This was such a bittersweet read, the last and final of six books in the magical The Cursed series. It was both so exciting to reach the end of the story and so sad that it was time to say goodbye to Chloe, Trent and Jax and all the other characters I’ve come to love during these six books.

This series has been such a joyful, nostalgic (hello old Twihard me!) guilty pleasure, giving me that same kind of feverish feeling I remember from the first time I read series like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. The Cursed series actually is something of an homage to Twilight, or rather Twilight meets The Covenant movie in a cute, fast-paced and addictive story full of magic, vampires and a coven of witches on the hunt for revenge.

This final book started off right after the cliffhanger in book five, with the abrupt end to Chloe’s and Trent’s honeymoon when Trent got kidnapped by a sadistic vampire and his psychopathic queen, and Chloe returning home husband-less with Jax. After that initial chocking event though, nothing really exciting happened for a long time, since we were stuck with Chloe waiting for the search hunt to find and bring Trent back to her. I would so much have preferred the narrative to also tell the story of Trent in the captivity and of Jax, Colt and Wyatt searching for him, making it more action-filled than just focusing on the rather slow part with Chloe waiting around and redecorating the house.

When Trent finally did return though, the torture and mind games he’d endured in captivity had made him insecure, possessive and needy. And with Chloe’s pregnancy hormones taking her on an emotional rollercoaster, and the threat of a full-on war against both the Zoya Coven and an army of vampires, life as a newly-wed is not as lovey-dovey as Chloe had hoped for.

“I was Trent’s and I always would be. But between whatever mind games Yolanda had played on him to make him so insecure and my raging pregnancy hormones, it was going to be a long few months. I only hoped we all survived unscathed.”

I really sympathized with Chloe, feeling sorry that she never got to be completely happy. It seemed like every time she and Trent were having a great day, something terrible had to happen to destroy it. Like the pregnancy problems on top of everything... But even though my heart ached for Chloe, it all made the story a bit too slow when we were forced to spend the last months of pregnancy in complete stillness with her. I would have liked for a shift of focus to some of the other characters or to take a leap in time for the action to begin.

But when the action did begin… wow! The last third of the book was just nonstop action with epic endgame battles, full-on supernatural fights between good and evil, and between fathers and sons and brothers, topped with heroic sacrifices, love, grief, heartbreak, family reunions and blissful happiness. The last part of the book had it all! And the ending was so satisfactory, but also so so so heartbreakingly sad. One of the things that happened at the end truly shocked me, I never thought that the author would do that to one of her characters, it really broke my heart! I also would have loved to get more of a HEA for Jax as well, but maybe there is a possibility for a companion book with Jax as the main character? One can always hope!

Even though parts of this book were a bit too slow, it was overall a satisfying and bittersweet conclusion to a wonderful, magical, addictive and thrilling series! I really recommend The Cursed Series to all fans of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. If you loved those series, you will definitely love this one too!

Thank you to the author Kara Leigh Miller for providing me with an ebook copy! All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating:
3.5 epic stars rounding up to 4

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Kara Leigh Miller

In this fifth book in The Cursed series following teenager Chloe as she tries to navigate in a world of vampires, witches, lineage curses and epic love, the pace picked up again after the somewhat slower fourth book, and it was once again nonstop action, suspense and passion! I’m so happy for that, and for how this book completely pulled me back into this magical, addictive and thrilling world!

There was so much going on in this book; a new rouge witch arriving and the Zoya witch coven meddling with things, a long lost brother returning from the dead to stir things up in the Halston family, a vampire war threatening, the revelation of who Isach’s father is and why he doesn’t have a soul and what he might have bargained with to get it back, and some life changing decisions and desperate measures like assassinations and memory erasing to be made.

On top of all that, there’s a brotherly love triangle with feelings refusing to fade away even though the eternal bond has been broken. This love triangle is such a guilty pleasure for me! It’s so well done, Chloe has made her choice and sticks to it, but feelings have a way of behaving in unwanted ways… I absolutely think she made the right choice, but still, I can’t keep being Team Jax in my heart, secretly hoping for some twist that will allow Chloe and Jax to end up together after all…

In addition to all the supernatural, epic, world-changing things there was also so much happening in the “human world”, like graduation and a wedding. And the anxiety for the future, when leaving High School and everyone will be going in different directions. Not to mention the struggle to write the perfect wedding vows… I’m so happy that Ellie was back more in the story again and were being such a wonderful friend and wedding planner. I also really, really loved the wedding; it was the perfect amount of romance and happy tears without being cheesy.

