Garden of the Cursed (Cursebreaker, #1)

by Katy Rose Pool

Since fleeing glitzy Evergarden for the gritty Marshes, Marlow Briggs has become the best cursebreaker in Caraza City. But no matter how many cases she solves, she's still haunted by her mother’s disappearance.

When Adrius Falcrest, Marlow's old crush and scion of one of Caraza's most affluent spell-making families, asks her to help him break a curse, Marlow wants nothing to do with him . . . until she uncovers a new lead in her mother's case. Marlow reluctantly agrees to help Adrius so she can return to Evergarden society. To avoid drawing suspicion, Marlow and Adrius pretend to be madly in love. Soon, Marlow comes to learn that the truth behind Adrius’s curse and her mother’s disappearance may be clues to a larger mystery—one that could unravel the very foundations of Caraza and magic itself. Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and Chain of Iron.

• ISBN10: 1250846668
• ISBN13: 9781250846662
• Publish Date: 17 July 2023 (first published 20 June 2023)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781250846662

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Marlow Briggs' life has changed drastically over the last year. Now, she's a cursebreaker living doing what she does best – solving mysteries, getting answers, and busting curses. The work is hard, but it pays okay.

Unfortunately, her latest job brought her directly in the path of the one person she never wanted to see again: Adrius Falcrest. And, of course, she couldn't simply run away and pretend that the incident never happened because it turns out that Adrius needs her skills.

My Review:

Whew. If I could say only one thing about Garden of the Cursed, I'd call it an emotional roller coaster. Marlow's story is rich and complex, not to mention full of danger (which she heedlessly throws herself headfirst into).

I'll admit that it took me about two chapters to get invested in this story. But by the time I turned to chapter three, I was hooked! I needed to know what happened in Marlow's past and who was behind her current mystery. In short, I had about a dozen questions, and it seemed like Marlow was the only one that could answer them.

The magical system in Garden of the Cursed is fascinating. The idea of cursebreakers has always been compelling (as is the reason behind their services), and this series is no exception. I want to know more about hexes and the writing/paper system used to create them. Here's hoping we learn more in the next book!

I should mention that, in true duology fashion, Garden of the Cursed ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. It makes sense, but I was disappointed by that. Mostly because I stayed up later than I should have last night (it was SO compelling, I had to), so hitting that cliffhanger hurt. You know? The good news is that there's already a release date for the sequel, so we won't have too long to wait.

Highlights:
YA Fantasy
Cursbreaking
Complex Magical Society/Politics
Stubborn character who knows everything
LGBT+

Trigger Warnings:
Blood
Familial Loss
Controlling Hexes/Spells

You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy