Heartbound: The Cursed Fae

by Holly Robilliard

When Lyria, hiding among humans, finds herself trapped by a curse meant for a cruel fae prince, the solution to escape is ending his life will grant her freedom. But while his heart still beats, the curse remains—and so does she.

Despite her intentions, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him, uncovering a connection to her past that challenges everything she knows. With time running out, she must choose between honoring the lie that protects her or unleashing her power and saving the life of the fae she’s no longer sure she can live without.

Will she find the courage to set aside centuries of loathing and a lifetime of fear for a chance to embrace her true self, or will Lyria forever regret what could have been?

399 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2024

About the author

Since she could decipher words, Holly has voyaged with Ishmael, reveled in the roaring twenties with Jay, and traversed Middle Earth’s perilous landscapes with Frodo, (and yes, this is a Gilmore Girls reference!) Books have always been her escape, but her love for worldbuilding and character development are what inspired her to begin writing fiction.

Although she was born in Canada, life has brought her to sunny California, where she works for an Equine Genetics company. There, she gets to combine her passion for horses, science, and writing (not to mention, publishing papers!)

Of course, life can’t be all work and no play, so Holly recently teamed up with two other amazing authors and started The Writer’s Realm Podcast.

When she’s not working, reading, writing, or podding, Holly loves spending time outdoors—especially doing something that involves dogs or horses!

Reviews

[Kali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot going for it! I liked the characters and felt like their conversations were relatable. On the other hand I felt like some things were rushed or were not completely clear. It wasn’t really explained when/how Rhone and Lyria realized they were Heartbound (or was it just because they loved each other?) so I think there could have been more detail about that and/or it could have talked about someone else being Heartbound earlier in the book to kind of explain what it was. I don’t think it ever explained why Lyria recognized Deja when she saw her in the med tent but I would’ve liked to know more about that. I was sooo mad when Rhone was pretend flirting with Nalissa because even though I knew his feelings weren’t real, I thought they were actually about to hook up as a distraction so Rhone’s family could free Lyria haha. Overall I liked this book and would read the next one if there is one. Maia needs some closure for her love situation :)

[Lindsey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

What a debut novel by Holly Robilliard! Written in honor of her mother, gone too soon, she is an author going places! With her storyline pulling from multiple beloved fairytales, one could think the storyline would become muddled and murky. Holly, however, provides a story that is consistent throughout, easy to follow, and full of heart.

Lyriana is a strong, fierce woman who hold strong to her principles. When she finds herself under a curse meant for a cruel prince, she has to find a way to break free. After hiding among humans, she must go back to the world of fae to gain her freedom.

As she progresses in her quest, she finds herself drawn to the prince. There is history between her people and the crown that she is now questioning, what is true and what isn’t. As someone who has always been very sure of her beliefs and values, this new information has her unbalanced.

For fans of Discovery of Witches, Crowns of Nyaxia, and ACOTAR; this book has it all. I will admit, due to the fairytale roots in this book, it makes it difficult to write a well-rounded review, without giving away spoilers, but the read is worth it! Holly’s writing is full of passion, twists and turns that keep you guessing, and characters that leave you wanting more. A wonderful debut novel from an up and coming author, who I seriously cannot wait to see what she writes next.

As always, review any author notes before reading.

Tropes:
👑Morally Grey MMC
🔗Fierce Heroine FMC
👑Enemies to Lovers
🔗Fairytale Roots
👑Curse Gone Wrong
🔗Debut Novel

[Navina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice : 2 of 5 🌶️🌶️

Just two Chapters in and I fell in love with Lyriana. She is everything I want to see in a female lead. She is fierce, strong and has her own mind and does everything to stay true to her principles.
The female characters personalities are great in themselves.
One or other will fall in love with the Male lead Rhone and his morally grey personality.

It has a fairytale root but without spoilers I can't tell which so you need to read it yourself to discover.

The world building is good. In my opinion it needs just a little fine-tuning.

So how did I like it in the end?
It was a great start into a new world! Fantasy, action and romance fans will love it.
It was full of twists that I couldn't even think of and I hope to see more of the world that Robilliard created.

Maybe the next book is about Kadarius and Maia? I would love to read more about them and the rest. 😉😊❤️

[Penni Hollins 📚🐉 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me beauty and the beast vibes.

This was a good enough story but there were a few things that just didn’t gel for me and so made me lower my star rating:

* I felt the FMC backpedaled - went from this strong feminine assassin to a woman portrayed as weak who needed to be saved.
* The enemies to lovers element wasn’t a smooth transition. They went from loathing each other to sleeping together to declaring undying love. It was just a bit rushed and so didn’t feel realistic
* The world was small but detailed which I enjoyed…..but needed a book map
* Didn’t like the end at all - considering how the rest of the book went I didn’t feel that it fit the storyline

I did love some of the side characters though - Maia & Luc in particular were very well written characters and really made the story for me.

Overall I did enjoy reading this book and it was an easy read but I just felt I needed a bit more.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this was so, so good! You find yourself drawn into an incredible, magical world and hooked from start to finish. Brimming with magic, action, adventure and romance, the author does a fantastic job luring you into this story with witches and fae and other magical beings and once you start, you cannot put this down. Our fmc Lyria is such a great character, strong, fierce and can definitely hold her own, who finds herself cursed by mistake, when it was meant to be the cruel prince. Her journey to break the curse is exciting and totally captivating as she finds herself drawn closer to the prince and some shocking secrets come to light. Twists and turns are thrown in our path and have you on the edge of your seat and I have to say, I cannot wait to see what this author does next!

[Ashley Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is one thing I love more than morally grey MMCs it is morally grey FMCs. Lyria has been on her own and has learned if she doesn't want to be a "damsel in distress" she has to learn to fight.

This story is also a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Another thing I love is a retelling. This one was wonderfully executed. There were so many things woven into this story that added to the retelling.

This is a debut but definitely doesn't feel like a debut novel. This book should definitely be added to your TBR.

[Taylor Balkema · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful romantasy book from a debut author in honor of her own mothers passing ❤️ This book has all of the tropes we all know and love:

•fae
•witches
•magic
•enemies to lovers
•royalty
•morally grey men
•plot twists
•SPICE 🌶️

And one of my absolutely favorite micro tropes of all: he washes her hair! 🥵

This book is perfect for those who are looking for a shorter read or an intro into the fantasy genre!

[Kerin Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Absolutely fantastic! I loved everything about it! The world building the plot! And the SPICE! Woo (swoons) the FMC is amazing in every way I couldn’t stop reading! And The MMC alpha male in every way! If you love magic, enemies to lovers, spice, Fae this is the book for you! The world and suspense and journey is worth going on the adventure of a lifetime! -Kerin

[katherine juricny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a beautiful journey through love and loss and regrowth. I genuinely fell in love with Lyria's sass and Rhone's exasperation from page one. The character and world building, especially for a debut fantasy novel, were amazing. I am greatly looking forward to see what comes next from this author.

[Mappy BookGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a roller coaster I did not want to get off of. I loved this book. The world building Holly did was amazing and quite impressive considering how much she put into it. I loved the characters, especially Lyria. This book had everything you'd want in a Romantasy, so I definitely recommend it!

[Andrea Wen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry. I hate being the first one star, but I seriously thought this book was written by AI.