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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
This book starts out slow but the pace picks up after the first 100 pages as things are found out the story and characters were really interesting to read about. The characters were very great to read about especially Jane and Reagan one being cursed to not be able to eat and the other being the witch who cast the curse. Jane starts out meek and quiet girl who just wants the curse to end so that she her sisters and mother will not have to live like this anymore but by the end she is much stronger and takes the lead in ending the curse and freeing all of her people. As for Reagan I liked how she did what she did out of love for her mother but she went about it all wrong it is not right to punish those who did not deserve it. The story starts out with talking of the curse and how it all effects Jane her sister and their mother and how Jane just wants it to end the story moves to Reagan and we start to slowly find out why she takes Jane and her sisters to find out what is going on in their kingdom they see terrible things and Reagan tells them why she did and they just can't believe their father the king would do that after they return after the horrible run in with foreign royals Jane and her sisters believe what Reagan told them so the kind imprisons them only for Jane to escape after that they finally find everything needed to end the curse after a while and much effort it is ended and there is finally the well deserved happy ending.
I like the concept of this book a lot, but I struggled with the execution. The whole first third of the book moves very slowly, which I wouldn't mind except that it's also very repetitive, and Jane is super boring early on, because being an incredibly sheltered and self-centered princess does not make a person particularly interesting. Reagan is less so, but her point of view early on is frustrating because she shows up and immediately gets into arguments with everyone without context or anything else to ground us in her character. I got more interested when they start having things to do beyond just feeling sorry for themselves, but I was very close to abandoning the book before getting there.
The other issue is that the tone, style, and world-building just feel all over the place. At times I thought the book was trying to be a stylized, fairy-tale kind of story, and sometimes I think it hits that tone. Like, the way the magic system doesn't make any real sense, but has an internal, poetic kind of logic to it. I can be ok with that, if that's what you're committing to! But then there are other places where it seems like we're supposed be getting more grounded details of life in Ever, and they're just, wildly implausible.
I mean, despite myself I don't need all my second-world vaguely-medieval European fantasy stories to read like a historical study of daily life in the time period, but I do need to believe that the author is familiar with the contents of such books, if you're going to try and portray bits and pieces of it. And I tried so hard not to let it bother me, but when Jane repeats like, 3 or 4 times, that the entire population of the "kingdom" of Ever is 500-some people, I just cannot handle it. That is a not a kingdom that can support a castle with fancy balls and multiple levels of nobility, it's barely a subsistence-level agricultural community. Even by historical standards! Lords of medieval castles supported only by a town of 500 (and productive agricultural land even, not land that's been been cursed with two decades of famine..) did not live in the lap of luxury! They froze in the winter and ran out of good food before the spring vegetables were ready and even small exotic trade goods were rare and extremely valuable. I mean, there appear to be three groups of people in the whole kingdom: nobles, witches, and farmers. No skilled artisans, no traders, no source of wealth that could be used to trade for silks and jewels and exotic foods even if traders existed. How are these people getting chocolate??
Again, I can accept a fairy tale sort of story that doesn't worry about those details, but you have to actually, consciously, make that choice and not undermine it. Honestly I think half the problem is my personal YA nemesis, first-person present tense. There's a reason fairy tales start with "once upon a time," the idea of a dreamlike fairy tale is directly at odds with the kind of detailed immediacy that first-person present forces.
Then there's the use of language. Early on the story is told in fairly simplistic, repetitive language, then halfway through the story people start swearing a lot, and it just didn't feel consistent. I think maybe it was supposed to be a deliberate mirroring of the shift in the tone of the plot itself, but it didn't feel well-executed and I found it very distracting.
I did like the ending a lot, which is ultimately what pushed this to 3 stars for me instead of 2.
The other issue is that the tone, style, and world-building just feel all over the place. At times I thought the book was trying to be a stylized, fairy-tale kind of story, and sometimes I think it hits that tone. Like, the way the magic system doesn't make any real sense, but has an internal, poetic kind of logic to it. I can be ok with that, if that's what you're committing to! But then there are other places where it seems like we're supposed be getting more grounded details of life in Ever, and they're just, wildly implausible.
I mean, despite myself I don't need all my second-world vaguely-medieval European fantasy stories to read like a historical study of daily life in the time period, but I do need to believe that the author is familiar with the contents of such books, if you're going to try and portray bits and pieces of it. And I tried so hard not to let it bother me, but when Jane repeats like, 3 or 4 times, that the entire population of the "kingdom" of Ever is 500-some people, I just cannot handle it. That is a not a kingdom that can support a castle with fancy balls and multiple levels of nobility, it's barely a subsistence-level agricultural community. Even by historical standards! Lords of medieval castles supported only by a town of 500 (and productive agricultural land even, not land that's been been cursed with two decades of famine..) did not live in the lap of luxury! They froze in the winter and ran out of good food before the spring vegetables were ready and even small exotic trade goods were rare and extremely valuable. I mean, there appear to be three groups of people in the whole kingdom: nobles, witches, and farmers. No skilled artisans, no traders, no source of wealth that could be used to trade for silks and jewels and exotic foods even if traders existed. How are these people getting chocolate??
Again, I can accept a fairy tale sort of story that doesn't worry about those details, but you have to actually, consciously, make that choice and not undermine it. Honestly I think half the problem is my personal YA nemesis, first-person present tense. There's a reason fairy tales start with "once upon a time," the idea of a dreamlike fairy tale is directly at odds with the kind of detailed immediacy that first-person present forces.
Then there's the use of language. Early on the story is told in fairly simplistic, repetitive language, then halfway through the story people start swearing a lot, and it just didn't feel consistent. I think maybe it was supposed to be a deliberate mirroring of the shift in the tone of the plot itself, but it didn't feel well-executed and I found it very distracting.
I did like the ending a lot, which is ultimately what pushed this to 3 stars for me instead of 2.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. A bit slow and very confusing in the beginning but as the story all came together they where so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Loved it.
I enjoyed the storyline of this, but I felt that the writing at times was confusing. Certain plot points were unnecessarily drug out and by the time of the reveal I had already figured it out what it was, so the shock of the reveal was lost. Nothing new or extraordinary about this story, but still a good, short read.
"Ever Cursed" is an insightful twist of a fairy tale that explores power, and who wields it. This book teaches us that every woman is a witch, and her magic is powerful. Full review: https://robyntocker.weebly.com/ever-cursed.html