When the brother Grimm have a great great grand daughter! Cursed by Marissa Meyer.

Synopsis

In Cursed, Marissa Meyer brings the fairytale-inspired Gilded duology to a conclusion..

Be still now, and I will tell you a tale.

Adalheid Castle is in chaos.

Following a shocking turn of events, Serilda finds herself ensnared in a deadly game of make-believe with the Erlking, who is determined to propel her deeper into the castle’s lies. Meanwhile, Serilda is determined to work with Gild to help him solve the mystery of his forgotten name and past.

But soon it becomes clear that the Erlking doesn’t only want to use Serilda to bring back his one true love. He also seeks vengeance against the seven gods who have long trapped the Dark Ones behind the veil. If the Erlking succeeds, it could change the mortal realm forever.

Can Serilda find a way to use her storytelling gifts for good—once and for all? And can Serilda and Gild break the spells that tether their spirits to the castle before the Endless Moon finds them truly cursed?

Audiobook Review

All the stars!

That book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marissa Meyer must be a descendent of the Grimm Brothers because she is a master storyteller.

In my review of Gilded, the first book of this duology, I wrote:

“That book was light and dark, brutal and mischievous, sad and funny.

And it was so imaginative!

The world building with all the lore and tales of gods and monsters and dark ones was sublime!

I was swept off my feet, transported into that world of dark fairytales, praying that Serilda would stay alive, hoping that she would find a way to break the curse, dreaming that all would be well in the end, wishing that her father was alive and that everyone she loved would be safe, wanting…

Oh I wanted so many things!

I was enthralled, enraptured by Marissa Meyer’s story!”

Well everything remains true with Cursed but the suspense and the angst is multiplied tenfold!

Marissa Meyer wrote so many twists and impossible moments, where all seemed lost, that I was literally pinned to my seat and paralyzed with angst.

I even caved in and messaged my friend Caro, who had read the book already, to ask some crucial questions because I was so afraid for Srerilda and Gild!

But what’s Cursed about?

Cursed is the second part of a duology and begins right where Gilded ended. So don’t read further if you have not read Gilded yet and plan to read it or you’ll get spoilers!

Serilda is pregnant with Gild’s child and the Erlking forced her to become his bride, planning to get her baby and offer him to Pershta. He still intends on getting Pershta back into the world of the living. But what Serilda will learn is that the Erlking’s plans go beyond getting his beloved back!

What I found very imaginative of Marissa Meyer is that Serilda is in a spirit form while her body is pregnant, separated from her soul/spirit.

All along, there will be a race and a quest to free her body and Gild’s body from the Erlking’s curse. But of course that won’t be simple as they also have to thwart the nefarious plans of the Erlking and save humanity!

We meet new characters, more lore, monsters that are not so monstrous and we progressively learn some shocking truths about Serilda and Gild.

Serilda is growing even more in that sequel, showing us how brave and selfless she is. She has a fiery temper and a great determination to go toe to toe with the formidable Erlking.

The pace is fast, there is action intermingled with magical and captivating stories just to fall back into another action scene that had my heart racing until the final climax and…

It’s imaginative, brilliant, fast paced, romantic and one of the most brilliant reimagining Rumpelstiltskin’s tales I have ever read! A pure delight and an excellent wrap up to the story.

And once again I can only be in awe with Rebecca Soler’s impeccable narration!

Thanks for reading!