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Curse of Souls
Philip and his partner Casey have been spearheading the secessionist movement in the country of Gedrion which had escalated into a war with Darren, the tyrant who had been exploiting their people. In a desperate attempt for peace after years of conflict, they approach Raylan, Darren’s second-in-command, for an end to the hostilities and to overthrow Darren.
Raylan is as tired of the conflict as his enemies, and he knows that Darren is not one to listen to reason. Therefore, he has to keep it a secret from everyone on his side that he’s meeting with Philip and Casey if he’s to give peace a chance.
The last thing any of them expect is for a soul mate bond to spring to life between Philip and Raylan, activating an ancient magic that will kill them both if the bond isn’t consummated. With the fate of two nations on the balance, and Philip and Casey’s relationship struggling for air, all three men find that they have to make choices none of them are prepared for if they want an end to the war and bring about peace while keeping Philip and Raylan alive.
Raylan is as tired of the conflict as his enemies, and he knows that Darren is not one to listen to reason. Therefore, he has to keep it a secret from everyone on his side that he’s meeting with Philip and Casey if he’s to give peace a chance.
The last thing any of them expect is for a soul mate bond to spring to life between Philip and Raylan, activating an ancient magic that will kill them both if the bond isn’t consummated. With the fate of two nations on the balance, and Philip and Casey’s relationship struggling for air, all three men find that they have to make choices none of them are prepared for if they want an end to the war and bring about peace while keeping Philip and Raylan alive.
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
Published January 19, 2024
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 17, 2025
Cross posted from Cozy with Books!
To view more reviews, click [HERE!]
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A nice and quick read, with a cool mix of fantasy and sci-fi. There’s magic and then there’s drones. There’s curses and there’s siphon rods, spells and shields as well as coms and self-annihilating rooms. I tend to read only one or the other, so whenever I read books that mash sci-fi and fantasy, it catches my attention pretty quickly (in a good way). It’s a mix that I particularly enjoy reading and this was a nice read although it ended far too quickly.
There were moments where it felt rushed. You have characters that developed feelings very fast for one another and then there’s the occasional fade to black moments that sometimes felt like it had weird time-skips as well. People could be kidnapped and rescued in as short as two chapters, and the chapters are on the short side themselves. The fight scenes ended far too quickly as well, to the point that it didn’t feel thrilling as the “big bad” always went down fast. Characters injured or incapacitated hopped back just as quickly. There was always a solution so nobody would ever be in serious danger, although the suspense of a potential gut wrenching death did always linger. There was love, but it felt rushed. There was war, but it was glossed too quickly to grasp or feel the tension of, and there was a whole world of tech and fantasy that I would’ve loved to explore more of!
However, there was a lot to love too and enough to make me love the book. What was good, overshadowed the fast pacing. I actually liked the plot. If everything in this book was just expanded upon, I would’ve loved it, especially the worldbuilding. Make it a 500-700 page book, rather than a novella or make it a trilogy, and I would’ve totally read the entire thing. I did immediately fall in love with all of the characters from the moment I met them, even if we don’t ever get to know anyone on a deeper level. As a huge character over plot kind of reader, it’s rare for me to almost attach myself to a character almost immediately. I mean, all three were so oblivious and dorky, how can I not? I loved their interactions, loved how gooey the love made me feel, and I liked the world, the lore. I loved the magic system (or maybe it’s the tech system?) because it was really cool and really dangerous. There were moments where I went, “they have a wait?? It can do WHAT?!?” And you can’t forget the soul mate [system?]. There are portals because of this system, there are ways to feel what your soul mate was feeling or even shut them out.
I love the concept, liked the characters, and absolutely loved the world-building that mashed technology and sci-fi with magic and fantasy. The “curse” that a pair of soulmates would die (seemingly an awful death) unless the bond was consummated was unique because I’ve heard of all sorts of fun soulmate concepts (thanks TikTok…) so this was a fun take on it and one I haven’t heard of.
