Series: Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #2
Format: Kindle, 312 pages
Release Date: January 14, 2021
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / FantasyA 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 powerful 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 the second installment in author Day Leitao's Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. This story revolves around Zora, Larzen, Griffin, and Riadne. As
the story begins, Zora and Griffin, sentenced to death for treason by a jaded King Kiran,
journey to find the blood cup in the hopes of breaking curses that plague
Griffin and the Dark Valley. Their first stop just happens to be the Dark Valley where this story began. With Zora being the alleged champion since she jumped in front of Griffin and saved him, his hopes and future no lay within her hands.
The Dark Valley is home to shadow creatures. People
in the village leave their lights on, they don't use any covers,
skirts, or even tables because it creates shadows, and the creatures can
be born in these shadows. (4)
different types of shadows exist: Humans with gray skin, claws, and sharp teeth; 4
legged wolves that are fast and dangerous; spiders the size of an apple
with sharp pincers and deadly poison; and balls which are round and
small like a spider or large as a human. Zora's arrival isn't exactly a pleasant one.
After all, she cheated her way into the Royal Games by taking the place of her former ex who has a very long memory. It is said that a cursed son with be the undoing of the Kingdom. Will that be Griffin? What's worse for Griffin is that there is also a magical contract that says only the winner of the Games can find the Blood Cup. As Zora and Griffin search for the cup, Larzen and Riadne remain behind and face their own obstacles.
We are also introduced to a new character in Tris who has been caged in a mountain by Riadne's brother Lukas who you will eventually meet in this story. Riadne has what you might call siren capabilities. Her voice sways people into doing her bidding. Except for Kiran who seems to be immune. For that matter. Larzen doesn't allow himself to get caught up in her web and seems to put Riadne's plans of getting rid of all three brothers on hold. We learn some of the history and legends behind the curse on Zora's beloved Dark Valley and Griffin's curse.
One of the more twisted aspects of this story is that Larzen goes from the evil creep who wanted to use Zora to do his bidding, to almost a hero of a sort. Tris and Lukas are introduced and really don't play a very large part in the story. I think there should have been more story in Dark Valley, but there's no crying in reviewing. Especially when there's a cliffhanger ending that seems to be a good and bad thing for Zora and the world itself. Zora is still sassy and a powerful heroine who can fight without a man doing the fighting for her.
I mean, yes, she's had years training with a sword in order to survive, so why do people take her for granted? She's small and female. Zora,
Griffin, Larzen, and Riadne all go through so much throughout the
novel, and it’s interesting to see their characters grow and change.
Note to readers: You can thank Day for putting a much needed summary in the back of the book.
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