Cursed (Kingdoms of Earth & Air, #2)

by Keri Arthur

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

3.5 stars

This is the second book in the Kingdoms of Earth & Air series by Keri Arthur. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Unlit. I liked the world that Arthur had created. I liked the characters. I thought this was an urban fantasy series where we would follow the same character throughout the series. This is actually a paranormal romance where we have a different couple in each book. I don’t mind paranormal romances, it just wasn’t what I was expecting from reading the first book in the series. But, that’s not the first that this has happened to me and it isn’t a bad thing in my book. Here is what through me for a loop. While this story takes place in the same world, it isn’t anywhere close to the location of the first book. The characters are also all completely new. There isn’t much to bridge the gap between books one and two.

So this story follows Princess Nyx Bel-Hannon. Her father is the king, though he has not done what is required of the the ruler of Cannamore. The ruler for over a thousand years has been able to pull a sword from the crystal throne. However, Nyx is the one who pulled the sword, not her father or her brother. So the men covered it up so that she wouldn’t become the ruler. They also put bracelets on her that gave them full control of her and tortured her in several different ways.

Nyx is sent off to fit with other prisoners in what would basically become a suicide mission. Her father and brother want her to die. While we don’t see any of the torture firsthand, we do get some of the details, so beware of people to people who might be triggered by such things (and think of the ways that women are tortured).

It’s not a bad story. The action is pretty good. However, I didn’t really like the characters. Nyx isn’t a bad character. She’s isn’t prissy and has had a hard life. Her father and brother made things very difficult for her. I don’t know what it was that she didn’t click with me. I was also not pulled in by her love interest, Donal. Again, I don’t know why he didn’t click with me. He was a good guy and really stood beside Nyx and let her lead and just supported her when she needed it.

I really wish that I could put a finger why this story wasn’t as good for me as the first book. Like I said, the action wasn’t bad. The story plot was a good story. While the characters aren’t bad, they just didn’t click for me for whatever reason. Maybe it was my mood. I’m not sure. I did enjoy it, just not nearly as much as the first story. I do highly recommend that people give the series a try. I will still try the next book to see if it was just my mood or whatever because I do love this world.

Narration
Justine Eyre is a favorite narrator of mine. I really enjoy the voices that she does. She does a great job with both male and female voices, no matter the size of the cast.

**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.