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The Curse of the King

Winnie Lyon

4.31 · Rating details · 32 ratings · 21 reviews

Laura Wilson is the heir to an ancient curse.

As a young witch descending from the very powerful trio of witches that had cursed Macbeth, the pressure she faces daily is non-stop. When Laura is forced to participate in her school’s rendition of the classic play, she gives herself a single task: breaking the curse once and for all.

This task proves itself to be more difficult ...more

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Published September 1st 2020 by The Parliament House

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· 32 ratings · 21 reviews

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Jun 14, 2020 Maria rated it it was amazing

i saw this book on tiktok and i’m excited!

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May 06, 2020 Brianna Sugalski rated it it was amazing

Once I read the synopsis, I've waited for the day there'd be a Goodreads page. So excited to read, Winnie! ...more

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Sep 01, 2020 Kat Mullen rated it it was amazing

Thank you Parliament Press for the review copy!

As a theatre kid and a Buffy fan I had the BEST time reading this book.

It does deal with some serious themes, but in such a relatable way. The writing is exactly my type of writing because it’s how I think and write. I was obsessed with the premise the second I read it. Theatre! Witches! Vampires! Queers! Shakespeare! The whole thing gave me such Buffy season 1-4 vibes and I LOVED that.

I wrote 5 pages of notes while reading and had no idea how to tu ...more

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Sep 04, 2020 Alice J. rated it really liked it

This book was unputdownable! I loved the story and the characters from beginning to end and devoured this in just a couple of days. Laura is a witch and a direct descendant from the witches who placed the curse on Macbeth. When she realises she’ll have to act in the school reproduction of that very title, she wants to do all she can in order to remove the curse.
The Curse of the King was a fast paced novel dealing with issues of not only the supernatural, but friendships, family and relationship ...more

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Aug 27, 2020 Olivia rated it really liked it

Thank you Parliament Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Curse of the King was such a great mix of magic and Shakespeare. The main character Laura is the descendant of the witches who cursed Macbeth, and when she’s cast in her school’s production of Macbeth the century’s old curse strikes again. I haven’t read much Shakespeare so that might have been why it took me a bit to get into the book, but after Peter was introduced as his full vampire-self, I was hooked. I r ...more

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Sep 05, 2020 Spike Speicher rated it it was amazing

ABSOLUTELY SLAPS.

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Sep 02, 2020 Lauren Kelsen rated it it was amazing

This was the perfect witchy book to start Spooky Season off with! More and more I am becoming a HUGE fan of retellings, and this Macbeth retelling hit the spot! If you are a fan of witches, breaking curses and Shakespeare then this is a must read. I absolutely loved the coven structure and heritage of Laura and other witch families. The whole keep the supernatural world hush, hush to humans was very suspenseful and I loved that Laura’s bestie just accepted it all no questions asked. Even though ...more

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Sep 01, 2020 Nessa rated it really liked it

So I really enjoyed reading this book. The curse, the drama, the magic, the romance, the spells, the characters, oh my! First, I just want to take a moment and say that the spells in this book were awesome! They were like poetry and were so cleverly written, I was extremely impressed! There was non-stop action happening in the plot so this book was a real page-turner. So much happens to the characters in a single weekend, it’s amazing they can still pull themselves out of bed for school on Monda So I really enjoyed reading this book. The curse, the drama, the magic, the romance, the spells, the characters, oh my! First, I just want to take a moment and say that the spells in this book were awesome! They were like poetry and were so cleverly written, I was extremely impressed! There was non-stop action happening in the plot so this book was a real page-turner. So much happens to the characters in a single weekend, it’s amazing they can still pull themselves out of bed for school on Monday morning. I loved the supportive friendship between Laura, Holly, and Peter and the romance that comes later on (I won’t say between who, you’ll have to read the book to find out). The nicknames that Laura and Peter came up with for each other were so entertaining to read. Another thing I really enjoyed were the flashback scenes Laura experienced where she would go back in time as her ancestor Cecily to experience moments she went through during the European witch trials.