Overall, it was a good read. The writing did give me a good grasp of this somber and serious atmosphere as well as a sense of distrust due to hidden traitors. The world was my favorite part and I would love to explore more of this mash between tech and magic. For all the minor things I mentioned towards pacing and length, I actually really enjoyed this one and was amongst one of my favorite BBNYA reads.
To view more reviews, click [HERE!]
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A nice and quick read, with a cool mix of fantasy and sci-fi. There’s magic and then there’s drones. There’s curses and there’s siphon rods, spells and shields as well as coms and self-annihilating rooms. I tend to read only one or the other, so whenever I read books that mash sci-fi and fantasy, it catches my attention pretty quickly (in a good way). It’s a mix that I particularly enjoy reading and this was a nice read although it ended far too quickly.
There were moments where it felt rushed. You have characters that developed feelings very fast for one another and then there’s the occasional fade to black moments that sometimes felt like it had weird time-skips as well. People could be kidnapped and rescued in as short as two chapters, and the chapters are on the short side themselves. The fight scenes ended far too quickly as well, to the point that it didn’t feel thrilling as the “big bad” always went down fast. Characters injured or incapacitated hopped back just as quickly. There was always a solution so nobody would ever be in serious danger, although the suspense of a potential gut wrenching death did always linger. There was love, but it felt rushed. There was war, but it was glossed too quickly to grasp or feel the tension of, and there was a whole world of tech and fantasy that I would’ve loved to explore more of!
However, there was a lot to love too and enough to make me love the book. What was good, overshadowed the fast pacing. I actually liked the plot. If everything in this book was just expanded upon, I would’ve loved it, especially the worldbuilding. Make it a 500-700 page book, rather than a novella or make it a trilogy, and I would’ve totally read the entire thing. I did immediately fall in love with all of the characters from the moment I met them, even if we don’t ever get to know anyone on a deeper level. As a huge character over plot kind of reader, it’s rare for me to almost attach myself to a character almost immediately. I mean, all three were so oblivious and dorky, how can I not? I loved their interactions, loved how gooey the love made me feel, and I liked the world, the lore. I loved the magic system (or maybe it’s the tech system?) because it was really cool and really dangerous. There were moments where I went, “they have a wait?? It can do WHAT?!?” And you can’t forget the soul mate [system?]. There are portals because of this system, there are ways to feel what your soul mate was feeling or even shut them out.
I love the concept, liked the characters, and absolutely loved the world-building that mashed technology and sci-fi with magic and fantasy. The “curse” that a pair of soulmates would die (seemingly an awful death) unless the bond was consummated was unique because I’ve heard of all sorts of fun soulmate concepts (thanks TikTok…) so this was a fun take on it and one I haven’t heard of.
Overall, it was a good read. The writing did give me a good grasp of this somber and serious atmosphere as well as a sense of distrust due to hidden traitors. The world was my favorite part and I would love to explore more of this mash between tech and magic. For all the minor things I mentioned towards pacing and length, I actually really enjoyed this one and was amongst one of my favorite BBNYA reads.
February 19, 2025
Curse of Souls was the 15th place finalist in the BBNYA 2024!
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors ending in 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA check out the BBNYA website https://www.bbnya.com/
Book Details
158 pages, fantasy/ romanace of adult nature.
Published 19th January 2024
Blurb
The fates of two nations hang on the balance on a man’s choice between love and an arcane bond.
Philip has been spearheading a rebellion in his country, with Casey, his lover and partner, at his side. The rebellion has snowballed into a civil war and casualties on both sides are
mounting. In a desperate attempt for peace, Philip decides to approach Raylan, the second in command of the other side. He has learned that Raylan is not as stubborn as his mentor
and that he may be open to negotiations.
The last thing Philip expects is for a soul mate bond to spring to life between him and Raylan, activating an ancient curse that will kill them both if the bond isn’t consummated. Philip has never loved anyone but Casey, and Raylan is a total stranger who he has no
feelings for. Yet, the delicate negotiations between the two nations will fail without him and Raylan. Philip’s life is not his own, after all; it belongs to the people he has pledged his
service to.
