This was a compelling read.
The worldbuilding was seamless.
I'm not as interested in romance so that aspect was less fun for me but the book was so good I didn't notice too much.
The dialogue in particular is arrestingly good.

Wow! This book was such a fun read. I loved the world building, it had lots of interesting history. I always enjoy when books have multiple character's point of view because I feel like it just adds richness and depth to a book.

You know when you just vibe with an author's debut work? Yep, this is that book! We had some fab trope choices in the works and I genuinely enjoyed the flow! It may help that I was fully immersed as I audioed this alongside the physical copy - then I got my sub box copy, I felt pretty pleased with myself!

I enjoyed the banter and tension that was woven throughout and I think the way its been written makes me intrigued to see where our characters will be taken next. I hope they will be more developed into the next instalment and I look forward to a further fleshing of the world building, but for me it was a solid start to what I feel will be a great story!

The curse of Saints had a strong start, drawing you straight into the action with strong characters that felt very vibrant and real. There are spies, political intrigue, magic and an enemies to lovers love triangle.


I’m intrigued as to where this trilogy is going…especially after that ending!

2 ⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Penguin Randomhouse and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

Ooof.

Not a good read for me. I almost always give a minimum of 3 stars as there is almost always something I like, that maybe world building isn’t strong but the characterisation is really good. But for me this book failed in both of those respects.

The plot and world building was thin on the ground, I was not invested at all. The characters as well were just flat and quite cringey tbh.

This was also very YA for me, and not in a good way.

I requested this on NetGalley on a whim because the plot sounded so interesting and I hadn’t heard anyone talk about it.

This is a fantasy novel following Aya who is a spymaster for the Queen and fights alongside her enemy Will. Her blood oath means she has sworn to protect them along with everyone else in the realm but when Aya’s powers, bestowed by the Gods, begin to strengthen and act beyond what they should everything about her is brought into question. If that wasn’t enough, she finds herself being drawn more and more towards Will.

That was a bare bones synopsis, this plot has a lot of layers to it and the author has made this a really intricate fantasy novel. This was definitely a strong debut and this author has a lot of potential; her writing is perfect for fantasy and she builds up a really good picture of the settings these characters find themselves in. There were some intriguing twists and I was genuinely interested in the story. From what I’ve heard of TOG it definitely has those vibes. The plot was very heavy with political intrigue and negotiations between lands which I enjoyed too. The love triangle was done well in my opinion as well, Aya could have ended up with either of them. Although I think it’s clear where her heart is.

My issue is that I think this author was trying to do too much with this. For example, the whole thing with the bonded wolves. What was the point? We barely saw them and they weren’t utilised at all. If they’re meant to play a role in the next book then perhaps we should have been introduced to them later in the plot because they just felt forgotten about. The book mainly feels like setup for the next book which is fine if the world building is done well. I’m still confused about what makes the Visya non-human apart from having magic. I feel like we could have delved into the Gods more and a lot of abilities were talked about that weren’t even shown.

If you enjoy The Chosen One trope, enemies to lovers, a love triangle and slow burn, plot and political heavy fantasy then you will probably love this. I did have a good time with it overall and would definitely be interested to see where this goes in the next book. This is a really great debut! Thank you to Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House for this ARC, you can purchase the book now as it was released on 11th May 2023.

I absolutely loved this book. It was gripping with loads of my favourite tropes included, the storyline was fantastic and I loved the characters. Would definitely recommend.

Well done, intriguing characters and world building, a tightly knitted plot with elements of mystery
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher, all opinions are mine

This book has all of the elements of a good romantasy: enemies-to-lovers, a chosen one, a religious war brewing, and plenty of political machinations and court intrigue. It reads very easily and I sat down and read half the book in one sitting, so it was obviously doing something right. However, it didn't feel like it was doing anything particularly exciting and new with the genre. In places it even felt like a complete re-working of a specific part of ACOMAF by Sarah J Maas. I did enjoy reading The Curse of Saints, I appreciated it not ending on a cliffhanger, and romantasy fans will enjoy so if people want more of the same thrills then it's a good option, I would just like to see something a bit different in future.

Amazing. A brilliant tale for anyone who loves Sarah J Mass. The ending was so intriguing that I immediately need book two!!

Key notes:

Multi POV
Romantasy Slow-burner
A new fantasy world, obvs with a map
So many new words that there's a glossary
Wolves
LGBTQIA+ representation

I love the mysterious element, there's so much that's hidden, both character and plot wise, with tidbits revealed a step at a time.

I live this book so much despite the brutal cliffhanger that it tends to have. Hands down, one of the best fantasy I have had the pleasure of reading, this year!! Overall, I loved it.

