Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, NA Fantasy | Release Date: 14 April 2022 | Series: The Faeblood | Series Book: #1 | Pages: 400 | Indie Author | Review
“Hope was a precious human emotion, and once released into the world, it was difficult to control its spread.”
M. K. Lorber
Overview:
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Curse of a Faeblood by M. K. Lorber via Book Sirens, and I can honestly say it’s been a delight to read this NA fantasy! The first in a series (The Faeblood), I will tell you that in my mind, this book is intended for readers 18+.
Ember, our heroine, has Faeblood heritage. What does that mean? Well, she can cast magic. You and I might think that’s pretty exciting, but for Ember it’s been a curse. She hasn’t found anyone else like her, aside from the powerful Faebloods at the castle that she is hiding from. And now that she’s on the run from the people who murdered her mother, it’s hard to know whom to trust. When Ember is befriended by Jade, a young woman she would’ve stolen food from, life takes a very surprising turn. Ember finds people who like her, and want to protect her. That includes Gavyn, the head trainer of fighters in their region, who can’t help watching over Ember as she starts to steal her way into his heart.
But life doesn’t remain peaceful, and soon the powerful Faebloods are demanding a sacrificial lamb, for the appearance of a knife and harbouring someone with magic in their veins. Can Ember and Gavyn navigate their way through this? Will they both survive? Or is this just the beginning of something bigger, perhaps even a large scale war?
Happiness Boost:
The Curse of a Faeblood surprised me a few times, with how the plot developed. Characters we think we know? They turn out to be so much more by the time the book has finished. And I’m definitely rating that as a happiness boost, because I love surprises like that! I can’t give more detail than that here, because I refuse to spoil the surprise for you when you read it.
Ember and Gavyn both have self-confidence issues (among other things), and this book gave a perfect background to seeing them realise their potential. They’re capable of so much more than they ever knew, and I really enjoy when we get to see this arc for a character. Staying stagnant makes for rather dull reading, and The Curse of a Faeblood isn’t dull that’s for sure!
Last (but certainly not least) in my happiness boosts? The story has set us up for even bigger crises and developments as the series progresses. Being the first in The Faeblood series, there was a lot of world building, and I loved learning the rules of this realm.
Downside:
Okay, admittedly, this book did start out… I won’t say slow, because that’s not it. I guess I wasn’t completely invested in Ember and the overall plot until about a quarter of the way through. I can’t lay an exact finger on why. But from about the halfway mark? I was racing through the pages! So maybe just be prepared if (like me) you don’t immediately fall in love with The Curse of the Faeblood… It’ll happen!
My only other downside is that Gavyn still refers to himself as ‘simple’. It felt like this was in reference to his intelligence from previous comments, and I hate this. He grows so much as a person, and starts to realise his value, but then refers to himself again as simple. I know, this might be a weird downside. Others probably won’t think much of it. But I don’t care for when someone devalues their intelligence, and Ember doesn’t challenge his statement. I know, I know, at the time she might have been thinking of other things. But still. It’s something that niggles at me, and I have to be truthful here.
Final Thoughts:
If you love NA fantasy and romance, this book is definitely for you! The Curse of a Faeblood by M. K. Lorber has many, many lovable and complicated characters within its pages, and I always love when there’s a sizeable cast. This story is just the start of a new and exciting adventure in the NA fantasy genre; with a war approaching everyone we love in this realm, I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for when book two is released in the future! I need to know what happens next, and I’ve added M. K. Lorber to my list of authors to follow.
You can order via my Amazon link: The Curse of a Faeblood
2 Responses
Another good review. Sounds like you really got in to it.
I sure did Simon! I’m trying to be clever about the books I choose, there’s no point in reading something we don’t love, right? 🙂