With more than his life at stake, will Philip be able to let go of the love of his life to bring peace to his people?Curse of Souls is dystopian futuristic fantasy. If you love fantasy tales with high personal and world changing stakes, and protagonists who struggle to make hard choices, you will enjoy Niranjan’s Curse of Souls about people pushed to the limits of their endurance.
My Review
Firstly the cover of this book it truly beautiful!!
This book took me two days to read around my work schedule. It was a quick, easy fantasy read that honestly gave me a nice escape from the usual day to day.
I am always gonna be a sucker for a good fantasy romance and this had a lovely twist, turning into a love triangle.
So lets start at the beginning. There are two nations currently hanging in the balance of war or peace. The couple you are introduced are Philip and Casey. They are devoted to each other and their cause for peace between the nations. When Philip find out he has been affected by a curse to bond with his soulmate. Torn by loyality and feelings and his duty for the nation he must make many difficult decisions.
When connecting with the second in command on the other side to create peace, Philip or Casey would have never guessed that this would be Philips soulmate!!!
Though it is fast-paced, the world is well developed and you are constantly moving from one situation to the next.
I fell in love with these characters and wanted only their happiness and for them to find away to save their lives and still have love while wanting them to find peace for thier nations.
Its definitely a book I would have picked up purely for the cover but also a book I would reread.
I can see why this made the top 16! I want to say a huge thank you to the author and for the writereads book tour. I am so grateful for getting to read this
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors ending in 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA check out the BBNYA website https://www.bbnya.com/
Book Details
158 pages, fantasy/ romanace of adult nature.
Published 19th January 2024
Blurb
The fates of two nations hang on the balance on a man’s choice between love and an arcane bond.
Philip has been spearheading a rebellion in his country, with Casey, his lover and partner, at his side. The rebellion has snowballed into a civil war and casualties on both sides are
mounting. In a desperate attempt for peace, Philip decides to approach Raylan, the second in command of the other side. He has learned that Raylan is not as stubborn as his mentor
and that he may be open to negotiations.
The last thing Philip expects is for a soul mate bond to spring to life between him and Raylan, activating an ancient curse that will kill them both if the bond isn’t consummated. Philip has never loved anyone but Casey, and Raylan is a total stranger who he has no
feelings for. Yet, the delicate negotiations between the two nations will fail without him and Raylan. Philip’s life is not his own, after all; it belongs to the people he has pledged his
service to.
With more than his life at stake, will Philip be able to let go of the love of his life to bring peace to his people?Curse of Souls is dystopian futuristic fantasy. If you love fantasy tales with high personal and world changing stakes, and protagonists who struggle to make hard choices, you will enjoy Niranjan’s Curse of Souls about people pushed to the limits of their endurance.
My Review
Firstly the cover of this book it truly beautiful!!
This book took me two days to read around my work schedule. It was a quick, easy fantasy read that honestly gave me a nice escape from the usual day to day.
I am always gonna be a sucker for a good fantasy romance and this had a lovely twist, turning into a love triangle.
So lets start at the beginning. There are two nations currently hanging in the balance of war or peace. The couple you are introduced are Philip and Casey. They are devoted to each other and their cause for peace between the nations. When Philip find out he has been affected by a curse to bond with his soulmate. Torn by loyality and feelings and his duty for the nation he must make many difficult decisions.
When connecting with the second in command on the other side to create peace, Philip or Casey would have never guessed that this would be Philips soulmate!!!
Though it is fast-paced, the world is well developed and you are constantly moving from one situation to the next.
I fell in love with these characters and wanted only their happiness and for them to find away to save their lives and still have love while wanting them to find peace for thier nations.
Its definitely a book I would have picked up purely for the cover but also a book I would reread.