This book really, really fell flat for me. Nothing about it captured my attention and I kept getting distracted. It just didn't feel that much to set it apart from the other fantasy novels that are out at the moment. I was interested in the whole idea of what makes a saint and whether her power was coming from the right place, but not enough to hold up the whole novel.

I also didn't get the point of having magic bonded wolves in the novel but only showing them for such a brief time! If you're character is magically bonded to the wolf, I want the wolf around all the time and to really explore the relationship with them. What is the point of the bond otherwise??

The author also had the habit of changing the viewpoint character in the middle of the scene with no scene break to indicate that it's changed. A couple of times, which I'm really hoping are mistakes, they didn't even change paragraphs between characters. It was really disconcerting to read.

I wish I could have given it a more favourable review, but I did not enjoy the book.

☆☆☆☆
It did take me a good while to get into The Curse of Saints - I'm usually a pretty speedy reader but it took me the better part of a month to read this one.

But when I got to about 60% I finished in a few hours!

I really enjoyed Will and Aya's romance as well as the love triangle elements - although I was rooting for Will all along 😚

I did get a bit lost at times with the world building but overall I did enjoy the read and am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series - the cliffhanger has absolutely got me wanting more.

Thank you so much to Kate Dramis, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This had all the individual pieces I usually love in a fantasy but they just weren’t working too well together for me. A few of the worldbuilding details fell apart and it felt like it was written at some points with the romance tropes in mind first, like it needed weaving together a little more. I’d recommend giving it a go if you really love rivals to lovers (are they enemies? I guess? the vibes felt more fantasy rivals) but the actual fantasy plot isn’t nearly as strong as the romance. Overall, there was a lot of heavy worldbuilding that became quite confusing juxtaposed with a trope-heavy romance, making it feel like the actual book wasn’t sure whether it wanted to be more fantasy or more romance.

The Curse of Saints
The Curse of Saints #1
Scif-Fi & Fantasy
Kate Dramis
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The premise and the synopsis if this book had me requesting this ARC immediately, and I couldn't wait to read it.

The enemies to lovers trope was a little underwhelming for me. I didn't feel like Aya and Will were even enemies to begin with and their "romance" seemed rushed.

The magic system was interesting and there was a lot of world building.

Sometimes the plot was a little confusing and there were quite a few info dumps, which I don't like. The plot itself took some time to actually get going.

If you enjoy reading books that are a slow burn the whole way through, then you'd like this book.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

I LOVED The Curse of Saints!!! I wish I could reread it for the first time and, at the same time, I can’t wait for the sequel to come out, because I really need to know what happens next. There is political and religious intrigue, a perfect slow-burn romance, there is magic, gods, and spies, a cast of fantastic morally gray characters that come to life under the author’s addictive writing style.

The story is told from the point of view of the two protagonists (with a third added in the middle of the narrative). Aya has the affinity of persuasion and she is the Spymaster of the Queen, one of the three members of her inner circle. One of the other members is Will, the Queen’s Enforcer, and Aya’s rival, ever since their training days together. They have both taken a blood oath to protect the Queen and the kingdom and, when rumours of dark magic arise and the threat of a war looms near, the two of them have no choice but to team up and investigate. And when Aya unleashes a power predicted in ancient times, Will may be the only one who can help her figure out the truth.

My favourite parts of the story were every time Aya and Will interacted with each other (which, thankfully, were most of the book). Seriously, these two characters together were incredible! The tension, the attraction to each other, their witty exchanges were too much to handle sometimes (I mean, “I would’ve let the entire world burn for you”). Because of their past, she doesn’t trust him and his broody mood doesn’t make things any easier, but sparkle flies and their chemistry is off the charts.

The Curse of Saints is an incredible debut and the first book in a fantasy trilogy. If the romance is not enough to entice you to read it, there is an intriguing world building of magic and gods, a cast of well-developed and authentic characters, a badass heroine, a complex hero with a few secrets, a few unexpected twists, and an ending that leaves you wanting for more!

I have not been hooked by a book so swiftly than I was with The Curse of Saints. I found this to be a great debut and cannot wait for the series (new fantasy trilogy) to continue. A new fantasy world, history, prophecy, rival kingdoms, power, magic, political intrigue, and romance. The powers, or ‘affinities’, were intriguing, the world building excellent, and, while they were flawed, I found myself caught up and invested in Aya and Will throughout. There was definitely scope for a little more character and plot depth, but overall, I thought this was an excellent fantasy romance-adventure, a book to whisk your imagination away from the real world. Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for a copy in return for an honest review.

