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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too slow paced of a book. I never felt connected. Just read to get through it. Only message I really got was in order to hurt those in power you punish those they supposedly care about and that all men are bad. And Reagan never really got the message to think before you act even though others tried to tell her. Wish the book had gone in a different direction seeing as the synopsis I feel was something totally different then what I read.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Check out my full review here
I was excited to be accepted for an arc of this book on NetGalley. I'll admit, it was the gorgeous cover that first drew me in. But, after reading the synopsis, I knew that this was going to be a book I would enjoy!
The Princesses of Ever are being punished for a crime that they didn't commit or know about. The curse means that they are all Without one essential thing, whether that be the ability to eat to the ability to sleep. Their mother is frozen in time inside an unbreakable glass box. In this book, the eldest Princess, Jane, leads the way to break the curse alongside her sisters and the very witch who cursed them.
There are two protagonists in this novel; Princess Jane and the witch that cursed them, Reagan.
Princess Jane has been confined to the palace walls all her life. She, nor any of her sisters, sees how their kingdom struggles because of this. They see the love that their kingdom has for them and assume that everything is fine. It isn't until they begin their journey into breaking the curse that they come to understand that their kingdom is suffering much more than they realise and everything is not as perfect as it seems. Jane's curse was probably one of the worst; she is unable to eat. She is slowly dying and believes that she doesn't have long to live. Despite this, she is determined to break the curse placed upon her family and will do whatever she can to break it. I really admired her strength and determination. She may be more physically weak than she is used to, but she finds strength into protecting those she loves and still tries to remain herself as much as she can.
The novel switches chapters between Jane and Reagan. Reagan is fuelled by hatred of the kingdom and the pain that the royal family inflicted on her own family. She cursed the Princess's and the Queen without a thought and has to live with the consequences of her actions. Once Reagan turns 18, the curse she placed on everyone will be permanent. She ends up helping the Princesses try to break the curse, but of course, not everything goes as planned. Most of the witches are disappointed in her after casting the curse, but her anger towards the royals was fairly justified, she had just thrown her anger at the wrong royals. I enjoyed Reagan’s willingness to try and right her wrongs even though she still believes she did it for the right reasons.
I liked that the magic used in this world had consequences. For each spell cast, a witch would gain a skirt around their waist that they would be unable to remove. I thought this was a pretty unique concept and the fact it would get heavier witch each spell cast made it only more interesting. The world was really fascinating and I loved that the witches were restricted to one area of the kingdom. I would have loved to have it more explained though. I personally think that the world-building and characters needed more development. The two main protagonists were strong female characters with a determination to protect those they love, but I would have liked to have more development on their personality.
I enjoyed the storyline and I thought it was unique and interesting. The stakes were from start to finish. The princess's suffering through the rage of a witch was really heartbreaking and at times hard to read. The twists and turns had me reading on and on until I was finished. The end felt a little too fast paced, but I couldn't put the book down. It's a fun and quick read that I loved and enjoyed.
I was excited to be accepted for an arc of this book on NetGalley. I'll admit, it was the gorgeous cover that first drew me in. But, after reading the synopsis, I knew that this was going to be a book I would enjoy!
The Princesses of Ever are being punished for a crime that they didn't commit or know about. The curse means that they are all Without one essential thing, whether that be the ability to eat to the ability to sleep. Their mother is frozen in time inside an unbreakable glass box. In this book, the eldest Princess, Jane, leads the way to break the curse alongside her sisters and the very witch who cursed them.
There are two protagonists in this novel; Princess Jane and the witch that cursed them, Reagan.
Princess Jane has been confined to the palace walls all her life. She, nor any of her sisters, sees how their kingdom struggles because of this. They see the love that their kingdom has for them and assume that everything is fine. It isn't until they begin their journey into breaking the curse that they come to understand that their kingdom is suffering much more than they realise and everything is not as perfect as it seems. Jane's curse was probably one of the worst; she is unable to eat. She is slowly dying and believes that she doesn't have long to live. Despite this, she is determined to break the curse placed upon her family and will do whatever she can to break it. I really admired her strength and determination. She may be more physically weak than she is used to, but she finds strength into protecting those she loves and still tries to remain herself as much as she can.
The novel switches chapters between Jane and Reagan. Reagan is fuelled by hatred of the kingdom and the pain that the royal family inflicted on her own family. She cursed the Princess's and the Queen without a thought and has to live with the consequences of her actions. Once Reagan turns 18, the curse she placed on everyone will be permanent. She ends up helping the Princesses try to break the curse, but of course, not everything goes as planned. Most of the witches are disappointed in her after casting the curse, but her anger towards the royals was fairly justified, she had just thrown her anger at the wrong royals. I enjoyed Reagan’s willingness to try and right her wrongs even though she still believes she did it for the right reasons.
I liked that the magic used in this world had consequences. For each spell cast, a witch would gain a skirt around their waist that they would be unable to remove. I thought this was a pretty unique concept and the fact it would get heavier witch each spell cast made it only more interesting. The world was really fascinating and I loved that the witches were restricted to one area of the kingdom. I would have loved to have it more explained though. I personally think that the world-building and characters needed more development. The two main protagonists were strong female characters with a determination to protect those they love, but I would have liked to have more development on their personality.
I enjoyed the storyline and I thought it was unique and interesting. The stakes were from start to finish. The princess's suffering through the rage of a witch was really heartbreaking and at times hard to read. The twists and turns had me reading on and on until I was finished. The end felt a little too fast paced, but I couldn't put the book down. It's a fun and quick read that I loved and enjoyed.
An amazing book with an amazing message. The book does start slow, but about a quarter of the way into it the book starts to speed up. The plot transitions start to become smoother and the characterization improves as you continue to read. This book isn't a fast-paced adventure, but rather a story about escaping abuse where you are, with a lot of heavy material and dark topics discussed.
I'm going to give myself credit for this even though I skim read a fair amount of the final 25%.
I have loved Haydu in the past, and will try whatever she does next, but I think this book missed the mark by about a mile, it's clunky and the world never made any sense at all and in the end it was very much a MESSAGE book but in a way that didn't match the actual happenings of the book.
I have loved Haydu in the past, and will try whatever she does next, but I think this book missed the mark by about a mile, it's clunky and the world never made any sense at all and in the end it was very much a MESSAGE book but in a way that didn't match the actual happenings of the book.
This is a very, very different type of book. It's about reclaiming power and feminism and believing, in the guise of a fairy tale. I don't know who I would recommend it to and I don't know that I liked it, but I know that it will stay with me for a long time.
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The entire book is about sexual assault. Literally every woman is a victim. Proceed with caution, it can be very triggering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated