ARC Review & Giveaway – The Curse and the Prince (Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #2 – Day Leitao)

The Curse and the Prince (Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #2) – Day Leitao

• Age Group: 15+
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
• Trigger Warnings: Mentions of sex and childbirth
• Release Date: January 14th, 2020
• Add on Goodreads, Buy on Amazon US, Buy on Amazon UK, Buy on Book Depository, Buy on B&N

Synopsis:

A troubled prince. 

A deadly curse. 

A mysterious cup.

And the power to save or doom the kingdom. 

Of course things didn’t go as planned at the Royal Games. When do things go as planned? 

Now Zora is on the run, and has to join a disgraced prince in order to retrieve a magical artifact that might undo her valley’s curse. For the first time in her life, she has real hope for her people.  

Problem is, for the second time in her life, she’s falling for someone she shouldn’t. Finding a hidden object is hard enough on its own, she could do without the heart palpitations and lack of air. And she could certainly focus better without the constant memory of his lips on hers, his arms around her… Gaah! See? How can she avoid pursuers and decipher enigmatic writings when her brain has been turned to mush? Painful, hopeless mush.  

But the real trouble is that there’s more than one curse in the kingdom. And not enough objects or time to get rid of them all.  

The Curse and the Prince is book 2 in the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows, an enemies-to-lovers YA romantic fantasy for readers 15 and up who love snarky banter and adventure.

Review:

Free copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my rating or review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

4 entertaining stars!

Book #2 picked up right where book #1 finished (if you need a refresher then flick to the back of the book – there’s a summary of book #1 there), with Griffin and Zora on the run, and a whole variety of enemies at their back. Now, I’ll admit, I could barely remember anything from book #1 (I have really horrible memory, what can I say), but thankfully it wasn’t that difficult to work out what was going on! I’d forgotten quite a few of the side characters, but once I worked all that out, this book was heaps of fun and super entertaining!

Our MC was as sassy as ever, which I loved (her feminist quotes were so inspirational, I feel like I should be writing them on my ceiling so I see them every day when I wake up) and though the romance seemed to progress slowly in some stages – and yet super quickly in others – I found Zora’s relationship with Griffin quite adorable. Their trust in one another developed as they finally told each other all their lies, and though they had a fair few fights, they were always able to forgive one another by the end.
But lord, Zora did NOT let Griffin rest as she persisted in her persuit to prove he was a sexist jerk in book #1.

“Oh, by the Light, would you look at that? He has done one thing for women and therefore nothing he says or thinks can ever be sexist.”

Go off, babe! Take him down (I may love Griffin, but I love feminism more).

We also got a variety of other POVs in book #2 – getting to read more about the middle prince, mysterious enchantress, and real princess of Linaria. I actually quite likes Riadne, she grew on me, and some of the things she said really stuck with me.

“There was no point lamenting the past; she had to fix her future.”

As well as the characters, the storyline was quite well written! We didn’t get as much of the Dark Valley as I hoped, unfortunately, but maybe we’ll get more shadow creatures in book #3 (in fact, I’m almost certain we will…. *wink wink*). Nonetheless, I enjoyed the adventure and mystery involved in this novel, and look forward to continuing the series!

Heaps of fun :)). Thank you so much to the author and Favourite Pages Book Club for the free review copy!

~ Darce❤

Giveaway:

Prize: Win a $15 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33230c5411/?

Tour Schedule:

https://favouritepagesbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/12/tour-schedule-curse-and-prince-kingdom.html

About the Author:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bookbub

I’m originally from Brazil but I’ve been living in Canada for over 10 years now. I have some influence from Brazilian writers and Brazilian culture, but I also read popular books in English. I watched some Anime as a kid, my favorite being Yamato. I’m a longtime Star Wars fan and I’m active in the fandom podcasting at Lords of the Sith as Denise. 

I’ve always loved to write stories, and I like to always include romance, action and humor in my writing. I think stories can touch us deeply. I live in Montreal, Canada, with my son. 

My books include the Ya fantasy series Portals to Whyland, and the sci-fi standalones The Sphere of Infinity and Star Spark. 

Check out my blog for some news, updates, and nonsensical ramblings.