Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Lure of Their Graves by Laura R. Samotin, the finale of The Cursed Crown Duology. I enjoyed the first book, The Sins on Their Bones. So, I’ve been very excited to pick this one up and see how the story concludes. What did I think? Read on to find out!
In the heart-wrenching sequel to The Sins on Their Bones, The Lure of Their Graves forces Dimitri and Vasily to confront old ghosts and a new threat: political enemies-turned-suitors, all coveting Dimitri’s throne.
Dimitri Abramovich may have won back the throne of Novo-Svitsevo, but even after defeating his former husband, the usurper Alexey Balakin, he seems no closer to securing lasting peace for his people. Enemies are closing in on all sides, and pressure is mounting for Dimitri to play the one card he has left in a bid for stability—offering his hand in marriage for a second time.
But Dimitri is still healing from the tragedies of the war, his return to the throne, and Alexey’s years of torment. Vasily Sokolov is the only person with whom he feels safe, and giving up the comfort of their budding relationship feels unfathomable, even if it’s the only way to sever the alliances being formed among the countries surrounding Novo-Svitsevo. So as Dimitri and Vasily reckon with political treachery, the lasting consequences of Dimitri’s resurrection, and the sinister legacy of Alexey’s use of the Holy Science, they must also work to understand what it means to love each other even as they prepare to let each other go—which might prove the most difficult of all.
***Thank you to Random House Canada for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***
***BEWARE! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERY INFORMATION ABOUT BOOK ONE, AS WELL AS SOME VAGUE SPOILERS FOR THIS BOOK. READ ON AT YOUR OWN PERIL.***
Ugh. I really expected to love The Lure of Their Graves, but I just didn’t. There were so many things that did not work for me in this sequel. The entire story just felt a bit pointless. I came away from it wishing The Sins on Their Bones had been a standalone.
The plot of The Lure of Their Graves was just not it. The first quarter of the book was nothing but repetitive whining about Dimitri needing to find a spouse that wasn’t Vasily. It was so slow. I usually like angst, but the dialogue and internal thoughts just felt copied and pasted from chapter to chapter. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot rather than empathizing with the characters. The rest of the book did pick up the pace, but then it felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Dimitri courting his suitors and the return of Alexey were both interesting plots, but they distracted from each other too much. Don’t get me started on the quick resolutions to each of the problems… It was so abrupt that I was annoyed that I’d spent an entire book watching the characters dance around things that had such simple solutions.
Despite my annoyance with the plot of The Lure of Their Graves, I did enjoy a lot of character moments. Vasily and Dimitri were truly great together, minus all the trauma. lol. They shared a deep connection, and I felt it in the writing. When the angst was good, it was GOOD. Those moments were just overshadowed by all of the repetition in the writing. The new characters were really great, too. Dimitri’s suitors were all unique with personalities that leapt off the page, and I wish the book had focused more on them. I think this story would have worked better for me if Alexey had stayed dead and the plot had focused on the political intrigue of rebuilding Novo-Svitsevo and its alliances. Oh well.
That being said, I did appreciate the imagery of Alexey continuing to have a hold on Dimitri even after he was supposedly gone. Dimitri obviously still had a lot of healing to do after the events of the first book. I liked the idea of his traumatic past still having a hold on him and requiring inner work to break that hold. I just wish it had been done without bringing back Alexey and his schemes to release a bunch of demons. It felt like too much of a distraction from the emotional core of the story and Dimitri’s healing journey.
Overall, The Lure of Their Graves just didn’t really work for me. While I loved the characters and seeing more of their relationships, the plot felt a bit aimless as if the author had too many ideas that had to be crammed into this one book. The imagery of Dimitri’s healing journey was really beautiful, though. So, the reading experience was quite the mixed bag. Therefore, I rate this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.
There you have it! My thoughts on The Lure of Their Graves by Laura R. Samotin. Have you read this duology? Did you enjoy the second part more than I did? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!