This is book 1 in the Blood and Curses series. The book follows Bridget Adam’s a human stuck in the Fae world. She has no memories of her past. Bridget is given a chance to return to the human world but must first compete in a tournament to marry the Fae Prince. The more Bridget learns the more things don’t appear as they seem.

Overall this book was an enjoyable read. The characters were enjoyable and I liked the storyline.

If I am honest the book read a little too YA for me. The book doesn’t contain any spice but there is an enjoyable romance. However this may be a me issue and doesn’t take away from this being a decent read.

Oh my God this book was simply amazing I enjoyed it so much! I have never read a book that had the fantasy world and the real world. Kinda gave me "Once upon a time" vibes. To me the MMC gives "I will burn this world for you" vibes and is so sweet and perfect. Our FMC is definitely a closet bad ass I feel like there is a lot of character growth going on for her in this book that I feel like we will continue to see hopefully in book 2 which I will be on the look out for! The story/ plot was amazing everything flowed perfectly there wasn't a dull moment. I can not wait for book 2 so I can find out more of what happens with these two amazing characters Bridget and Cade! Thank you so much for the author allowing me to read this arc I hope I will get the privilege again with book 2!!

Tropes:
Curses
Multiple Worlds
Lost Memories
Re-falling in love
Fae and Human
Destines Prince
Competition for Prince's hand


WOW JUST WOW

I feel like it is so rare that I read a book that feels new and refreshing and let me tell you this was one of them. I feel like we have all read so many books in which there is a competition for the princes hand, Red Queen, The Selection, and so on. However this one was new a refreshing. The story line instantly grabbed me in with a main character who did not remember where she was from and was surrounded by witches. As the story progressed each new piece of information shocked and excited me. I quite literally saw none of the twists coming, and was eating it up each time they happened. I am usually not a fan when a fantasy book goes to the human world, however in this case I enjoyed it and it was done in a way where I did not mind stepping into NYC for a couple of chapters. I think that the over all story was new and intriguing. The world building, although it was smaller in this book (I do believe we will go to more places in the next), was done beautifully and I was able to envision every room the characters where in. The character development in the book was great as well. We really got to see the characters progress and have information revealed to us that led the character to become more complex and deep within the pages.

Overall I could not recommend this book enough. It is a great read for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy book that has curses, princes, faes, and multiple worlds. If you were a fan of Cruel Prince and The Selection I believe you will love this book!!!

Three and a half
Bridget is human but has spent the last seven months with a coven of Witches. What makes everything worse is the fact that she has no memory of her life before she arrived in the Fae kingdom and has clearly been abused by Cora the coven leader. This very quickly became a book featuring females in a tournament to become the bride of the Fae Prince which obviously has been done many times ! Bridget sees it as a way to escape but very quickly seems to fall for the Prince who clearly has secrets.
I think this would have been better if the story started a tiny bit earlier so the reader could understand the relationship between Bridget and Cora although I did like the way it's split into three parts. For the most part this felt YA and sadly something's did feel terribly obvious so not my perfect read although I do think many will enjoy this story.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This one was such a tough one for me to rate. I didn’t hate the book but I also really didn’t like it either.

PROS: I love how the author split up the book its three parts to get a better idea of some context and history. I thought that the pacing of the story was really good and enjoyed the ways the characters interacted.

CONS: The first 10-15% was such an info dump but not in a good way. I was incredibly confused and could not for the life of me picture how this world was supposed to look. I did not like any of the characters particularly and couldn’t connect to any of them so I wasn’t hooked. The MFC was so annoying and whiny I couldn’t stand her.

This book started off kind of slow. I actually put it down for a little bit. Then thought to give it another chance. Oh my I am glad I did. It is for sure a fantasy romance, and mystery. You will be trying to figure it out as you go through the book. Then things turn around and you are surprised. I am honored to get to read this book. I really liked it.

4.5
This book was good, it was in the third person which always takes me a bit to get used to but I loved it. This story is about Bridget who is in the fae realm and she has no memories she only knows her name and nothing else. She is in a witch coffin with the head witch Cora who is horrible to her

Cora wants Bridget to enter these trials, for her to marry the fae prince Cade because Cade is supposed to be this horrible person, that hates humans and witches.