I can see why this made the top 16! I want to say a huge thank you to the author and for the writereads book tour. I am so grateful for getting to read this
February 18, 2025
As the kingdoms war, two soldiers come together to broker peace. Their meeting unveils a deadly curse. They are destined to be soul mates, but until they release this and accept the union, they are fated to die. Phillip and Raylan, also have to consider Casey, Phillips love match for 13 years as well as break the news to their respective kingdoms to see whether peace and Union will be accepted. Raylan has to betray his kingdom's wayward leader and face some deadly opposers in order to make any union of countries and love matches viable. A gorgeous romantasy story.
February 20, 2025
Thank you to BBNYA, The Write Reads, and the author for providing me with a free e-book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.
If you’ve been here any amount of time, you know that I’m a big fan of fantasy and, to a lesser but still powerful extent, science fiction. They are two of my favorite genres and two of the ones that I gravitate towards when I’m choosing a book to read. A genre I don’t read as much is romance, but I have been dipping my toe into the genre recently. So reading Curse of Souls felt like coming home with a nice surprise because it was a wonderful blend of fantasy with a dash of science fiction while also dropping in a healthy dose of romance!
This novel follows a man named Philip who is a leader in a revolution who finds himself in a tricky situation. He develops a soul mate bond with a defector from the other side named Raylan and this bond, if it isn’t consummated, will kill them both. The problem (beyond the obvious) is that Philip is already in love with his fellow revolutionist, Casey, and he does not want to give him up. Can he figure out a way around this curse while still fighting for peace?
I loved the premise of this novel! I remember reading the first excerpt of this as a panelist for BBNYA last year and I was hooked! I thought the plot sounded intriguing, I enjoyed the characters, and the world seemed like one I could get into. For the most part, I had a fun time with this read, especially getting to know our three main characters. I think my issue with this story is that it’s just too short! I wanted more! I wanted to get into the worldbuilding more and see how this world with both magic and technology had developed. I wanted to see Philip and Casey’s relationship before the soul mate bond issue arose. I wanted to learn more about Raylan and his country and his reasons for turning traitor. I just wanted more!
Still, what we did get was an absolute ride. It was engaging and easy to read and I found myself tearing through the pages. It was a quick, fun read that also had me giggling and kicking my feet when it came to the romance. If I could get a full length novel set in this world, I would dive in! Overall, I can see why this book became a finalist and I look forward to exploring more of this author’s work.
If you’ve been here any amount of time, you know that I’m a big fan of fantasy and, to a lesser but still powerful extent, science fiction. They are two of my favorite genres and two of the ones that I gravitate towards when I’m choosing a book to read. A genre I don’t read as much is romance, but I have been dipping my toe into the genre recently. So reading Curse of Souls felt like coming home with a nice surprise because it was a wonderful blend of fantasy with a dash of science fiction while also dropping in a healthy dose of romance!
This novel follows a man named Philip who is a leader in a revolution who finds himself in a tricky situation. He develops a soul mate bond with a defector from the other side named Raylan and this bond, if it isn’t consummated, will kill them both. The problem (beyond the obvious) is that Philip is already in love with his fellow revolutionist, Casey, and he does not want to give him up. Can he figure out a way around this curse while still fighting for peace?
I loved the premise of this novel! I remember reading the first excerpt of this as a panelist for BBNYA last year and I was hooked! I thought the plot sounded intriguing, I enjoyed the characters, and the world seemed like one I could get into. For the most part, I had a fun time with this read, especially getting to know our three main characters. I think my issue with this story is that it’s just too short! I wanted more! I wanted to get into the worldbuilding more and see how this world with both magic and technology had developed. I wanted to see Philip and Casey’s relationship before the soul mate bond issue arose. I wanted to learn more about Raylan and his country and his reasons for turning traitor. I just wanted more!
Still, what we did get was an absolute ride. It was engaging and easy to read and I found myself tearing through the pages. It was a quick, fun read that also had me giggling and kicking my feet when it came to the romance. If I could get a full length novel set in this world, I would dive in! Overall, I can see why this book became a finalist and I look forward to exploring more of this author’s work.