Same old, same old. While decently written, it doesn't yield anything new in the way of fantasy. The romantic storyline isn't anything that we haven't already seen many, many times over, and the rest of it wasn't original enough to sustain investment. Overall, a relatively indifferent read.

So I think I enjoyed this book moreso because it was the first book in a while that really drew me in. There's nothing like picking up a book and feeling relief when you can tell its one that you will sink into. However, this book does have its flaws. The romance is a slow-burn but the whole resoning behind the "hate" isnt well discussed. There is sort of a love triangle but it quickly goes nowhere (a good or bad thing depending on the reader). The plot was quite confusing, so much so that I still don't really know what happened in the end? But I still am intrigued enough to pick up the next book. Also, the fact I left this review for a few days so I can ponder on my thoughts but have already forgotten the plotline just shows how flat the writing is. For example, Aya goes on a very dangerous mission that no one survives, but she breezes through it in 10 or so pages.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It contained almost everything I love, exquisite world building, brilliantly brought to life characters, peak enemies to lovers romance and plenty of twists and turns to keep us guessing. I feel like it's a hard book to sum up without giving away spoilers, so I'm just going to jump straight into my review.

The Curse of Saints is told from three POV's; Aya, a Spymaster and one of the most powerful Visya (someone who can use magic) in the Country. She is someone who carries a weight around with her, something that drags her down, makes her feel unworthy and never truly allows her to reach her full potential. Deadly, filled with snark and definitely more likely to kick ass first, ask questions later, she is a character that I instantly bonded with.

Will is another Visya, though his magic is different to Aya's. These two have been arch nemesis's ever since they were children and they carry a lot of baggage between them. Will is someone that, despite getting his POV, we're never sure if we can truly trust. He's broken in so many ways, and puts on a facade that he thinks will keep the people he loves safe and similarly to Aya is not afraid of a fight or a little snark.

Our final POV is that of Aidon, the Prince of a neighbouring Kingdom. His POV doesn't crop up for the first bit of the book, but it is so pivotal to the overall story. Aidon is someone who will get the crown thanks to his birthright, but he doesn't want to rule, not truly. He is someone who has a complicated relationship with the people he loves, and another character that we spend a good portion of the book wondering if we can trust. Alongside these, Dramis gives us a well built cast of side characters who I adored, especially Tova, the third member of the Queen court and Josie, Aidon's sister. Every single character has a part to play in this story and Dramis does a fantastic job of keeping us on our toes, wondering who is truly a friend and who is an enemy.

Aya and Will come from the Kingdom of Tala, a place where the old God's are still revered and where those who can use their powers, Visya, are seen as almost holy. Dramis does a brilliant job of bringing her world of life, giving us the perfect amount of history and knowledge to feel in the know, and I loved learning about every single bit, but especially the different types of Visya and what their powers could do. There were more elemental types who could affect, fire or water or earth as well as those like Aya and Will whose powers had control over the mind, rather than an element. Everything was developed incredibly well, without any info dumps, and Dramis gave us just enough foreshadowing the ensure we hit ourselves for not seeing the big twist coming.

Speaking of twists, Dramis gives them to us in folds throughout this story, but they are all perfectly placed as well as foreshadowed. Her writing style was lush & descriptive and instantly envelops you into the story. I especially enjoyed the parts of the story were we got to see the Visya powers in full force, be it in training or in battle. Also, if you're a lover of a good animal sidekick this book has wolves! Though they do play a small part in the overall story & I would have liked to see them a little more. I would definitely call this a fantasy romance, but it's one of the few I've read where the author actually gives as much attention to the fantasy part as they do to the romance, and like I mentioned about we get a wide depth of world building, along side the wondrously slow burn, enemies to lovers romance Dramis treats us to.

And now for the romance... it was absolute peak enemies to lovers, these characters hated each other, but also had the knowledge of how to truly hurt one another that only comes with spending as much time together as they did. It was filled with drama, wondrously slow burn and definitely a little spicy in parts and I lived for every single second. If you're a fan to enemies to lovers where one character would burn the world to the ground to save the other, then this is 100% the book for you. There was a slight love triangle, but if I'm being honest, there was only going to ever be one winner, so it never truly bothered me, in fact it added a little more tension to the scenes between our two characters which I adored. Their story was filled with snark, mutual trauma and as much as they threatened to kill each other, they both had more in common than they realised.

I well and truly adored this book! Dramis ends the story so incredibly well. I wouldn't say it was a true, OMG I can't believe you ended it there, cliffhanger, but there was still plenty more to be developed and plenty of plot lines that hadn't been tied up, and that epilogue... that epilogue nearly killed me. Safe to say I will be begging for a copy of book two as soon as I can get my grabby hands on it.