Name: The Cup and the Prince
ISBN: 9781999242770

Day Leitao

Born in the Dark Valley, a cursed and isolated place where shadow creatures spawn in the dark and survive in daylight, Zora cheats her way into the Royal Games for a chance of proving her worth and bringing hope to her people.

The Cup and the Prince

Megan Lowe

This book sounded great but unfortunately fell flat for me.
The world building is weak, and I found the writing repetitive, a little childish, and at times contradictory.
I wanted to like Zora, as a strong female character but couldn’t really connect.
There was an attempt to get you on her side by a somewhat demeaning almost encounter in the first chapter, but that wasn’t enough for me.
I think with a little more time and development this book could be good, but as is, isn’t great. Sorry!

Sandra Tammaru

So short and yet so entertaining! A much used trope but still kept me hooked to the last page! Cant wait to read the rest

Kyla

I enjoyed reading this book even though I was mad for almost the whole time reading it. That is why I'm also excited to read the next one! I am rooting for Zora until the end. I love her and her newfound friends! But I am furious with the other characters especially Seth, Alegra, and Kiran. I almost threw my phone as I was reading their scenes because I'm really annoyed with them. It's not a bad thing though because it only means the author did really a good job portraying the characters. I was also confused and had a lot of questions in mind because they did not answer my curiosity until the end of the book. This book is such a cliffhanger. But still, I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A troubled prince. A deadly curse. A mysterious cup. And the power to save or doom the kingdom. Of course things didn't go as planned at the Royal Games. When do things go as planned? Now Zora is on the run, and has to join a disgraced prince in order to retrieve a magical artifact that might undo her valley's curse. For the first time in her life, she has real hope for her people. Problem is, for the second time in her life, she's falling for someone she shouldn't. Finding a hidden object is hard enough on its own, she could do without the heart palpitations and lack of air. And she could certainly focus better without the constant memory of his lips on hers, his arms around her... Gaah! See? How can she avoid pursuers and decipher enigmatic writings when her brain has been turned to mush? Painful, hopeless mush. But the real trouble is that there's more than one curse in the kingdom. And not enough objects or time to get rid of them all. The Curse and the Prince is book 2 in the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows, an enemies-to-lovers YA romantic fantasy for readers 15 and up who love snarky banter, magic, and adventure.

The Curse and the Prince

Paola C

Thank you to the author, Day Leitao, for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off with a bang. I thought the first book was action-packed, but this one was non stop action. I'm so happy that we got to see a bit more of the Dark Valley, even if it was for a short while. The Curse and the Prince literally picked up where the first book ended, which I appreciated. I don't really like when there are time jumps in between books. 

We got to learn more about all of the characters this go around, and there were truth bombs after truth bombs. I thought I had this plot figured out, I didn't. I enjoyed the banter that the characters had with each other. There were certain parts of the book that made it seem like it was going in a circle, but then there would be something to break the cycle. 

I read this book in one day, that's how fast-paced it is. Side note: I also appreciated that the author had Zora have a period and that she didn't treat it like it was a big taboo.

Thank you to Netgally for providing an ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this book, and that cliffhanger left me wanting more, but alas the sequel comes out in January 2021.

Our main character is Zora, who after being lied to by her boyfriend, decides to take his place at the Royal Games. Except he doesn't know that. Zora enters the Royal Games representing Dark Valley and is competing for the Blood Cup. There she encounters the princes. one who wants her to leave the games for her safety, and the other prince wants to help her. Oh, and there's also trying to kill her. 

This book was super fast paced, and the characters in this book were fun, and not what you expected. I thought the book was going to go one way, and it definitely kept surprising me with all of the twist and turns. I cannot wait until the sequel to see what else Zora and the rest of the gang has to offer us.

The Cup and the Prince

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