February 21, 2025
This story was quick and sweet, and even though i wished it was longer to explore the world and the characters more, it still delivered a well-rounded plot... it wasn't filled with unnecessary information or subplots, and it delivered what it was expected from it... there were few things that i would have loved to explore more like the history of the war, how Philip and Casey came together, and more of Raylan's own background, cause at some parts it felt rushed and straight to the point.
Still i had fun reading it in one setting being cozy on my couch which to me is a perfect evening.
Still i had fun reading it in one setting being cozy on my couch which to me is a perfect evening.
April 23, 2024
‘Curse of Souls’ is a novella that focuses on the soulmate bond between two characters that are opponents during a war that they both want to bring to an end. One of the characters is already in a relationship for 15 years, which I thought was an interesting starting point. This was a very likable couple and their struggles with this new soulmate bond were expressed very well.
The fact that someone dies if they don’t consummate their soulmate bond was a nice addition as well.
All in all, I liked the concept of this story. However, feelings developed way too fast and therefore, the story lost some credibility. . Nevertheless, there were some scenes where I felt really bad for the characters, so I was certainly invested in the story. I just think the story might have been more realistic if feelings developed in a larger time frame in which we would be able to get to know them in more depth.
The fact that someone dies if they don’t consummate their soulmate bond was a nice addition as well.
All in all, I liked the concept of this story. However, feelings developed way too fast and therefore, the story lost some credibility. . Nevertheless, there were some scenes where I felt really bad for the characters, so I was certainly invested in the story. I just think the story might have been more realistic if feelings developed in a larger time frame in which we would be able to get to know them in more depth.
August 27, 2024
WARNING! This review might contain some spoilers of the plot!!!!
I entered this novella with zero idea what it was about and even assumed from the cover, it was going to be a fairytale retelling. And yes, I did not even bother reading the blurb. Went in the book without knowing anything about it.
This book begins with a loud bang. While plenty of readers can agree the trope where a book begins waking up from a dream is used very often, I believe it was a great way to commence this story because this is the moment when Philip ends up bonded (and/or cursed depending on the way you see it) to a mysterious person lurking somewhere.
As a scholar, he is aware of some aspects about the Varitan (?) curse, and the fact if he doesn't discover the identity of his soulmate and ahem... sleeps with this person soon, the curse will kill him. So as expected, the book begins with high stakes and I love romance stories with curses, so I was already quite lured by the first chapter.
Soulmate bonds are pretty standard fare in romance books. The fun twist we have here is that not only is Philip in a long term stable relationship (so expect things to get messy regarding having to cheat on his SO against his will to avoid certain death), but the love triangle is between 3 queer adult men. I have read romance with soul mates and a third participant that wants to steal one of the couple for themselves. And I have also read 1 really great romcom with a bisexual love triangle. But never a queer threesome. So, that was real fun for me.
As expected, Philip's spouse Casey freaks out because of the grating realization the man he loves risks certain death... and the painful truth he isn't his soulmate after all. While some readers might dislike the 1st base cheating in the book, other readers will enjoy it. I felt this aspect was handelled well.
It is quite obvious the author is ESL, and I am quite curious to know which other language (or languages) that author speaks. Native English readers will instantly notice this book uses unusual but perfectly correct words such as decombulation, and syntax order in some sentences are reversed. On occasion, I almost felt this book was originally written in Spanish everytime I saw the phrase time enough (escrito en Español como tiempo suficiente aunque por así decirlo, creo que esa frase se le pueden revertir el orden de las palabras dependiendo del contexto. Tendría que revisar la respuesta en un corrector gramático en Español para confirmarlo). Sorry about the Spanish rambling here, I am just thinking of higher advanced grammatical quirks of the Spanish language and how I frequently noticed similar aspects throught this book.