I loved how the author does after, before, and now. It shows a glimpse of everything and slowly gets the pieces back together. Bridget is this strong FMC who never gives up and when everything is thrown at her she never stops. She is a badass

This book has zero spice, but it has everything from the trials to the fighting, to the magic system. The love story. I can't wait for Book 2.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to say: what a gorgeous cover!

This is more of a 2.5 for me, though I rounded up. I really, really thought I was going to enjoy this more by the description. I think too much information without context was given. In the beginning, I even thought maybe there was a first book I was missing?

There’s a mystery aspect to this book - Bridget is a human who has lost her memories so she is unsure of how exactly she ended up in the Fae world. But.. with an info dump, crucial information / context missing, I didn’t find myself intrigued and wanting to learn more… I just found myself thinking “why should I care?”

Over time, you get more glimpses but I think the pacing could’ve been a little better. I enjoyed the romance between Cade and Bridget and the action towards the end. Overall though, this one fell a bit flat for me. 🙁

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I enjoyed this read- I was instantly drawn to the mystery and characters. I do think this is more towards a young adult fantasy, if you’re looking h for a spicy read- you won’t find any of that here, but still a great read without it! I am glad this is going to be a series and am looking forward to the next book!

When I started the book it seemed like a common magical type story where a human gets stuck in another world and has no memory of it, BUT the moment chapter 3 ended, my curiosity skyrocketed tenfold making me feel like I judged it pretty early. There is so much to explore with so many questions in my mind. Now I have a feeling that this one will be very loved.

Bridget just can’t keep anything in for a long time, she blurts everything out at the first chance she gets and I really love her for that, like there is 0% chance of miscommunication in this case. My favourite is her and she lights up every scenario. The story is captivating and keeps me from wandering.

The writing, the plot, the characters and especially that damm cliffhanger were superb and I highly recommend reading it. I am very curious as to how and what happens next. With Fae, everything is so uncertain as they have so much hidden in a simple line which can explode in your face and just surprise you.

I really need book two now. I keep thinking about what’s happening and how Bridget is going to deal with it all. How Cade is going to react and everything will take place. Cade is the highlight of the book where he is a mystery yet he feels so familiar at every book and corner that I was able to relate to the story and see his pov without having his pov. Must read.

It’s a 4.5⭐️ for me.

This book came up completely short for me. I had higher expectations walking into this. Although it gave hunger games with magic elements, it was rather disappointing. The writer chose to write using third person at times that really threw me off. I’d give this a 2.5 stars, but I wouldn’t recommend to a friend or read again.

This book was amazing! The magic system was so well written and the plot was very well thought out! And the romance was perfect in this book! and it did not have any spice in it!

This story was fantastic. I liked how their was multiple realms and the human one is our realm. The fact that the main character couldn't remember anything from her previous life in the human realm so she doesn't even always know who to trust. I like how even though she is the only human in the tournament she tries whatever she can to win. Definitely can't wait to see where this story goes

Of Kindgoms and Curses is a YA romantasy and the first installment in the Blood and Curses series. It has magic, curses, a fae realm, insane plot twists, and a mind-blowing cliffhanger that will leave you anticipating the next book!

In this book, we follow Bridget, who is a human currently living in the fae realm of Elyria. All humans are placed under a curse when they cross over to Elyria, a curse that causes them memory loss. Bridget has no recollection of the past 7 months. And if things can't get any worse, she is forced to enter a tournament to win the hand of the prince. Bridget has no interest in winning (or even being part of this tournament), but she does see this as the perfect opportunity to escape from her captor. Her captor, however, has other motives. She needs Bridget to find the second gate to the human realm, for reasons unknown. Of course, Bridget falls in love along the way, and it just may cause her her life.

This book took me on quite the ride! It is exciting, it is engulfing, and all-around captivating! The tournaments had me on the edge of my seat and the plot-twists were unreal! The epilogue was short, however, it was exactly what we needed to keep us wanting more! 5 stars, hands down!

Thank you NetGalley, City Owl Press, and Amy Woodruff for this riveting ARC!

