Review: The King’s Curse

About the Book

Author: J. F. Rogers

Genre: Christian Fantasy

Blurb:

Can one girl free a kingdom from the king’s curse?

Adopted Colleen never fit in to her realm, and an aching in her soul tells her there’s somewhere she truly belongs. But when she uncovers part of her elfin heritage and scrambles through the megalith following the persistent draw, she’s not prepared for the world she encounters.

The king has cursed the people into believing he’s God—not a god, the God.

Now, she’d give anything to return home. To safety.

But the real God who is being impersonated doesn’t call her to play it safe. There’s an antidote. Some are already free and want to free everyone, and they need her.

In this world where little is familiar, will she turn her back on everyone, including God? Or will she risk her life for strangers?

My Review

Cleanness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As with all of J. F. Roger’s books, The King’s Curse is squeaky clean. There are mentions of violence and death, but nothing graphic or out of place for the genre.

Positive Messages: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The King’s Curse is a Christian book, and Christianity is openly mentioned. Unlike in many Christian fantasy books, God is not represented by another title (Creator, Maker, etc.) but is referred to the same as in the real world.

As mentioned in the blurb, the king has put a curse on his kingdom that makes everyone believe he is God. The plot revolves around trying to free the people so they can choose to follow the true God. It makes me think of freewill. What would happen if we were stripped of the freedom and ability to choose what we believe?

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The King’s Curse is the first book in The Cursed Lands trilogy. This trilogy is a spinoff of the Ariboslia trilogy, but the author was careful not to include spoilers for the Ariboslia books, so it doesn’t matter which series you read first. That being said, The King’s Curse does give us a glimpse of where some characters from Ariboslia end up. Few names are mentioned, so, as I said, there are no spoilers. Having read the Ariboslia trilogy years ago, I knew which characters were being alluded to, and enjoyed seeing where their story led.

The story is narrated by the main character, Colleen. It begins when she has just finished school and is struggling to find her place in the world. Her wondering about what the future holds is very relatable, and I think especially teens and young adults (who are the target audience) will be able to associate with Colleen’s troubles.

Without giving away too much info (because we all hate spoilers) let me just say we meet a cast of interesting and memorable characters. Rogers does a great job of creating well-rounded characters who each stand out from the others as individuals. There are two characters I must mention (partially because they’re my favorites). One is a certain character that has more than one identity, which can be difficult to pull off, but Rogers writes all his varied personalities in a way that keeps them distinct yet lends small clues as to who he really is. To be sure, he’s an enjoyable character. Then there’s Sakki. He’s… a cat. Maybe. You’ll have to find out for yourself. Let’s just say, this little fluff ball plays a major role beyond that of a simple pet and has a big personality all his own.

One thing I need to note is Colleen’s struggles with anxiety. She was a little girl in the Ariboslia trilogy, and had to face the fasgadair (vampires) alongside her adopted siblings, whom she raised until they were adopted by… nope, no spoilers.

In The King’s Curse, Colleen now faces memories and panic attacks. In a way, it sounds as if she has PTSD, as she has flash backs that bring on anxiety attacks, but memories aren’t the only trigger. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I found Rogers’ depiction of it to be refreshing. Some authors, while well-meaning, are terrible at writing characters with anxiety. They tend to go overboard to the point that everything gives the character anxiety. Rogers, however, handles the issue very well. Colleen’s anxiety attacks are accurately described and happen for logical reasons. It was nice to read about a character with anxiety who is depicted as a normal person, so unlike the weak and annoying characters I’m used to. Colleen is relatable in a way that makes a reader with anxiety feel seen.

The story itself is gripping. It will pull you in with immersive world-building and an exciting plot that will hold you captive until the very last page.

World-building… we need to talk about that. It’s steampunk! When Collen crawls through the megalith, she leaves the pseudo-medieval world of Ariboslia behind and steps into an entirely different realm. With Victorian style clothes, cars, and airships, there is a distinct steampunk vibe. Which is awesome. There aren’t nearly enough clean steampunk books around, and The King’s Curse helps fill that gap.

The last thing I want to mention is the Celtic influence in the story. Some characters, while living in another dimension, trace their ancestry to Ireland.

The Celtic influence is strong and can even be seen on the cover. That’s a Celtic knot inside the ‘C’. Just like the selkie in Ariboslia, some characters in The King’s Curse are mythical creatures. Fae, elves, a dragon. There is also a pooka, which is a little-known Celtic creature that I’m happy to see in this story.

Overall, The King’s Curse is a great read that I would recommend to anyone who loves Christian fantasy. It’s a fun, relatable, fast-paced read that will not disappoint. Also, an adorable baby dragon!