While the unusually reversed phrases are fully understandable, I do feel some of them repeat the exact same idea twice and could have been chopped to both increase clarity and reduce unnecesary word count.
Now, I have really enjoyed the first half of this book, but I ended up giving it 4 stars. And there is a perfectly reasonable reason for this. It was perfectly fine for me that both cursed love interests belong to opposite sides of an ongoing civil war. In fact, this increased the stakes even more. The bad news is that the book couldn't agree on whether to make the tension conflict about Casey ending up dumped by his SO, the 'what will the people think?' from both countries regarding their military leaders suddenly demanding a peace treaty out of nowhere, and the curse itself.
You see, the curse becomes an important plot point in the earliest and best written chapters of the book, where Philip is frustrated the person he dreamt about has hobbies he doesn't care about and the fact the curse will soon exert its unwanted effects. Casey discovers the truth very quickly, but the curse becomes an afterthought during the story. I would have wanted the adverse curse effects to manifest and Casey being the poor slug that has to drag Philip through enemy lines to toss him in Raylan's bedroom, shut the door and cry in the hallway. That would have been soooooooooooo good. I love it when stories do that kind of messy curse stuff and where romantic relationships suffer through difficult obstacles.
Much to my chagrin, we get the queer male version of damsel in distress. It's great for one occasion, but this ploy is used a tad bit way too much. Instead of gripping the reader through the nonstop stakes, the curse and forced cheating aspect of the plot are left on the sidelines. However, despite these qualms, I did quite enjoy the book and would be interested in reading more stories from the author.
I entered this novella with zero idea what it was about and even assumed from the cover, it was going to be a fairytale retelling. And yes, I did not even bother reading the blurb. Went in the book without knowing anything about it.
This book begins with a loud bang. While plenty of readers can agree the trope where a book begins waking up from a dream is used very often, I believe it was a great way to commence this story because this is the moment when Philip ends up bonded (and/or cursed depending on the way you see it) to a mysterious person lurking somewhere.
As a scholar, he is aware of some aspects about the Varitan (?) curse, and the fact if he doesn't discover the identity of his soulmate and ahem... sleeps with this person soon, the curse will kill him. So as expected, the book begins with high stakes and I love romance stories with curses, so I was already quite lured by the first chapter.
Soulmate bonds are pretty standard fare in romance books. The fun twist we have here is that not only is Philip in a long term stable relationship (so expect things to get messy regarding having to cheat on his SO against his will to avoid certain death), but the love triangle is between 3 queer adult men. I have read romance with soul mates and a third participant that wants to steal one of the couple for themselves. And I have also read 1 really great romcom with a bisexual love triangle. But never a queer threesome. So, that was real fun for me.
As expected, Philip's spouse Casey freaks out because of the grating realization the man he loves risks certain death... and the painful truth he isn't his soulmate after all. While some readers might dislike the 1st base cheating in the book, other readers will enjoy it. I felt this aspect was handelled well.
It is quite obvious the author is ESL, and I am quite curious to know which other language (or languages) that author speaks. Native English readers will instantly notice this book uses unusual but perfectly correct words such as decombulation, and syntax order in some sentences are reversed. On occasion, I almost felt this book was originally written in Spanish everytime I saw the phrase time enough (escrito en Español como tiempo suficiente aunque por así decirlo, creo que esa frase se le pueden revertir el orden de las palabras dependiendo del contexto. Tendría que revisar la respuesta en un corrector gramático en Español para confirmarlo). Sorry about the Spanish rambling here, I am just thinking of higher advanced grammatical quirks of the Spanish language and how I frequently noticed similar aspects throught this book.
While the unusually reversed phrases are fully understandable, I do feel some of them repeat the exact same idea twice and could have been chopped to both increase clarity and reduce unnecesary word count.