I received and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, wow, wow. This booooook. From the first page it had me hooked. Bridget was such a mystery. Then we meet the dark and dangerous Fae prince, Cade, but is he really a danger at all?

This was such an awesome melding of old world Fae and modern society. I loved the concept so much. Then you throw in a little of that Royal Games action and a whole lot of drama. UGH, YES.

This book wasn't spicy in the least, and could be labeled YA, but I really did enjoy it. The world-building was amazing, the concepts were well fleshed out. There wasn't a whole lot to be confused about, which can happen in a lot of fantasy books. But that CLIFFHANGER was brutal.

I want to say more, but I don't want to ruin the mystery. The why of Bridget being in Elyria. The how of her getting her memories back. The reason that Cade is interested in her, "the lowly human", during the games. Just trust me, you're going to want to read this one!!

I was so grateful to receive an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley!

This book takes place as a young woman who has lost memory of most of who she is, is forced into a fae tournament to win the prize of the Fae Prince’s bride. The story has a lot of unique development and plot lines, and a lot of “hmm” that keeps you guessing and interested in figuring out what’s going on. I do love how the author separated the book into sections and had unique characters. The flow at the beginning of the book takes a little bit to get into due to sentence and paragraph structure, but overall I really enjoyed this read and can’t wait to see what happens!

Thank You NetGalley and Amy Woodruff for this book

All I can say is wow this book was good, It has everything, from trails to an interesting magic system, to memory loss. and Forbidden love, This book is about a 21 year old girl named Bridget Adams, who is in the Fae realm and has completely forgetting her memories and only remembers the last 7 months of her life.
All I can say that this FMC is badass she never gives up it doesn't matter what is put on her she still tries to fight and makes sure that she can come out on top.

I love how the Author did a After, Before and Now, you slowly get to pick the pieces about what is happening in her life and how it is all coming together, I couldn't put this book down I had to find out what was going to happen to her and if she was going to get her memories back or somehow get out of the situation that she was in.

This book does end on a cliffhanger and if you are a type of person that can't handle that then maybe wait for book two to come out. It doesn't have any spice but you will not need it. If you are a spice girl like me, the plot makes up for it. I can't wait for book two and see what happens to this badass girl.

I loved the blend of our world mixed with the fae realms. I absolutely ate this book up. It was so much fun. The fmc was everything I look for in a good main character. The star crossed lovers trope is a favorite of mine and this did it so well.

✨ Review of Of Kingdoms and Curses✨

Thank you so much to @amywoodruffauthor and @bookofmatchesmedia and NetGalley for the ARC of this amazing book!

Tropes: 
- Star crossed lovers
- Powerful artifacts
- Deadly magic
- Found family
- High stakes trials
- Contemporary setting

I stinking loved this book! I got The Selection and Crescent City vibes mixed with a little bit of reverse Aladdin feels! This story takes place partially in our world and partially in the Fae realm.

There is a marriage tournament, secrets, lies, conspiracies, witches, fae, curses, star crossed lovers and deadly magic! It was a spectacular combination!

I very much much enjoyed getting to know the characters. Our MMC is the fae prince and the FMC is a human who has been trapped in his realm for 7 months and is now forced to compete in a tournament to marry him.

I loved the mixture of fantasy and contemporary! I’m beginning to find that this may be one of my favorite combinations. This is the first book in a romantic fantasy series and I will absolutely be reading the rest when they come out! This was a 5⭐️ read for me!

I went into this book for the high stakes trials, but this book is so much more. I was so excited to pick up this book every time. Everything I want to say in this review is a spoiler, so I'll keep it brief. Bridget is a human in a magical world who has been cursed and has no memories. She's thrust into a competition for the fae prince's hand in marriage.

The world building was a sprinkle at a time, since we are learning with Bridget and she's trying to figure out answers about who she is and how she got there. The structure of the book was something I hadn't read before and the anticipation was one of my favorite parts. I was feral to get to the "before" section.

Please message me if you've read this to talk theories with me!!

What you should know:
Single POV
Humans, fae, witches
No memories
Debut author
Magic competition for the prince's hand in marriage
Bite-sized world building
Who to trust?
First in a series
Realm hopping