Book Tour: Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool

About the Book:

Title: Garden of the Cursed

Author: Katy Rose Pool

Series: Garden of the Cursed #1

Page Length:

Publication Date: June 20, 2023

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 

GENRES: YA fantasy, mystery

Synopsis: In this thrilling YA fantasy/mystery duology from award-winning author Katy 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. Perfect for fans of Veronica Mars, These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron.

Since fleeing the gilded halls of Evergarden for the muck-filled canals of the Marshes, Marlow Briggs has made a name for herself as the best godsdamn cursebreaker in Caraza City. But no matter how many cases she solves, she is still haunted by the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

When Adrius Falcrest, Marlow’s old friend and scion of one of Caraza’s most affluent spell-making families, asks her to help break a life-threatening curse, Marlow wants nothing to do with the boy who spurned her a year ago. But a new lead in her mother’s case makes Marlow realize that the only way to get the answers she desperately seeks is to help Adrius and return to Evergarden society—even if it means suffering through a fake love affair with him to avoid drawing suspicion from the conniving Five Families.

As the investigation draws Marlow into a web of deadly secrets and powerful enemies, a shocking truth emerges: Adrius’s curse and her mother’s disappearance may just be clues to an even larger mystery, one that could unravel the very foundations of Caraza and magic itself.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon | Author’s Website | Turn the Page Tours

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My Review:

I’m so happy to be on the blog tour today for Garden of the Cursed. It’s a fantastic and original fantasy with a dynamic protagonist, a unique plot, vivid world-building, and a chemistry-laden enemies-to-lovers romance!

Marlow is a fierce and brave protagonist. Smart, snarky, and a bit antagonistic, she’s determined to find out what happened to her mother who disappeared a year ago. But when Adrius comes to her for help, she finds it hard to say no to the male who broke her heart all those months ago. I love Adrius too, though his character is more difficult to understand, as he remains an enigma for much of the story. He definitely has the broody, moody bad-boy attitude that I love in a MMC. Other characters, including Marlow’s best friend and Adrius’s friends and family, are also quite compelling, and I’m excited to see where their stories lead.

As Marlow works to break a curse that plagues Adrius, she learns of ties to her mother’s disappearance, and Marlow isn’t sure who she can trust. With Adrius’s life at risk, old feelings resurfacing, conflicts with friends, and a ton of political turmoil, Marlow must use all of her guile to figure out how everything connects. It’s such an interesting and layered plot, filled with intense and unexpected twists and revelations. Power, control, secrets, manipulations, political intrigue, betrayal, and more plague the characters, especially Marlow as she tries to find out more about her mother, break Adrius’s curse, and avoid the gang issues that seem tied to everything.

Adrius and Marlow have amazing chemistry, and I adored their enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s clear there are unresolved feelings between them, but both characters are so walled off, and vulnerability is difficult for both. This isn’t shocking considering the lives they both lead and the people and events that have affected them. Marlow runs away from her feelings and from the people who make her feel, especially Adrius. But it definitely says something that Adrius came to Marlow when he needed help the most. She is the only person he trusts even after what transpired between them. I like how we slowly learn about their past relationship and how it affected them both. It’s also interesting to see how each deals with so many conflicting and confusing feelings.

The world-building is also great, and I love the unique and intriguing world the author created. Speaking of the author, what an immersive writing style. I was so easily drawn into the story and became engrossed with the layered characters and plot. The author definitely has a gift for storytelling because I found it hard to put the book down. And after that fantastic ending, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Turn the Page Tours for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Rating:

Favorite Lines:

Maybe that’s all love was. Handing someone a knife and trusting that they wouldn’t cut your throat.

“The first time I ever spoke to you,” he said softly, “I thought you were the most interesting person I’d ever met in my life. All I wanted to do was to keep talking to you for the rest of the day. And the day after that. If I could talk to you every day until I died, I think I’d never get bored.”

“Secrets can’t protect me,” Marlow replied. “Only the truth can.”

Girls like Amara and Gemma didn’t have friends, they had sycophants and victims.

She was learning the lesson Marlow already knew too well-that people you cared about would only let you down in the end.