The Queen of Cursed Things

Serpents and Kings Trilogy, Book 1

By: S.M. Gaither

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

Decades ago, the High King of Sundolia waged a war that vanquished the Serpent clan and drove them out of the empire, reducing them to nothing more than legends spoken of in occasional frightened whispers. But they did not leave peacefully. Their parting gift included curses that now rest within the empire's soil, beneath the shade of its jungles, treading through the waves of its seas. Growing more and more dormant as the years pass under the rule of that increasingly tyrannical high king.

Until Alaya - a young woman with a hidden Serpent mark who shouldn't exist - accidentally wakes one of them up. Then another. And suddenly she finds herself exiled from her adopted village and left with no choice but to seek the truth about her lost clan and the so-called curses they left behind. About her true home. About a power, stolen from the Serpent goddess herself, that is supposedly resting in that home. It is the sort of power that could help her overthrow a king, expose the lies he's told, and put a stop to his wars.

The crown prince of Sundolia claims he wants to put a stop to those wars with her. That he only wants to help her find that power so he can undo the horrors his father has created. All they have to do is find a way to trust each other.

©2019 S. M. Gaither (P)2020 Tantor

awesome

This series is amazing. It has everything you are looking for in a series. A little bit and alot of everything

It’s complicated

This book is quite the adventure. Alayna is an orphan who grew up in strife and hiding a secret about who she is. There is an evil king who has been killing his subjects and one day Alaya gets picked up and is taken to the palace where she meets a rebel prince who intrigues her. The story is about her chasing her identity with surprising findings . Anyway, the story is a little bit of everything ; mystery, romance , magic, gods, dragons, enemies to lovers , betrayal and action. Sometimes it felt too much that I needed a break but not enough to quit. I was a bit thrown off when the voice switched to side characters- why them?
On to the next book. I need to know more about this complex world beautifully crafted by the author.

Decent but slow

Hard to stay in tune.. I understand why the narrator read the way she did but I had to speed her up.. she kinda drug it out a little too much.. story itself is decent but was missing something to keep me as engaged as I wanted to be.

Very good story telling!

This was a great book to listen to. Some parts I felt like ent a bit too fast. But the performance was fantastic and I cannot wait to read the whole series!

Love this Series

I’m definitely a fan of this series, and I’m beyond excited to listen to the storyline unfold in this second installment.

Great narration.