready to take it all on. But that epilogue. It hit me right in the gut and left me spiralling. It's genuinely been a long time since I've been so disengaged from a book, but I just realised that I literally don't care what happens. I don't care about the characters, I don't care about the plot, and I barely understand the world.

SJM repeatedly uses certain turns of phrase that also kept popping up in this novel, including but not limited to “fighting leathers,” “rubbing soothing circles,” and “sketched a bow.” The world building was original and expertly done, and I had a clear view of where the characters were the entire time. But when Aya's power acts beyond her gods-given affinity, she risks being turned into a weapon in a war she doesn't know how to win.

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Shortly after this, Aya and Will leave the country and the wolves are never thought of or spoken about again. This is baffling since they are sacred to their culture and supposedly bonded to these two, however they never spare a single thought for them once they move on. This was an example of a very random world building choice that was never cohesively woven into the narrative as a whole and was therefore never executed properly. there was nothing but uncompromising will in his face. 'then i’ll go over it with you. to the seven hells themselves, if we must. no matter how far the fall.'” I’m extremely disappointed because this sounded like exactly my cup of tea: a rivals to lovers romantasy with fiery passion, the likes of which birthed the quote, “I wanted you so badly that I thought I might set this whole godsforsaken world on fire just to have you." This all probably sounds like I didn't like the book but I truly did!! It's a really good debut novel, I loved following the author's journey and I'm so happy her book is getting published. It's just that, like I said, I've been waiting for this book for a while and had certain expectations. I guess it's just easier to sell an enemies to lovers book so that's what most of the promo focused on. I will probably re-read it when it comes out and this little feeling of disappointment has washed away and I'm sure I will love it for exactly what it is.