Cygnus Curse

by Poppy Rose Solomon

Cursed to transform into a black swan, a deadly guardian must ally with the young pirates who ransacked her life.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I've rarely enjoyed the found family trope quite this much! Every one of the characters was loveable yet flawed in their own ways’ – author RC Thomson

Sierra’s last – and most disgraceful – option is forcing those who cursed her to reverse the magic. Then, she can finally be free and return glory to her warrior family.

She should hate every second with the pirate crew. Yet travelling and troublemaking across their magical world as they search for the power to help her, Sierra starts to see them as . . . friends. Is their life the true freedom she longs for?

But she’ll never learn to love their captain, Arden. Arrogant. Reckless. Infuriatingly alluring. He represents everything she hates, but their rivalry is made all the more vicious by their deep chemistry.

Back in Bearra, war is coming. Maya, Teddy, and Dawn have a quest for Sierra: she must search for a fabled weapon that could destroy an evil fairy. Finding this weapon and breaking her curse, however, could cost Sierra the family she’s found.

Will she save her honour, or the pirates who are stealing her heart?

Inspired by Swan Lake, this tale is for readers of enemies-to-lovers romance who get lost in found family, morally grey heroes, and intricate fantasy worlds in the vein of Six of Crows.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Poppy has a way of writing characters that I can’t help but feel intense emotion toward them. I feel like I know them personally and some I want to desperately give a little kiss on the forehead to and others I want to punch in the face, they’re just so real’ – Haylee, Goodreads

Cygnus Curse is the sequel to Woken Kingdom, a new YA fantasy series by Poppy Rose Solomon, your new favourite fairy princess/Australian fantasy author.

Unknown Binding

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Poppy Rose Solomon’s creative pursuits are a manifestation of her passion for the whimsical and magical. Evoking inspiration and escapism is the goal of her storytelling. From her home in Lutruwita/Tasmania, she freelances as a YA editor and coach through her business Poppy’s Pages. Woken Kingdom is her first series, with plenty more novels to come, and in 2025 she published How to Edit Your Own Novel, a nonfiction guidebook to help other authors cultivate their voices and tell their stories.

Reviews

[Madi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars (only because i'm saving the 5 stars for the next two!) 2nd book out of four.

I was lucky enough to be on Poppy's beta read team for CC. This is an amazing read, if you love great worldbuilding, interesting magic systems and a whimsical retelling fantasy mixed with a bit of an urban fantasy feel you will absolutely love WK and CC. There is a bit of everything from a romance subplot, an interesting villain, great character arcs...

Without any spoilers, I absolutely loved this book. I felt like it was a great continuation of WK. All the newly introduced characters were really fleshed out and each one made you want to learn more about them! Like in WK I loved Sierra, she is definitely still my fav in this series and in this book we get to learn more about her and follow her story.

The worldbuilding in all the different territories makes each one feel like a completely different world for you to get sucked into. CC is overall an amazing book would 10/10 recommend.

[Haylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought I would find it impossible to impartially and honestly review work written by my dear friend, but it’s turns out that’s not an issue because I enjoyed this SO MUCH.
Poppy has a way of writing characters that I can’t help but feel intense emotion toward them. I feel like I know them personally and some I want to desperately give a little kiss on the forehead to and others I want to punch in the face, they’re just so real.
Also, I find it rare to come across action scenes in fantasy that are simultaneously full of drama and also written so clearly that I can visualise the whole thing from start to finish and Poppy does it so well every damn time.

Very proud to have such a cool, talented author friend and even more proud to get to work and design for them.

[R Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've rarely enjoyed the found family trope quite this much! Every one of the characters was loveable yet flawed in their own ways. I enjoyed the larger cast from the first and the side stories along the way. The motives were all strong and intertwining goals kept things fast paced and allowed for deeper looks into each characters' own pasts and fears. I finished this book in like, 4 days, which is practically a record for me and says a lot in itself as I'm a super slow and detail-oriented reader 😅
Thank you to Poppy for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🙏🏻 very excited for Haunted Princess!

[Poppy Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sierra says hello x

[Hairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cygnus curse reminded me six crimson cranes. Maybe because of the curse but I couldn't help but think about the curse in that book.

That being said, it was so exciting to read. We got to read Sierra's pov and obvious I fell in love with her resilience, strength and bravery. I felt so bad for her the way she was treated all her life by people who were supposed to love her unconditionally.

Found family trope *chef kiss* was what I'm living for these days and Cygnus Curse served it perfectly.

I hate to see this gem to be so underrated. Why is no one talking about it?