Some problems I had with the book were about Laura’s mother and the rules of the magic world. There’s a part in the book where Laura gets in huge trouble with her mother because of something she did and her mother ends up kicking her out of the house. I thought this was a little over dramatic because kicking your kid out of the house is never a solution and it’s not going to help fix the problem. Her mother was also super caring towards Holly, who had a bad relationship with her family so you’d think that Laura’s mother wouldn’t recreate this behaviour with her own daughter. Onto the rules of the magic world. Sometimes I felt like the rules were just there to help the plot but did not make sense in the overall scheme of things. Even Peter from the book thought so cause he says “The rules of magic sound like bullshit" 😂 The final problem I had was super random but… who doesn’t warm up their pasta sauce before they mix it with the pasta noodles?!?! There’s a scene in the book where Peter is cooking pasta and the noodles are done and he “pulls a jar of marinara…from the fridge” and the girls just put that straight onto their pasta… Who does this?!

Anyway this was a pretty great book overall and I enjoyed reading the story! If you love Shakespeare, theatre, witches, curses, and LGBTQ+ representation then definitely go check this book out! Also please tell me in the comments if you eat your pasta like Laura and Holly 😊 ...more

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Aug 23, 2020 Vim rated it liked it

Parliament House Press graciously provided me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.

Have you ever wanted to back out of a school play’s audition? Probably yes, out of stage fright perhaps but I would bet it’s not because the play is cursed by your bitchy witchy ancestors that death would sure ensue during the performance. Welcome to the life of Laura Wilson, a normal witch with normal witch problems including crushing on Holly, her best frie Parliament House Press graciously provided me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.

Have you ever wanted to back out of a school play’s audition? Probably yes, out of stage fright perhaps but I would bet it’s not because the play is cursed by your bitchy witchy ancestors that death would sure ensue during the performance. Welcome to the life of Laura Wilson, a normal witch with normal witch problems including crushing on Holly, her best friend, who is pining after Peter, who is – surprise – a vampire, raising a relative from the dead, and being in a play that would definitely kill people.

Lyon excelled in putting together an endearing band of friends with relationships as healthy as kale, which is saying a lot, in the YA world full of relationships more toxic than cyanide. Let the implied love triangle not turn you away because it had nothing of what makes the trope annoying. The main cast does not fail to engage the reader, from the witty banters and nicknames to the power team they form, that you would be quite willing to overlook the weird circumstances that all of these kids parents are conveniently absent throughout the book.

I also loved details to the world-building, how linguistics play its role in spell-making, the industry fueled by witchcraft, and many more. That said, there were also aspects that felt quite rushed and too convenient, such as how easy important spells could be performed without having to raise the stakes.

Sadly, being the uncultured swine that I am, I haven’t read Macbeth. I have no idea about half of the Shakespeare references thrown into the story and while that’s on me, I really wish there was a bit more context to the Shakespearean aspects of the story, just so it doesn’t feel like I have to read Macbeth before reading this book.

The Curse of the King is a book with so much potential, spell-binding enough to make me devour the story in one sitting. It’s definitely a fun read which is what I would expect when you throw vampires, witches, and the dead with Shakespeare. Its endearing characters interesting and world of magic makes this book a good read, especially for YA readers out there.

Characters: ★★★★/5
Plot: ★★★/5
Writing: ★★★.5/5
Total: ★★★.5/5

...more

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Nov 18, 2020 Siavahda marked it as dnf-it-s-not-you-it-s-me

I really wish Curse of the King came from a bigger publisher, or at least one with more of a marketing budget, because I think it could be a huge hit if just made it onto more people's radar! The writing is very strong, there's a refreshing lack of pointless drama, and Lyon has walked the very fine between overthinking and underthinking her magic system. Her worldbuilding is padded well enough to meet the genre standard, and her characters are great.

Which is probably a bit of a strange thing to ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Jenny rated it it was amazing

The cover of ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴɢ by Winnie Lyon is gorgeous and suits the story well. It's quite detailed but with the colours being simple, I didn't feel overwhelmed looking at it.

