Cursed City by Kate Golden: characters, review, spice & triggers
Cursed City by Kate Golden is book two in the Harker Academy series, a demon x demon hunter dark academia romantasy with Buffy, Supernatural and a touch of Crescent City vibes.
Folks, I’ll be real. I loved Half City. But Cursed City was EVEN BETTER for me. If you were intrigued about… the ending of Half City, then let’s just say, Cursed City delivers on that intrigue. I won’t name names but iykyk ;)
⚠️ I am going to disclose that if you haven’t read the first book, this Cursed City book review & guide will absolutely spoil book one, Half City, for you. Please go and read book one before you check out more info on book two. ⚠️
Anyhow, I gather most of y’all are seeking info on the Cursed City spice levels and spicy chapters (whether to sidestep them or to run straight there… no judgment, we support both.)
So here is your all encompassing guide to the characters of Cursed City, starting with FMC, Viv Abbott, MMCs Deacon and Reid Graveheart who just happen to be brothers and the returning cast of delightful found family. I’ve also included major returning faces, students and other supporting characters, plus my unfiltered Cursed City book review, which gets a little spirally.
Happy reading!
Cursed City synopsis.
Welcome back to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, where the line between hunter and hunted has never been thinner.
To rescue someone close to her, Viv Abbot must team up with Reid’s violent, unpredictable older brother, Deacon. Her uneasy truce with him offers Viv something Reid never could: the chance to embrace her darkness.
Viv’s mission takes her to the center of Astera’s seedy underbelly with none other than the White Stag as her guide. But when a bounty on Viv’s head puts those she cares about in danger, Viv will be forced to go to lengths she never dreamed in order to protect them.
With enemies closing in from all sides and a ticking clock on her life, Viv must save the Half City from destruction while surviving a betrayal that strikes at the heart of everything she’s fighting for. Because in a world where monsters wear familiar faces and temptation cuts deeper than any blade, making it through her second semester at Harker will take more than skill—it will take everything Viv has left to give.
Who can she really trust in a city that thrives on lies?
Cursed City characters.
Cursed City is narrated from a first person point of view, from the perspective of Viv Abbott, a twenty-one year old woman, navigating her friendships, family, grief and grappling with her identity in the fantastical city of Astera. We also get one chapter from Deacon Graveheart’s point of view which manifests via a dreamlike sequence.
Here is a list of all Cursed City characters we meet in the book two of the Harker Academy series, by Kate Golden.
Viv Abbot.
A demon hunter and aeon with black cat energy, Viv Abbott, otherwise known by her full name, Vivienne, is back in book two of the Harker Academy series, after a series of shocks, reveals and major betrayals in Half City. Book two focuses on her coming to terms with her identity, how on earth she can survive a giant killing ticking time bomb implanted in her spine, plus who she can really trust.
Deacon Graveheart.
Character art shared by author @kategoldenauthor via Instagram. Artist: @tangerine.eileen
Hulking demonic, six foot six inches of white-blonde-hair, tattoos, who does what he wants, when he wants. Also known as Cernunnos and Lord Antler daddies are a new thing.
Reid Graveheart.
Mysterious Reid Graveheart and Deacon’s brother does take a back seat for the first half of this book but not to worry. He does come back in.
Supporting characters in Cursed City.
Here’s a list of major and major supporting characters in Cursed City.
⚠️ WARNING: This character guide mayspoil some events and reveals of Cursed City. Read at your own risk, or feel free to spoil yourself as I'm not the boss of your life choices.⚠️
| Character name | Description |
|---|---|
| Hound | Viv and Penny’s rescue dog |
| Penelope Pine, aka Penny | Viv’s ray of sunshine bestie and mortal |
| James Pine | Penny’s brother and Viv’s ex-boyfriend |
| Nora Abbot | Viv’s sister |
| Fiona Hyde / Professor Lisette | Nora’s wife and Viv’s sister-in-law |
| Beatrice Abbot | Viv’s mother |
| Laura Pine | Penny’s mother |
| Stan Pine | Penny’s father |
| Baz | A violet-eyed vampire, part of Deacon's crew at Fever Dream |
| Ward | Handsome werewolf bartender, part of Deacon's crew at Fever Dream |
| Finn | The High Thane’s son |
| Caspar Harlock | CEO of media empire The Harlock Group |
| Nicco | A djinn and a broker of sorts, who can grant wishes |
| Orin | A colleague of Finn's |
| Piper | A mortal who Viv and Deacon save from being demolished by a vampire |
| Ada Cadell | Viv's grandmother, on her paternal side |
Professors and staff of Harker Academy
| Character name | Description |
|---|---|
| Landon Prak | Harker Academy’s new head combat instructor, replacing Reid Graveheart. |
| Professor Gemeline Lisette | Acting head of Harker Academy. |
| Professor Rosalind Dawnmere | A fairy professor who teaches Runes, Relics and Charms. |
| Professor Maxwell Crowley | Professor of Necromantic Biology and A History of Mythical Beasts. |
Other students of Harker Academy (besides Viv).
