The Curse of the Fallen by H.C. Newell

 An exciting immersive series to take you somewhere else for a bit.

Blurb:

This Child is not the chosen one. She is a demon to be destroyed.

Born of magic, Nerana is labeled a demon and forced into hiding by the Order of Saro. Living with a curse that binds her to their leader, Nerana seeks to free herself from their hold and soon learns that the path to redemption may prove more fatal than the Order itself.

But for Nerana, this is more than a quest for survival... It’s a promise of revenge.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Trigger warnings: Violence, Gore, Animated dead, 

parental death, torture, attempted suicide, cliffhanger

Thoughts:

H.C. Newell wastes no time getting right into the thick of it with this series, and she's not afraid to toy with your emotions. Nerena, or Neer as she is called in this book has spent her life hiding from the Order. Every magic user to this order is evil, and must be extinguished. Every child born is tested for magic, and when they are found to have it, they are immediately executed. Neer escapes this fate as a child, but it came with a heavy cost.  The Order has branded her, and cursed her.

Neer's closest friend is Loryk, and I firmly believe everyone needs a Loryk in their life. They found eachother at a low point in their lives, and vowed to stick together to the end. Loryk is a bard, who wins the affection of the ladies in their travels when he sings at taverns, but none of them can shake the devotion he has to his closest friend Neer. Together they meet two elves (Elvae), one named Klaud, the other Avelloch. 

Klaud and Avelloch have their own story which isn't laid out clearly in this book, but they join Neer and Loryk in seeking the location of the trials.  They hope to save Avelloch's sister, one of the first bloods, claiming all is lost with out her, but we don't really learn what or why. I'm feeling like this might be explored more deeply in book 2.

We have lots of character development, and I really enjoyed seeing Neer grow into her own.  She is a formidable sorceress, with a deeply vulnerable side.  There's a bit of a enemies to lovers romance, but no spice here...we fade to black.

If you're looking for a fast paced dark fantasy book, with a side of enemies to lovers romance be sure to grab this book.   This world is so in depth, there's a beautiful map at the beginning, and a glossary and footnotes in the back. Beware, it does end on a cliffhanger, but happily book two is available too!

Curse of the Fallen is available at Bookshop and Amazon and is available on Kindle Unlimited!

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Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!