The Curse of the Blessed

By C. Tarkington

Book Overview

Lady Maela Llewelyn loves her family and her land. Every year she sees her people growing weaker and sicker as the kingdom demands more and more resources from them. All the while, she hides inside her a magical power in fear she will be taken away by the High Holy Council.

After saving a young girl working in one of the orchards, she is seen using her power by her uncle, who sits on the High Holy Councile and other priests with him. Her uncle convinces her to go to the palace to participate in an event meant to find the crown prince's bride and the next queen of the kingdom. Mae has no desire to wed the prince, but she sees a chance to speak to the king about her land's problems and train with her mystical powers.

She travels with her uncle to the palace, where many look down on her because of where she comes from. She befriends the young highest lord of the city and finds herself often in the company of the prince. As she tries to focus on helping her people, she begins to see she is in the middle of more intrigue than she could have imagined.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BB5KJV4J
• ISBN13: 9798218059453
• Release Date: August 2022
• Publisher: C Tarkington
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A Fun YA Fantasy Read!

What a fun YA fantasy read! I thoroughly enjoyed it! We follow Lady Maela Llewelyn, Mae, a young woman who loves her family, her people, and her land. She has also been blessed with a wonderful gift but does not start out seeing it as so. She struggles with hiding her gift all while watching her people weaken and suffer more and more every passing year. While in the orchard one days, Mae witnessed a child in danger. Unable to stop herself, she saves the child but her power has been witnessed. She does not regret saving the child, but her life path has been irrevocably altered. She is convinced to travel to the palace to partake in an event meant to find the young prince of the kingdom’s bride. She has no interest in the prince in the least and no ambition to become queen. She does see the potential of being present in the palace though. She would be able to plead for assistance for her people who are already stretched thin. She travels to the palace with her uncle. Once there, there are many that look down on her because of where she comes from. Though, she is not without friends. Mae meets Livi and Anna on her journey to the palace as well as befriending the highest lord of the land and often finding herself in the company of the prince. There is more happening below the surface though. A conspiracy it would seem. If only Mae knew how best to protect the people she loves and herself. I had a lot of fun reading this. It was a quick read. Very much along the lines of my usual fantasy adventures if tampered a bit for a younger audience. The story is fun and simple. I did find our main character, Mae, a bit obtuse. There is not much of world building in this book, however, I quite enjoyed how uncomplicated the magic was. It just was. I would recommend this to anybody who loves a good female led fantasy story. Especially for younger teens.