Curse Undone by Brandie June

In the sequel to Gold Spun, Nor discovers she is more than just a miller’s daughter when she is revealed to be not only half-fay, but the heir to a kingdom she despises. 

Two crowns. Two kingdoms. One chance to rule.

Nor and King Casper are captured by the fay army and forced to face the indomitable Faerie Queen, Marasina. At her command, Casper is thrown into a mysterious prison while an even sinister fate is in store for Nor—a deadly fay poison that reveals Nor’s true nature. She’s not only half-fay. She is Queen Marasina’s heir.

Revealed to be like the very creatures she despises, Nor must not only find a way to free Casper but also navigate a court that is as deadly as it is beautiful. Her allies are few, and though Pel claims to want friendship, Nor finds she cannot forgive his betrayal. As tensions mount and war looms between the kingdoms, Nor must choose a side, before it’s too late.

In this epic conclusion to the Gold Spun duology, Nor discovers that a glamour and a curse may be two sides of the same coin.

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Apparently I really enjoyed the first part of this duology. I say apparently, because I have only the barest memory of it, and as always there's no recap either in or out of the story. We just plunge straight into the action. I know I say this a lot - all three of us do - but it's tough, when there's a year or more between releases, to remember even the highlights, never mind the details.

Without remembering the relationships, it was difficult to get into this story, although I did love the language used and the imagination obvious here. Brandie folds in other fairytales, most notably the Raven Princess, and the resulting tapestry is intricate and lovely. The relationships are believable and the characters, even the boo hiss ones, are great.

I did enjoy this, but I would have enjoyed it much more if I'd remembered what was going on. Do yourself a favour and reread the first one before tackling this one.

Curse Undone publishes on the 4th October, 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.