Garden of the Cursed: 1

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After Marlow's fall from the elite of society, she forges her path by becoming a curse-breaker. A year into her new life, an old friend, now a new enemy, comes to her door asking for help. She reluctantly agrees and finds herself tangled up in the lies of high society, and a case that has haunted her for the past year...

I need more people to read this book. I loved Marlow as a main character. She was feisty and easy to connect with. The story was fast paced and twisty, and I loved the romance. I’m such a fan of when the MC and love interest have a history prior to the book. It just adds a whole other level to their interactions, and Pool executed that perfectly. Adrius had his faults, but he was lovable. and I couldn't help but root for him and Marlow.

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Swift and Marlow talk about the play and Marlow tells him about how Corrine's understudy cursed her. Marlow tells him that she went out to the Marsh's to find the lead on Corrine, hexed the man and got out. In this edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy/mystery duology from award-winning author Katy Rose Pool, cursebreaker Marlow Briggs reluctantly pretends to be in love with one of the most powerful nobles in Caraza City to gain entry into an illustrious—and deadly—society that holds clues to her mother’s disappearance. Garden of the Cursed is perfect for fans of Veronica Mars , These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron . He spat in Marlow’s face. A glob of saliva landed wetly on her cheek, and for a moment Marlow was stunned into silence. Slowly, deliberately, she wiped her face and said, in a taut voice brimming with violence, “You’re really going to regret that.” Hopefully, we get more world-building in the second book. In the beginning, we learn that spells and curses are carried in playing cards. Such a unique concept, but it was never expanded on. About halfway through the book, we learn that bullets can carry hexes as well. So, what decides what can carry a curse? Why can bullets carry hexes, when nothing else in the book is able to do so? They talk about spell casting, so can wizards carry wands? There was no expansion on this idea, which was frustrating. This could have been such a good selling point for the book. As for the rest of the world, there's nothing new. It reads like any other sci-fi/dystopian world, with the poor sector and the rich one.

Marlow finishes work, gets dinner, and walks into her flat to find Adrius sitting in her chair and petting her cat. Adrius is a scion and heir to one of these families, while Marlow was allowed to be educated alongside him and the other noblesse nouveau since her mother worked as a chevalier to one of the Five Families. She was ostracized by everyone there aside from Adrius; however, their friendship existed in private, when he would appear at her apartment to bother her. A year ago, even that was ruined when he publicly wanted nothing to do with her. A few days later, Marlow’s mother disappeared and she flees to the Marshes, not seeing Adrius until a chance encounter that later leads to him asking her to break his curse. Do my eyes deceive me? Or is that Marlow Briggs I see skulking around this very fine establishment?”One of the most original fantasy novels I've read in years." —C. L. Herman, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the All of Us Villains duology I’m not 100% sold on the second chance-ish friends to enemies to lovers romance between Marlow and Adrius and I felt more frustrated than anything with them most of the time. I tried to keep in mind that they’re just teenagers, but it became increasingly difficult since they never talked to each other and the same miscommunication kept happening over and over again. The book ends with an interesting reveal and cliffhanger, but it’s not a cliffhanger that will leave you feeling gutted. Marlow Briggs desperately wants to find her mother who disappeared a year ago. When Adrius Falcresrt bargains to hire her to break a curse, she agrees knowing she will be able to search for clues to find her mother in the Evergarden society. Though posing as his once-again lover after he spurned her is not how she expected to be walking among the elite again. Someone else knows why she’s there and about the curse on Adrius and consequences of talking to the wrong person could be deadly for them both. Vivian is led away, leaving Corrine, de-cursed and able to perform. She thanks Marlow and lets her know that The Five Families scions are going to be attending the opening night of the ballet. Before Thaddeus can succeed in harming Marlow, a woman who Marlow has sensed following her comes into the corridor and intimidates Thaddeus into standing down.