Now, I have really enjoyed the first half of this book, but I ended up giving it 4 stars. And there is a perfectly reasonable reason for this. It was perfectly fine for me that both cursed love interests belong to opposite sides of an ongoing civil war. In fact, this increased the stakes even more. The bad news is that the book couldn't agree on whether to make the tension conflict about Casey ending up dumped by his SO, the 'what will the people think?' from both countries regarding their military leaders suddenly demanding a peace treaty out of nowhere, and the curse itself.
You see, the curse becomes an important plot point in the earliest and best written chapters of the book, where Philip is frustrated the person he dreamt about has hobbies he doesn't care about and the fact the curse will soon exert its unwanted effects. Casey discovers the truth very quickly, but the curse becomes an afterthought during the story. I would have wanted the adverse curse effects to manifest and Casey being the poor slug that has to drag Philip through enemy lines to toss him in Raylan's bedroom, shut the door and cry in the hallway. That would have been soooooooooooo good. I love it when stories do that kind of messy curse stuff and where romantic relationships suffer through difficult obstacles.
Much to my chagrin, we get the queer male version of damsel in distress. It's great for one occasion, but this ploy is used a tad bit way too much. Instead of gripping the reader through the nonstop stakes, the curse and forced cheating aspect of the plot are left on the sidelines. However, despite these qualms, I did quite enjoy the book and would be interested in reading more stories from the author.
April 28, 2024
First, if there's one thing that annoys me, it's when an author drops name randomly without context. It feels like you should already know these characters. Instead, you just don't have a clue of who they are and it pisses me ! So, who is Darren, Jerrick, Haynes, Gedrion and Desrilt ? I think the last two names are territories or something like that.
Secondly, there's a big inconsistency with Raylan's character. It seems he is a high ranking officer in the army of Darren. Darren is maybe a king, a president or something like that. Raylan is conducting a peace treaty negotiation with Philip. He does this while Darren is unaware of the negotiation. How is it possible ?
As a high ranking officer, he has to obey orders. If he realizes that his leader is a scumbag, he has two choices. He deserts his post and joins Philip's side. Or he organize a coup. But, he can't negotiate a peace treaty without his leader's consent. Either way, he is a traitor !
Thirdly, I usually don't mind mixing genres in a romance. Here, it's really confusing. In the beginning, Philip feels sick and a droid examine him and conclude he is not sick. So, science-fiction it is !
Then, Philip and Casey use magic powers to evade an enemy. So, fantasy it is !
Then they speak of using a phone. So, contemporary romance it is !
When you mix too many genres, it is very hard to follow the story line.
Now, I just finished it. It was just awful ! No depth !
Secondly, there's a big inconsistency with Raylan's character. It seems he is a high ranking officer in the army of Darren. Darren is maybe a king, a president or something like that. Raylan is conducting a peace treaty negotiation with Philip. He does this while Darren is unaware of the negotiation. How is it possible ?
As a high ranking officer, he has to obey orders. If he realizes that his leader is a scumbag, he has two choices. He deserts his post and joins Philip's side. Or he organize a coup. But, he can't negotiate a peace treaty without his leader's consent. Either way, he is a traitor !
Thirdly, I usually don't mind mixing genres in a romance. Here, it's really confusing. In the beginning, Philip feels sick and a droid examine him and conclude he is not sick. So, science-fiction it is !
Then, Philip and Casey use magic powers to evade an enemy. So, fantasy it is !
Then they speak of using a phone. So, contemporary romance it is !
When you mix too many genres, it is very hard to follow the story line.
Now, I just finished it. It was just awful ! No depth !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2024
A Curse of Souls is a short, whirlwind romantic fantasy dealing with the challenges of relationships and soul mates with magical influence (both positive and negative). With a quick storyline, readers are following the interactions via chapter POV changes of the three main male characters Phillip, Casey, and Raylan.
There are areas left to reader interpretation (past history and interactions) that I struggled with since I wanted more of a setting backstory as well as character origin stories to grow the relationships organically and have them more drawn out. On an emotional standpoint the characters heavily conveyed what they were feeling and why (hitting me in the feels!), even if the resolutions of said feelings occurred quickly.
