Garden of the Cursed: 1

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Cursebreaker Marlow Briggs reluctantly pretends to be in love with one of the most powerful nobles in Caraza City to gain entry into an illustrious—and deadly—society that holds clues to her mother's disappearance. Just then some thugs and the second-in-command of the local gang, the Copperheads, "Thaddeus Bane" steps into the corridor Marlow and Flint are in. Thaddeus suggests that Marlow is in the wrong spot, and proceeds to threaten her, forcing her to show her hands and putting a knife to her throat.

Thus, the fake relationship has a certain degree of tension underlying it, not just because of the unresolved feelings between the two of them but also because with it, Marlow has to return to a world that reminds her of her mother. She can’t help but feel even more out of place now. Everyone also seems suspicious, possibly having a hand either in Adrius’s curse or in her mother’s disappearance. Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for chapters 1-4 of Garden Of The Cursed , so make sure you read or are finished this section before continuing.I lied,” she said, nudging his arm with her boot as he groaned in pain. “I’m not going to ask a second time.” So many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Because for the past few weeks, Marlow had been growing more and more convinced that she was being followed. Coincidence after coincidence—seeing the same old man pass by the spellshop where she worked some days, and again browsing a crayfish stall at the Swamp Market. A messenger boy that Marlow had seen not twice but three times in a single day earlier that week. Solidifies Katy Rose Pool as one of the best fantasy writers of the 21st century." — Popsugar on As the Shadow Rises But before she could make good on her threat, a chillingly familiar voice sounded from the end of the hallway. In chapter one, we meet our protagonist, Marlow, who is investigating a curse placed on a prima ballerina at a dangerous old shipyard.This is such a unique YA story and wasn't like others I have read before. Marlow and Adrius are such strong characters, that I instantly fell in love with. The magician system also isn't something I have seen yet in books. It was an interesting twist on magic with the more political power you gave the more access you have to it. Marlow sits on the counter of Bowery Spellshop eating a chocolate stuffed biscuit and drinking tea while her friend Swift fusses next to her with an Aristan machine. The rest of the characters were laughably stereotypical. Marius has a gay best friend who always shows up at the perfect time. There is a gang who said such cliche lines I would have to put the book down and take a second to breathe. (As this is just an arc, I sincerely hope some of those lines get edited out.) Also, the antagonist of the novel was pretty easy to guess from the beginning. Even the little old mean women who just happened to own just what they need in a crisis? Overbearing fathers, a trio of mean girls (yes you read that right), the scorned lover, and the list just goes on. There were no side characters that actually stood out and carried the plot forward.

DISCLAIMER: very slight spoilers. Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this does not influence my review. READ IT YOU GUYS!!!!!!! This book was sooo good!! The writing style: phenomenal🤌🏾 the fantasy world-building? PHENOMENAL (I love when the plot actually gets me invested, I finished this book in a day) the ROMANCE??? Simmering, Slow-burn, swoon-worthy filled with angst. Swift explains that he's fixing a radio and suddenly audio bursts out from it talking about The Ballad Of The Moon Thief. For a moment Marlow’s fear dulled the edges of her mind. She swallowed it down and forced herself to meet Bane’s cruel gray eyes with another smile. His cronies guffawed. Marlow’s fingers closed around what she deeply hoped was a temporary Blinding hex. Nothing short of genius.”—Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Inheritance Games seriesI adored her rapport with Adrius. They are both really well developed, so it genuinely felt like two former friends trading barbs. But you can also tell that behind the banter are some serious mixed and hurt feelings, on both sides. I loved getting to explore that dynamic. Guess she figured out what the rest of us already knew—you can’t wash the swamp off the swamp rat.” Hopefully, we get more world-building in the second book. In the beginning, we learn that spells and curses are carried in playing cards. Such a unique concept, but it was never expanded on. About halfway through the book, we learn that bullets can carry hexes as well. So, what decides what can carry a curse? Why can bullets carry hexes, when nothing else in the book is able to do so? They talk about spell casting, so can wizards carry wands? There was no expansion on this idea, which was frustrating. This could have been such a good selling point for the book. As for the rest of the world, there's nothing new. It reads like any other sci-fi/dystopian world, with the poor sector and the rich one. One of the most original fantasy novels I've read in years." —C. L. Herman, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the All of Us Villains duology

This book opens in a speakeasy with magic cards, and I knew immediately that I was going to adore this book. One of my favorite time periods to read about is the roaring 20s and this book gave off those vibes, especially with The Marshes and all the counterfeit spells and more. Not to mention I've always loved the idea of spell cards, or magic cards that can do different things since my friend played a character that relied on that in one of our dnd campaigns. It was incredibly cool and so when I learned that this book had both curses and magic cards, I was even more excited.

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I absolutely adored Marlow! She is wonderfully imperfect, and certainly has a lot of issues going on in her own life. Her mom is missing, for one, which is obviously not ideal. And she has a hard time letting people in in general, because she was hurt in the past. Frankly, she's rather curmudgeonly, but in an empathetic and likable way. Marlow Briggs desperately wants to find her mother who disappeared a year ago. When Adrius Falcresrt bargains to hire her to break a curse, she agrees knowing she will be able to search for clues to find her mother in the Evergarden society. Though posing as his once-again lover after he spurned her is not how she expected to be walking among the elite again. Someone else knows why she’s there and about the curse on Adrius and consequences of talking to the wrong person could be deadly for them both. It ended with a plot twist and a mild cliffhanger that I didn't see coming, so I'm looking forward to reading the sequel whenever it comes out! (next year?) The blade pressed into her skin, and Marlow bit down on a pathetic whimper as Bane leaned into her, his breath on her cheek as warm and wet as a summer storm. Nothing short of genius .”—Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 New York Times -bestselling author of The Inheritance Games series