[ARC Review] The Coveted and the Cursed by Lylah Taylor
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He has everything to lose.
In a land where magic is feared and shunned, hers seems to be the exception.
The Coveted is known throughout the kingdom for having the ability to grant a heart's desire. At least, that's what the rumors say.
In order to survive her endless string of captors, Mira has developed tactics to keep herself safe. But when a fearsome beast breeches the walls of her latest captivity and steals her away in the night, Mira will question everything she knows as she's brought to an old kingdom, long ago thought to be abandoned.
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Dark magic is awakening again, and no one knows why. Guilt-ridden by the shame of his past, Dante is determined to save his people, maybe finding a shred of redemption for himself along the way. The Coveted's magic is their best chance, yet, upon getting to know the woman he's taken, a different desire stirs in his heart.
Desire makes people dangerous, and secrets could mean the downfall of an entire kingdom.
But it's never too late to bloom.
MY THOUGHTS: I will always love a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and The Coveted and the Cursed had a lot of appeal. I really loved each and every character Taylor crafted for us, especially Mira and Dante, and it was so easy to fall into the world building and imagine myself right along with the characters.
In the end, I thought the plot came together nicely. There were, however, several times when I lost the plot while reading, or wasn't sure why or how something happened; it all made sense in the end and was eventually explained, but I did have a couple times, especially regarding Mira's curse and Dante's past, where I had to just keep reading and trust that the answers would be revealed or explained later on. I ended up really enjoying the overall story, but I did feel like I was missing some details that I wished I'd had earlier in the story.
Overall, though, Mira's story will resonate with fans of the fairy tale who have grown up dreaming of one day breaking free of their circumstances and maybe breaking a curse of their own. Taylor created a retelling that had lots of characters to love and plenty of spice. I absolutely want to know what comes next for some of our secondary characters as well as what comes after the HEA for Mira and Dante. Even when I had questions about characters or plots, I still had a hard time putting this one down. It was an intriguing story that pulled me in from start to finish, and I will definitely be picking up the next book to find out what's in store
[A huge thank you to the author for providing a review copy of this title! All opinions are my own.]
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Release date: 5/21/24
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: the author
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