I only have one minor complaint about Chloe wanting Abby to change. In the first books Chloe made all this fuss about not changing, not even to save Trent or to stop the curse, but now she’s suddenly fine with asking Abby to do it just to keep her company? I kind of have to agree with Isach here in that it seems pretty selfish and that having Trent’s baby seems to be more important than anything and like Chloe doesn’t really care that much about Abby. I also really missed Wyatt. There was no mentioning of him at all in this story, which I’m guessing, means that he will be back for another plot twist in the next book…

All in all, this was such a fast-paced and addictive read that I read in one sitting! This series is really becoming my favorite guilty pleasure read since Twilight! If you loved Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, you will definitely love this book too! I am now desperately awaiting the next book in this magical series, especially after that evil cliffhanger!

Thank you to the author Kara Leigh Miller for providing me with an ebook copy! All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

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Kara Leigh Miller

This fourth book in The Cursed Series was a bit slower than the previous ones, and I found myself on and off getting quite annoyed with Chloe for her irrational decisions that just made things unnecessarily complicated. But even so, it was nevertheless another cute and addictive read following Chloe in her struggles to navigate in a world of vampires, witches, lineage curses and epic love.
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Warning! The review below contains spoilers, so please only continue reading if you have already read the book (or are okay with getting some parts of the story spoiled).

In this fourth book, Chloe finally made her choice which brother to be with, and even though I was previously leaning towards Team Jax, I agree that she made the right choice. After this big decision though, nothing really exciting happened in this book, until the twist at the end. There was mostly a lot of relationship drama, with Trent being surprisingly insecure and needy, and Chloe making a lot of irrational decisions that just made things unnecessarily complicated and caused a lot of apologizing and making up. There was also a bit too much of “I miss you/I love you” texting going on throughout the book.

I must say that the mistletoe scene was seriously cute though! One of my favorites in this series! I was also really happy about Chloe connecting with her dad and his family again. I also totally shipped the new couple Abby and Isach, who has really grown to be one of my favorite characters, which I never would have thought after reading the first book in the series… I just think that the start of the relationship between Abby and Isach could have been a bit better executed, and not having Abby forget all about Wyatt the second Abby tells her that Isach is interested in her. But I’m not complaining too much, since they were so adorable together. I did miss Ellie though, who was not included as much in the story as in the third book. She’s such a sweetheart that I would have loved to seen more of.

All in all, this book wasn’t quite as addictive as the previous three books but felt more like a typical middle book, mostly building up suspense and providing a bridge to the rest of the series. But I’m still very much invested in this magical and intriguing series and with that twist at the end I’m desperate to continue it! So, 3.5 stars rounding up to 4, for the way this book kept me invested and rooting for all characters.

Thank you to the author Kara Leigh Miller for providing me with an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Rating:
3.5 stars rounding up to 4

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Kara Leigh Miller

In this third book in the magical The Cursed series following teenager Chloe as she tries to navigate in a world of vampires, witches, lineage curses and epic love, the love triangle that was hinted in the second book really hits it off! I thought I wasn’t that much into love triangles any more, but I was so wrong… I absolute loved this one! It was so well executed and so understandable, full of angst and passion! I read this book in one sitting, it was so addictive and such an enjoyable guilty pleasure read!

The Cursed series is something of Twilight meets The Covenant movie in a cute, fast-paced and addictive story full of magic, vampires and a coven of witches on the hunt for revenge. In this third book, Chloe has been captured by the Rose Coven witches and held prisoner in a room together with a nearly starved Jax. She’s fighting for her life, and to keep Jax alive without turning her, as well as fighting the unwanted feelings of desire and passion the close proximity with Jax causes…
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When the brotherly love triangle took off in the second book in the series, I felt that it was a bit unnecessary and not to my liking. But now it all makes so much sense and it is absolutely necessary and definitely to my liking! So very much to my liking even... For the first part of this book, I had the same kind of feverish feeling that I remember from the first time I read Twilight. I was completely hooked, not able to put the book down. Then in the second half, there were some twists and events that made the pace a bit slower and that felt too much over the top, especially the parts with Chloe testing her feelings (but since I was wrong the last time I said that, I will wait for the next book to make up my mind...). This brotherly competition resembles The Vampire Diaries in the best possible way, and just like with that series I could never make up my mind which brother I cheered for… But I must confess that there was a little bit too much drama around Trent in this book and that I do have a soft spot for bad boys with good hearts, so Jax is definitely in the lead for the moment. But I’m guessing that there are many more twists and turns to come before Chloe has finally decided who her soul mate is…

I was so happy for the turn in this story that brought Chloe, Trent and Jax back to Keene Valley again. I really enjoyed the parts with Chloe’s friends in this book and how they were given much more room to develop their characters. I’m still not liking Abby as much as I should though, and I’m also feeling a bit skeptical to Whitney. I don’t know why, but it feels like I can’t fully trust her, like she has some kind of hidden agenda. Can’t wait to find out if my hunch is right!