If you like a faster paced romance, give this a try!
There are areas left to reader interpretation (past history and interactions) that I struggled with since I wanted more of a setting backstory as well as character origin stories to grow the relationships organically and have them more drawn out. On an emotional standpoint the characters heavily conveyed what they were feeling and why (hitting me in the feels!), even if the resolutions of said feelings occurred quickly.
If you like a faster paced romance, give this a try!
February 18, 2025
Curse of Souls is a quick read that is easy to get into, fast paced and pretty well written. My biggest criticism and what keeps it from 5 stars is actually that it might be a bit too quick paced. Everything happens very quickly, everything develops very rapidly and you have almost no time to really absorb yourself in the setting and the characters. I would love if more time had been spent developing the war and its background and the reasons for the conflict. There’s some great magical concepts that I would love to see explored too.
My main word to the author is MORE. More development, more worldbuilding, more background.
Having said all that I really enjoyed what was there. Its a well written page turner and honestly the book flies by in no time. Definitely recommended. The book did well in the 2024 Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award so you know I am not alone in liking it!
My main word to the author is MORE. More development, more worldbuilding, more background.
Having said all that I really enjoyed what was there. Its a well written page turner and honestly the book flies by in no time. Definitely recommended. The book did well in the 2024 Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award so you know I am not alone in liking it!
February 19, 2025
I'm reviewing this as part of a tour with The Write Reads.
This fantasy romance was a short read, but the author wrote in a way that made me feel connected to the characters from the beginning. I felt the bond between Casey and Philip, and I found from the way the author described it, I found Varipin to be an interesting but somewhat mind-boggling concept. The author presents the characters and the bonds between them in a way that feels real and complex. I think this is light enough to read easily in one sitting too.
Thank you to The Write Reads, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
This fantasy romance was a short read, but the author wrote in a way that made me feel connected to the characters from the beginning. I felt the bond between Casey and Philip, and I found from the way the author described it, I found Varipin to be an interesting but somewhat mind-boggling concept. The author presents the characters and the bonds between them in a way that feels real and complex. I think this is light enough to read easily in one sitting too.
Thank you to The Write Reads, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
January 21, 2024
This was a great fast-paced fantasy/romance! ✨❤️🔥
Philip must decide between letting go of the love of his life to activate a soul bond with Raylan, or stay with his love and risk the lives of not only himself but all of his people as well!
I loved the fact that this book has dual POV! I feel like dual POV adds a lot to a story because you get to read the story unfold through different characters. The plot in this book was very easy to understand and get into!
Philip must decide between letting go of the love of his life to activate a soul bond with Raylan, or stay with his love and risk the lives of not only himself but all of his people as well!
I loved the fact that this book has dual POV! I feel like dual POV adds a lot to a story because you get to read the story unfold through different characters. The plot in this book was very easy to understand and get into!
January 21, 2024
Wellwritten mlm fated mates short story about what happens when you find your fated mate while already in a committed relationship.
I would have liked to see slightly more worldbuilding. There's a war going on, and I would have felt more connected to the main characters' plight if the why and how of the war was explained.
Overall, I enjoyed the story!
Spice level:
🌶
•••
I received an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own.
I would have liked to see slightly more worldbuilding. There's a war going on, and I would have felt more connected to the main characters' plight if the why and how of the war was explained.
Overall, I enjoyed the story!
Spice level:
🌶
•••
I received an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own.
February 3, 2024
Curse of Souls is a very fast-paced story. It was one situation to the next. I wish it would have been slower, but it was a quick read. The story immediately goes into action, and it doesn't give much background on the world or the war that was going on. The story's main plot was for Phillip to decide between being with the love of his life or activating a soul bond with another. Overall, I love the plot. The characters were very likable (of course, each with their flaws).
If you like fantasy, LGBTQ+, or romance, and little to no spice, this is the book for you.
If you like fantasy, LGBTQ+, or romance, and little to no spice, this is the book for you.
February 19, 2025
review to come
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