The author showcases a catchy writing style, that makes it near to impossible to put this book aside. The story itself is fast-paced and full of action. Also, even though it's a more serious kind of book, some scenes and conversations really made me giggle. There have been some jumps in time / throwbacks to history ...more

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Aug 31, 2020 Cat Spearey rated it it was ok

Shelves: arc, kindle, review-copy

I am conflicted about this book. I loved the premise, it sounded delicious and new to me - I’m not overly familiar with Macbeth and I was looking forward to reading about the witches and bringing it into modern times. I’m not aware of many Macbeth-esque tales? If you know of any please let me know!

So I went into this with a lot of enthusiasm and it started well, I sped through the first 30% and enjoyed it … but then it seemed to nosedive. A lot was happening, many hoops needed jumping through bu ...more

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Aug 31, 2020 Rafael Rodriguez rated it it was amazing

Firstly I want to thank Parliament Press For Sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The curse of the Kind was such an immersive book it was easy to fall into and follow the plot. As ive read Macbeth Before hand I understood the references to it. Even then i felt the way they were written into the story line I do not believe you need to read Macbeth prior to understand the references they are easy to follow.

I found the love triangle between Laura to to her best friend holly who is af ...more

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Aug 30, 2020 Angélique Croquet (Bookdragon Society) rated it really liked it

Shelves: earcs

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🇬🇧 | E N G |
I have received this eARC by The Parliament House Press in exchange of an honest review.

Title : The Curse of the King
Author : Winnie Lyon
Genre : Dark Fantasy
Rate : 4 / 5

This first novel was quite a ride! Be ready to be enchanted by some magic and shakespearian words or in this case, by some curse.

For a fir

...more

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Sep 01, 2020 Luxe rated it liked it

I received a copy of this book from The Parliament House Press for reviewing purposes. THIS DOES NOT INFLUENCE MY OPINIONS IN ANY WAY.

Let me tell you right now that I am still really torn as to where I stand with this book. The premise of this is absolutely intriguing and I can't help but be pulled to it because of the gorgeous cover as well! However, it took me a while to actually get into the story because I never really connected with Laura, our protagonist, from the start. It's disappointing ...more

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Jan 24, 2021 Laura Nix rated it it was amazing

I am not usually one to go for a fantasy novel, but after reading the synopses, this one intrigued me. I am so glad I took a chance on a book in a genre so different from what I'm used to. Once I started, it was hard to put down. I loved the fast pace and at no point was I able to predict what would happen next. I highly recommend this book to anyone, regardless of their interests. There is something in this book for everyone whether it is theatre, Shakespeare, witches, vampires, romance, LGBTQ+ ...more

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Sep 01, 2020 CrazyBlondeNerd rated it liked it

As a theatre nerd and horror/thriller addict, this book was right up my ally. I loved the idea of a curse based on a play. Mixed with elements of magic, romance and drama were amazing. The spells were great, the magic was a bit oddly done, but I still enjoyed it. I like different takes on magic, witches and the supernatural. It was filled with action so you didnt get bored and made sure you couldn't put it down. The friendships between the characters were great, supportive and exactly what you s ...more

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Jan 11, 2021 Jeffrey Robison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Lyon is an exceptional writer who managed to create a compelling and modern "maturation" *wink* novel set apart from the overdone, eye-roll, gag-worthy, hetero, tortured, awesomely-powered coming of age novels. The magic system is new and unique, and the lore contains various flavors of past and present while managing to stand on its own. The novel is absolutely dripping in queer, which is fitting as magic's totally gay, is it not? It was a refreshing read, and has this Queer's lil-gay-stamp-of- ...more

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Feb 09, 2021 Kate rated it it was amazing

A book that draws you in from the beginning- it was hard to put down! The characters are well developed and lovable, the plot was exciting, and the writing was beautiful. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes supernatural themes!

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Sep 04, 2020 Heather rated it really liked it

This story was a great way to begin fall. It has everything that you would need, witches, vampires, and spells done on a full moon night. The writing was well done and will keep you from wanting to put down the book.

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