All in all, Eternal Bond was such an entertaining and addictive read that kept me on the edge all the way through! If you loved Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, you will definitely love this book too! I am now desperately awaiting the next book in this magical series!

Thank you to the author Kara Leigh Miller for providing me with an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.


Rating:
4 stars

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Kara Leigh Miller

If you, like me, were a Twihard back in the days you will love this book! Eternal Curse is something of a tribute to Twilight, but with an updated plot and characters, and topped with a lot of added action, magic and mysterious murders. There is also an extra layer with grief and guilt that makes this book so much more than the ordinary YA fantasy.

Writing this review is a bit tricky, since I started this series with the second book. I got an ARC of that one from BookSirens and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to start over and read the complete Cursed series from the beginning. Kindly, the author herself therefore provided me with a copy of this first book. So, going into it, I already had an image of some of the characters and the importance of certain events. But I will try my very best not to let that influence this review or to accidentally make any spoilers…

This series follows seventeen-year-old Chloe, who due to the tragic death of her mother has moved to live with her aunt and uncle and cousin Abby in small town Keene Valley. Chloe struggles so much at first, with the guilt for having caused the accident that killed her mother, the anger for being abandoned by her father at a young age, and to settle in and make friends. I loved Chloe so much from the second book, but actually felt like it took a while for her to find her voice here. It wasn’t until about halfways that I fully recognized her fierceness, humor and integrity from the second book. I also liked Abby a lot less than expected. But on the other hand, I appreciated Trent so much more after reading this book and understanding more of his background, so that certainly made up for it!

The plot has a lot of elements that resembles Twilight, such as vampire soul mates, changing eye colors revealing feelings and the small town setting etc., but these elements are twisted into a completely new intriguing story. I especially thought that the part with Chloe’s mother and the grief and guilt in relation thereto added way more depth to this story. And Chloe was definitely no Bella Swan!

The writing style had a great flow and the story was very fast-paced and addictive. Some of the plot twists and the way the characters acted were perhaps a little too unrealistic and the love story was definitely on the insta-lovey side, but those are just minor complaints. All in all, this was a cute, intriguing and highly enjoyable story and I can’t wait to continue this magical series!

Thank you to the author Kara Leigh Miller for providing me with an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Rating:
4 stars

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Kara Leigh Miller

Twilight meets The Covenant movie in this cute, fast-paced and addictive story full of magic, vampires and a coven of witches on the hunt for revenge. 

This second book in The Cursed series follows seventeen-year-old Chloe, as she’s lost her mother and been forced by the father that abandoned her as a child to move across the country to his new family. Grieving her mother and feeling lonely and miserable at her new snobby prep school, Chloe can’t wait to turn eighteen and get to decide for herself where to live. In addition to being lonely, she also has the feeling that she’s forgotten something important. But just as life takes a turn for the better, with high school hottie no. one, Simon Parker, asking her out for a date, her memories start coming back as well as two guys from her past. As if that wouldn’t be enough, the devastating family secret Chloe discovers in a box of old family photos, forces her to make the most devastating choice in her life – give everything up for the boy she loves or lose him forever?

I had the pleasure of receiving an ebook copy of Eternal Choice from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review, without having read the first book in The Cursed series. This second book can be read as a standalone, but I do believe that some parts of the story would have made more sense if I had read the first book. Now there were parts that were a bit difficult to fully understand without all the background information.
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Nevertheless, I really rooted for Chloe at once and I especially appreciated that she was not just another version of Bella Swan. I loved that she had so much depth and integrity and that she was not swept away or feeling dizzy just because Simon Parker took an interest in her. I really enjoyed her fierceness and the bantering between her and Simon. And then the twist… not having read the first book the twist was so much more unexpected! I really enjoyed the turn to magic, with the vampires and witches showing up and the epic love story unfolding!

I just have two minor complaints. The first one is that the story was a bit too unrealistic at times. And I don’t mean the premise that there are witches and vampires and old lineage curses demanding sacrifices of descendent in order not the threaten balance of things, I’m all for that! I mean things like getting into cars without hesitation with suspicious persons you know you can’t trust, or coincidences that are just a little too obvious. The second complaint is the second love triangle. Yes, there are two of those potentially… The first one was really greatly done and so sweet and understandable. But the second one felt so unnecessary and made me believe less in the main love relationship. If you’re willing to give up your life for someone, your aura really shouldn’t get all hazy red with lust every time you’re close to someone else. This brotherly competition was all a bit too much Vampire Diaries for me.

But those two minor complaints set apart, this was such an entertaining and addictive read that kept me on the edge all the way through. And that cliffhanger! Now I can’t wait to read the next book in this magical series! But first, I need to read the first book (Eternal Curse) to get the full picture, I really feel that this book, and the series, deserves that!

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Kara Leigh Miller