CURSED SOULS Book Review

Cursed Souls (book 2) by Ashley Farris, eBook, 356 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: Robbed of her memories and magic, Evangeline finds herself an unwitting prisoner in the Seelie Court—a pawn in a war that has raged for eons. Trapped in a gilded cage of lies and manipulation, she must unravel the truth of her identity before it's too late. Devlin, her soulmate, will burn the world to ashes to bring her home.

As Evangeline struggles to piece together her past, she faces new challenges and enemies both old and new. With the help of loyal friends and the power of dragons, she must navigate the treacherous waters of Fae politics and her own fragmented mind. But dark forces conspire to keep them apart, testing the strength of their bond and threatening to tear them asunder once more. In a realm where memory is a battlefield and trust is a precious commodity, Evangeline and Devlin must fight not just for their love, but for their very souls. Some bonds can't be broken. Some loves can't be forgotten. A heart-stopping journey of rediscovery, loyalty, and the fight to reclaim what was lost.

BOOK REVIEW: While I am still reeling from how book 1 ended, I am really glad that this picked up where that story left off. I confess, it's been awhile and a lot of books between, that I don't remember everything that happened in book 1 HOWEVER, the parts that were crucial to remember, I do or ware recalled briefly in this one so it didn't feel disconnected for me. I am still a little irritated at how quickly "the bond" turned Devlin into Eva's love interest and went from hating his guts to loving him for all eternity.

Speaking of "the bond" it felt like that was mentioned every other paragraph. It was mentioned enough to distract me which is part of the reason I knocked it down in ranking. While I didn't call the ending (I didn't in the last book either), I had an inkling this time and wasn't shocked. I didn't feel the need to immediately email the author this time. It was definitely an amazing book and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Overall this was a 4 star for me. I couldn't get over the constant mention of the bond between Devlin and Eva. I also noticed, and it may have been a slip, but Lennix called Eva Angel and only Devlin has called her that. It rubbed me wrong. I also appreciate the fine detail of the spicy scenes but holy moly there were a TON of spicy scenes. I had to be careful having my computer read it to me if my kid was home. I barely feel old enough to hear those things let alone my 6 year old. I did receive this as an ARC from the author and I thought it was already published but I can't find it anywhere so once I know where it is available I will update this post!

4/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 34/50 complete