Garden of the Cursed is one of the most original fantasy novels I’ve read in years. Masterful world-building, a deftly developed mystery, and a compelling romance round out this sharp, intelligent read.” —C. L. Herman, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the All of Us Villains duology 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?) Marlow makes to leave after being paid and stops when two new characters, Gemma Starling and Amara Falcrest enter the lobby. They almost pass Marlow but then recognize her. 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. Yay Happy Publication on June 20th! This still is on my top fave for this year and I can't wait for the sequel ❤️❤️❤️

In this edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy/mystery duology from award-winning author Katy Rose Pool, 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. Garden of the Cursed is perfect for fans of Veronica Mars , These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron . He spat in Marlow’s face. A glob of saliva landed wetly on her cheek, and for a moment Marlow was stunned into silence. Slowly, deliberately, she wiped her face and said, in a taut voice brimming with violence, “You’re really going to regret that.” 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. Before Thaddeus can succeed in harming Marlow, a woman who Marlow has sensed following her comes into the corridor and intimidates Thaddeus into standing down.

All in all this was a solid start to a series with a great cliffhanger. A fun diverse cast, lots of growing room for future books, and just enough reveals to keep you guessing! A slow start that ramps up to compelling and ends with questions yet to be answered. A duology that does not end here. Marlow tells Swift that she turned his offer to hire her as a cursebreaker down and Swift asks her for the dress since she's not going. She agrees because she's most certainly NOT going to work for or go to a fancy party with Adrius Falcrest. Bane’s two cronies pushed deeper into the hall, flanking Marlow. She stood her ground, sizing them up. The one with a red beard she vaguely recognized, and the other, a wiry youth with a squid beak nose, looked like he couldn’t be much older than she was. A new recruit. Maybe even Swift’s replacement. A fresh, fascinating magic system, an intricate blend of fantasy meets mystery, and a riveting fake dating romance— I devoured this in a single day." —Amanda Foody, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the All of Us Villains duology

Adrius tries to convince Marlow to help him break a curse. Marlow's cat, Toad, can sense curses and Marlow understands that while he's telling the truth, and she loves a good mystery, she doesn't want to help him. She was alone. Swift and Hyrum had no idea where she was. And she couldn’t talk, think, or hex her way out of this. So many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.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. But it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. This case had dragged on for almost two weeks, and time was up. Tonight was the grand premiere of The Ballad of the Moon Thief, and if its prima ballerina had any hope of performing, Marlow was going to have to brave the danger.

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. Garden of the Cursed is a fantastic and original fantasy with a dynamic protagonist, a unique plot, vivid world-building, and a chemistry-laden enemies-to-lovers romance! 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. In chapter one, we meet our protagonist, Marlow, who is investigating a curse placed on a prima ballerina at a dangerous old shipyard.

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In this enemies-to-lovers romantasy mystery, cursebreaker Marlow Briggs reluctantly pretends to be in love with a powerful noble to gain entry into an illustrious—and deadly—society that holds clues to her mother's disappearance. This book was straight up brilliant. The characters, plot, and world building was so strong and incredible.. I can't recommend it enough for others to read it. Guess she figured out what the rest of us already knew—you can’t wash the swamp off the swamp rat.” The story blends creative worldbuilding elements with beloved tropes. Delightfully intriguing." — Kirkus

As Marlow works to break a curse that plagues Adrius, she learns of ties to her mother’s disappearance, and Marlow isn’t sure who she can trust. With Adrius’s life at risk, old feelings resurfacing, conflicts with friends, and a ton of political turmoil, Marlow must use all of her guile to figure out how everything connects. It’s such an interesting and layered plot, filled with intense and unexpected twists and revelations. Power, control, secrets, manipulations, political intrigue, betrayal, and more plague the characters, especially Marlow as she tries to find out more about her mother, break Adrius’s curse, and avoid the gang issues that seem tied to everything.

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Basically our woman Marlow is living a high-risk life in a fantasy world with magical spell cards that can do many things (make people forget memories, distract them for a little bit, curse them, etc.,). She takes contract cases to destroy curse cards, and she has to often sneak around looking for her targets. Overall, she fit the boxes for my fav FMC characters: she was badass, a great actor and thief, had a wonderful personality, head-strong, doesn’t take no for an answer, hilarious, scheming, great dialogues when about to get into a fight (and she was very sarcastic and witty).