Review: A Curse of Blood and Stone

If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you know I don’t read fantasy too often. What I do read often is every single book K.A. Tucker writes! The second novel of her Fate and Flame series, A Curse of Blood and Stone, is published today and I completely devoured it!

Here’s the book’s description:

From jewelry thief to interloper to queen-in-waiting, Romeria flees Cirilea a traitor to all. But the yawning distance between her and Zander troubles her more than any king’s bounty on her head. While Zander may have escaped by her side, he seeks to regain his throne, and no immortal will ever welcome her as Islor’s queen. She fears it won’t be long before Zander abandons her as everyone else she’s ever loved has.
Zander sacrificed his crown to save Romeria’s life, yet he dreads what her existence means for the future of his realm. As Ybaris’s plan to destroy Islor unfurls, a more insidious threat, orchestrated by rival fates, lurks beneath the surface. He can offer his allies no honest explanation for why he protects the Ybarisan princess and takes counsel from Queen Neilina’s caster, leading those closest to doubt his wisdom—and his allegiance.
As their company aims for the Venhorn Mountains, steered by prophecy, Romeria is desperate to wield her newfound abilities to undo Princess Romeria’s treachery before the kingdom tears itself apart. But with the mortal rebellion swelling, bolstered by the gift of Ybaris’s poison, it may already be too late.

It had been over a year since I read A Fate of Wrath and Flame so there were a few details of the world Tucker had built that I had completely forgotten. I was a bit worried at first, to be honest, that I had so many gaps in my memory. But I kept reading and all the necessary particulars came rushing back and I was immediately sucked back into Romeria and Zander’s story. I’m already jealous of the people who haven’t discovered this series yet and can read these two back-to-back. But be warned – you’ll feel just like I do right now. Which is impatient (already) for the next book in the series!

I don’t consider myself an expert on the fantasy genre so there may be things that aren’t “done” in that world but, to me, this book did what a fantasy should. It swept me away to a whole other world and introduced me to rules and creatures that we would never encounter. There were a few times when I found it difficult to wrap my head around who was what kind of creature and what curse affected who, but I tried not to focus on the nitty gritty details when I was confused and just went with it.

Tucker, being the kind of writer she is, not only built an intriguing fantasy world but created characters that I love reading about. Romeria and Zander each narrate alternating-ish chapters, both telling their story in the first person. Romeria has the bulk of the chapters with Zander’s many chapters filling in blanks and providing more tension and depth to the novel. There are two other chapters from two different characters that also let the reader know what else is happening elsewhere. You’d think that would all be confusing but it’s really not!

This is a fantasy romance (romance fantasy? Romantic fantasy?) so the love story between Romeria and Zander is just as important as the battle they’re preparing for in the world they’re in. The couple aren’t exactly a couple at the start of the novel and I wondered if they’d be able to work through the outside forces at play that were trying to keep them apart. Which is kind of amusing since one of the outside sources was a prophecy (prophecy? That might not be the exact word Tucker chose) that said the two were destined to be together. Minor spoiler (but, duh, it’s a romance): the pair do make up their differences which allowed for a few sexy scenes between them. *fans self*

I was completely hooked on A Curse of Blood and Stone from the first page and only got more sucked in as I read K.A. Tucker’s latest novel. I’m so glad there’s more to come in this series but it’s going to be tough to wait for the next installment!

Buy the Book
Amazon * Apple Books * Nook * Kobo * Audiobook: Releasing October 25th!

Add to Goodreads

About the Author
K.A. Tucker is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.
She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto.

Connect with the Author

Website * Newsletter * Goodreads * Amazon * Facebook
Facebook Group * Instagram * Twitter * Bookbub * Pinterest

My review of A Fate of Wrath and Flame 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Valentine PR for the purpose of a review for a blog and Instagram tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*