Cursed is the 2nd book in the Gilded duology by Marissa Meyer and should be read after reading the first book. It continues the retelling of the tale of Rumpelstiltskin from the perspective of Serilda. I experienced this book in its audiobook format, narrated by Rebecca Soler. I really enjoyed listening to this expressive narrator who really helped the story come to life for me.

I enjoyed the first book in the duology, rating it 4 stars, but Cursed really blew me away, earning it a 5-star rating. The book was filled with wonderful details that really brought it to life. There was lots of action, and though you have a general idea about how the story will go, there are twists and turns that catch you by surprise. We are introduced to some new characters, while bringing back many of the characters from the first book. I was so invested in the story that I found it hard to stop and listened to the entire 16-hour audiobook over the course of 2 days. I don't want to give away any of the plot, but it was definitely an emotional rollercoaster. Reading this book really reinforced my love for this author's work. This duology is a must-read for fans of fairy tales and fantasy stories!

Thank you to Marissa Meyer, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the free advance release audiobook! All opinions in this review are my own. ( )

Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: Earthquake, building collapse, death of a person, physical assault and injury, blood depiction
Score: Seven points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Let me start with a statement, for me Marissa Meyer is a hit or miss author. I can safely say some of her books like Cinder were hits, some were okay like Renegades and Gilded but some were misses like Archenemies. At least this book was a hit and a much needed improvement over Cursed and an outstanding way to finish the duology. It starts (more like continues) with the main character Serilda (whose last name I forgot) picking up after the events of the first instalment and immediately I noticed something, the book is slow paced like the preceding books I've read (that doesn't mean it ruins the book) but it lets me explore the character dynamic between Serilda and Gild. The relationship between them grows deeper which dominated the book, left room for not many other events to happen and made this book more like a romantasy than a fantasy. I've read romantasies before like Graceling and Powerless (of which I enjoyed the latter) and I'm still debating whether that's my cup of tea. It might be. The book was slow for the first 400 pages or so right up until the last 80 pages which were action-packed, an afterword from the narrator, and that ends the book. ( )

I cannot stop gushing over this book, the duology in it's whole. I absolutely love Marissa Meyers style of writing, I feel like you can give her a sentence and she will unravel that into a beautiful story. Cursed is the second book in the Gilded Duology series, a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, now I have never read the original and the little I know of Rumpelstiltskin is short stories from watching Once upon a time, or in other movies but let me tell you whether you are familiar with the story or not Marissa takes you on a whole new journey of curses, Gods, and dark villains that are sure to captivate you. I absolutely loved every bit of this, I will admit there was a moment two I was a bit confused and wondered where she was taking this and it was worth being patient and hanging on every word. I laughed, I yelled and I cried.

Never mind liking retellings because this duology Gilded and Cursed are a story told all on it's own with the mention of a character that many are familiar with. Highly recommend, it is still early in the 2024 year but this is definitely a favorite.

well deserved 5 star rating ✨✨✨✨✨ ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/53v-tfP1ePg

Enjoy! ( )

Continuation of the fairytale retelling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin started in Gilded.
This being a duology, we finally get to the "happily ever after", albeit after much magic and suffering.

The tenuous link to the original Rumpelstiltskin tale finally gelled for me in this second book.
I was satisfied with how everything came together in the end. ( )