Book Review: Cursed Fates by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Synopsis:

After the devastating events at Zodiac Academy, we have to deal with this darker world we’re faced with. Lionel seeks to hurt us, the Nymphs seek to hurt the entire Fae race, and between all of it, we just have to try and survive each day as it comes. I’m afraid of everything falling apart, but it looks like it already has.

Review:

After reading the last instalment of Zodiac Academy and having it take me so long to get into, I was dreading Cursed Fates. Fortunately, I had no reason to. I really enjoyed this instalment and it’s my favourite so far.

The angst, oh my god. It is off the charts. If you told me six months ago I’d be invested entirely in Tory and Darius as a couple I would have laughed in your face. I mean it was quite obvious that this was the direction the series was going, but I never expected what is actually happening. I’m obsessed. I need to read the next book right now, but unfortunately, I don’t have time for it.

I won’t lie, I really didn’t care much for the Darcy/Orion storyline this time. It’s not that I hate their relationship, although it did seem a bit creepy at first, but then I realised they are both consenting adults so it’s fine. Still a bit weird that he’s her teacher though, that’s never really ok. Tory and Darius completely stole the show, so it was hard to care about what was happening with Darcy and Orion.

Thankfully as I get further into this series it’s making me cringe less. Don’t be fooled though, there are still plenty of cringeworthy moments, but it comes with the territory now. Basically, I enjoy this series because I know not to take it too seriously. At first, I really judge the books for this, but I’ve come to accept it now. Plus you can see the improvements in the writing.

I just want to point out how much I detest the guardian bond, especially the part that makes the guardian want a sexual relationship with their ward against their will. It’s good that Darius and Orion can control it, but it seems like other people in this book don’t have a choice or don’t realise they do. I could be interpreting this all wrong, but it seemed like that to me. Especially a certain moment at the end that I won’t talk about because of spoilers, but it was seriously out of character and it made me uncomfortable.

Speaking of the end of this book, the plot really ramped up in Cursed Fates and it moved in ways I never expected. There was probably a little too much filler content, but the pace didn’t seem too affected by this and it usually had some kind of relevance. Usually, books of this size are massively intimidating, and it really was at first, but it didn’t seem to take me too long to get through.

Cursed Fates has been the best instalment of the series so far. If like me you were feeling a little stuck after the first couple of books in this series, I do recommend pushing through. They are genuinely getting better with each new book, well they have so far. It’s probably because I’m invested in the story so I’m starting to overlook the cringeworthy moments.