Garden of the Cursed
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4.8 • 5 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this enemies-to-lovers romantasy mystery, cursebreaker Marlow Briggs reluctantly pretends to be in love with a powerful noble to gain entry into an illustrious—and deadly—society that holds clues to her mother's disappearance.
“Nothing short of genius.” —Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Inheritance Games series
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 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. This edge-of-your-seat novel is perfect for fans of Veronica Mars, These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron.
"A delicious read full of swoony romance." —Tricia Levenseller, New York Times–bestselling author of Blade of Secrets
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pool (the Age of Darkness trilogy) fuses fantasy, mystery, and romance in this transfixing duology opener set in Caraza City, where spellcraft knowledge is regulated by the politically powerful Five Families. Because of her mother's station as the right hand of a Five Families patriarch, Marlow Briggs leads a privileged life learning spellcraft alongside the families' young elites. After her mother vanishes, Marlow, now 17, dwells in the gang-run Marshes and works as a cursebreaker, seeking out and destroying the sources of hexes. When Five Families scion Adrius Falcrest, 18, asks Marlow for help with breaking a dangerous curse, she hesitates. Though Adrius and Marlow were once friends bordering on more, he publicly rebuffed her, breaking Marlow's heart. But regaining access to the Five Families would allow Marlow to investigate her mother's disappearance. Posing as Adrius's girlfriend to keep their agreement—and her snooping—discreet, Marlow swallows her pride and dives back in to the affluent world that once rejected her. High-stakes action and bureaucratic intrigue abound, but it's Marlow and Adrius's charged relationship that keep tensions elevated, continuously knocking confident Marlow off-kilter. Sumptuous worldbuilding and fully realized, intersectionally diverse characters further enhance this enticing tale. Ages 14–up. Agents: Alexandra Machinist and Hillary Jacobson, ICM Partners.
Customer Reviews
A captivating fantasy
I honestly don’t know how to express how much I love this book. I loved everything- the plot, characters, writing style, magic system; I loved it all. Essentially the main character, Marlow, is a curse breaker, but she used to live a different life before. One day, the guy she used to have feelings for, Adrius Falcrest, comes back into her life asking her to help him with a curse. So Marlow takes on the case, but she is also trying to find her missing mother at the same time.
This book is definitely like a fantasy/ mystery with some romance added in. There’s second chance romance and the fake dating trope which is done so well. The way Adrius pines after Marlow had me giggling because it was so cute. My only complaint with the book was that I honestly did not really know what the setting was. It took me like the whole book to figure out if Caraza was a city or country, and then I couldn’t figure out what time period it was supposed to be because there was no phones and stuff, but there were cameras. So overall I still gave it a 5 star, but there were only some minor issues for me.