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Sophia Valentine | Viv’s demon hunter bestie and one of her closest friends. |
| Peter Roydon | Part of Viv’s found family and her close-knit group of friends. |
| Elliot | Part of Viv’s found family and her close-knit group of friends. |
| Matt Peverell | A round-cheeked jerk and fellow first-year student. |
| Ingrid | A blonde second-year student who’s hooking up with Matt. |
Map of Astera in Half City / Cursed City by Kate Golden.
Kate Golden posted a map of Astera found in Half City and Cursed City recently on her Instagram and here it is in all its glory!
Review: Cursed City by Kate Golden.
View my Half City review and follow me on GoodReads here.
Spice level: 1 out of 5 🌶. Slow burn, yearning, explicit, but no actual scenes of characters getting together.
Me before this book: blond MMCs do nothing for me.
Me now: I owe Deacon an apology. (I wasn’t really familiar with his game).
I have been procrastinating writing this review because I’ve been in a spiral for days after closing Cursed City. Because let me tell you, after the way the author ended this sequel, I’m ready for book three like a seagull is ready to descend upon an unattended hot chip.
Firstly, if you haven’t read book one, Half City, yet, maybe avert your eyes because it’ll be difficult for me to talk about this sequel without spoiling the first book.
Secondly, IMO, while I loved Half City, after reading its sequel, in hindsight, I see Half City was a hell of a lot of foreshadowing and was setting up for book two and the yet to be published book three. What I’m saying is:
- book one was good fun;
- book two was an emotional rollercoaster of yearning and devastation of the highest order because what the fuck; and
- I’m pretty sure we will be COLLECTING even more on book three.
Anyhow, I stand by my original thoughts about the found family in this series. I really loved getting more of Viv and Penny’s friendship. Their friendship, the wider found family with Hound (their rescue dog), Sophia, Peter, Elliot and the way they all have each other’s backs, is my favourite found family.
Notably, Viv has not just one but TWO best girlfriends from different worlds (mortal & demon-hunter) and it’s sooo refreshing. I’m always banging on about wanting to see more women friendships and women supporting women, not pitted against each other, in my fantasy, romantasy etc and this series delivers so much on that front.
One of the biggest things for me was Viv’s character development and growth, and the way Deacon was a catalyst toward it was just beautiful and angsty and perfection. That’s all I’ll say about that aspect.
Plus the multitudes: yearning, anti-oligarchy and anti-bigotry (well, species discrimination of demons, werewolves, vamps, deviants etc) plus some other social commentary appearing in the last third, which I can’t reveal because spoilers, but it's in very parallel to what is happening in the world today. I really appreciate when fantasy politics says something meaningful and resonant.
My opinion hasn’t changed on this from the first book: the Buffy vibes remain solid. But this is even better than Buffy, for me, because it's wish fulfilment for a MMC (male main character) arc we didn't get to see in Buffy.
Anyway, read this if you like urban fantasy with romance and 90's/2000's TV show nostalgia and especially if you enjoyed the first book. You’ll have to be okay with reading from the perspective of a character who sometimes can be naive, self-sabotaging, impulsive and self-loathing, but just know that’s also part of Viv's character development. Highly highly recommend obvs. Waiting for book three is going to be torture from the depths of hell.
A huge thanks to Kate Golden for reaching out and sending me an advance copy via Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley.
View my Cursed City review & follow me on GoodReads here, if you like to yap about books.
Cursed City by Kate Golden FAQs.
SPOILER ALERT:
Some answers WILL spoil Half City and Cursed City if you haven’t read them already. Proceed with caution.
Character art shared by author @carissabroadbentbooks and artist @wictorian_art via Instagram.
Is Cursed City a series?
Yes, Cursed City is the book two in the The Harker Academy series by Kate Golden, planned to be three book series.
What are the content and trigger warnings?
Violence
Blood
Death
Death of parent
Injury and injury details
Explicit sexual content
Violence
Murder
Classism
Gore
Torture
Grief
Cursing
Toxic relationship
Confinement
Coercion
Fantasy drugs
Suicidal thoughts
What are the tropes for Cursed City?
⚔️ enemies to lovers
🫦 maximum yearning
🎓 dark academia
🤞🏻 forced proximity
🏍️ only one motorcycle
🗯️ top tier banter
👯♀️ found family
🧜🏻♀️ magical creatures
🌃 urban fantasy
❤️🩹 hurt/comfort
💬 nicknames
What is the age rating for Cursed City?
Cursed City is classified as adult, so ages 18+, due to adult themes and sexual content. Please also see the trigger and content warnings listed above.
Is Cursed City spicy?
Cursed City has massive, massive amounts of yearning, spicy banter and one mildly spicy chapter. However, I wouldn’t call it spicy, it’s very fantasy and romance-angst-yearning forward that is a slow build. I do predict book three will be spicier than book two!
What is Cursed City spice level?
Spice level: 🌶
1 out of 5, explicitly detailed open door spice in the form of getting inside Deacon’s head and what he’s thinking about towards the end, but no sexual activity happening between the two main characters, even though it’s obvious they want to bang.
What are Cursed City spicy chapters?
Find the Cursed City spicy chapter below, as well as its heat rating.
Chapter 46: 🌶
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