Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Fåniga beslut av personerna som bara ställer till det för sig själva. Tänker inte igenom saker
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
This book was ingenious. Five princesses can each not do one essential thing and are kept alive (if their lack should typically kill them) by the magic of this curse until its caster turns eighteen. While a fascinating premise in and of itself, upon closer examination, each of these individual deficiencies is a perfect allegory for a specific mental disorder and the struggles that accompany it. Jane, the eldest and one of the two narrators, is Without eating or drinking, equitable to anorexia. Her sister Alice is Without sleep, comparable to insomnia. Their sister Nora is Without the ability to love, which could be considered similar to certain personality disorders. Their sister Grace is Without remembering, and her circular questioning patterns make her a dead ringer for a victim of dementia. And their littlest sister Eden is Without hope; her attitude of despair made me immediately think of depression. The book therefore is a great vehicle for understanding and empathizing with mental illness, but especially the circumstances that give rise to it. Reagan, a young witch, casts the curse on these princesses in an attempt to make their father, a toxic, egotistical king, suffer for his sins, but especially for his rape of her mother. This ultimately fails because the king (who is never given a name to denote the ubiquitous nature of this sort of figure) would rather let his daughters die than admit he was wrong and he appreciates that the witch made them weaker this way, because it makes him “stronger” by comparison. Actions and consequences are thus another big theme of this novel, but especially in regards to power, because magic in this reality can be sapped from women (and people across the gender spectrum, and some men, but there are very few male witches) if they feel threatened or frightened or despairing, etc. So men can drain women’s power literally from them with their abuse (and this book writes abuse and toxicity really well, expressing all of the complexities and multiple levels of feelings about the people who perpetrate these crimes). Magic is poetic and glorious in this novel, literal and figurative power manifesting the implicit barriers present in society (literal boxes around women, for example). Reagan’s Spell of Without, also, when taken metaphorically, can be thought of the princesses’ mental struggle once they reach adolescence (the curses all take hold of them on their Thirteenth Birthdays) and can finally realize the horrors of the castle in which they live and the father who supposedly loves them. I also loved how Haydu would pepper in support for the LGBTQ+ community like the implications that Alice is a trans woman and Grace is a lesbian. But the greatest thing about this book is that it is not simple, just as the issues it describes are not, just as its magic system isn’t, and that it is magic in and of itself in that its staggeringly poignant portrayals of injustice (silence, outright denials, claims of hysteria, half-truths, turning away, etc. etc.) compel you to rise up onto your feet and cast your own Spells (carefully) to unravel this evil. A clock from the oldest, tears from the saddest, a lock of hair from the most beautiful, and a crown from the richest cannot Undo the foulest curse upon the kingdom of Ever… but can a princess and a witch?
“What I know is that though some men are witches, it is only men who are not witches.”
“I look for something beneath the shame and beneath the hunger and beneath all the ways I've ever learned to be a princess and a someday queen. I don't know the word for what I find there.
Or I do know the word, but it can't possibly be true.
Magic.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape
Minor: War
Great premise, but kind of anticlimactic. I was disappointed in the overall arc, as no character really showed growth. The SA elements were cringey, so I was glad for the TW. It felt like a lot of the chapters were repetitive, characters saying over and over what they want but very little action or actual conflicts
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Highly recommend for a one-off, girl power anthem…
Very much a men are trash moment
Very much a men are trash moment
adventurous
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
5 cursed princesses are given the opportunity to break their curse, on the youngest thirteenth birthday. To do so, they must work alongside the young witch who cursed them 5 years earlier. A clock from the oldest, a tear from the saddest, a lock of hair from the most beautiful, a crown from the richest. The princesses must enter their own kingdom for the first times in their life. But by doing so, they realise that the kingdom and the King (their own father) are not what and who they believed.
I had no idea what to expect going into this, but I ended up really enjoying it. I loved the writing style, it was so easy to read and the names of places and characters were easy to pronounce. Ever Cursed was very different to your typical fantasy story. The princesses were not super badass heroines, but a lot more real, with real life struggles (besides being cursed) and show true bravery, it much more realistic ways.
I enjoyed how ever cursed handled some of the darker topics. It lightly touches on sexual abuse and eating disorders (Jane hasn't eaten in 5 years because of the curse). However it doesn't explain certain aspects of it enough. It is more so eluded to that this happened. It also states that Alice was going to be the only prince and now she is a princess. I appreciate that they author did this to show that it is nothing out of the ordinary, but it is hardly even mentioned, it could be so easily missed.
I also have soooo many questions about this world that are just not explained and the characters just accept them as they are. The princesses are cursed, the kingdom is going through a famine, when witches cast a spell, magically they have a new skirt. Why? I want to know why? Why is no one questioning where the skirt came from in the first place? Was a curse cast on all witches? I want to know more.
The story ended in a very satisfying, but unsatisfying way. The whole kingdom finds their voice, but it's just not satisfying. I wish more of the story was neatly wrapped up in a bow.
I had no idea what to expect going into this, but I ended up really enjoying it. I loved the writing style, it was so easy to read and the names of places and characters were easy to pronounce. Ever Cursed was very different to your typical fantasy story. The princesses were not super badass heroines, but a lot more real, with real life struggles (besides being cursed) and show true bravery, it much more realistic ways.
I enjoyed how ever cursed handled some of the darker topics. It lightly touches on sexual abuse and eating disorders (Jane hasn't eaten in 5 years because of the curse). However it doesn't explain certain aspects of it enough. It is more so eluded to that this happened. It also states that Alice was going to be the only prince and now she is a princess. I appreciate that they author did this to show that it is nothing out of the ordinary, but it is hardly even mentioned, it could be so easily missed.
I also have soooo many questions about this world that are just not explained and the characters just accept them as they are. The princesses are cursed, the kingdom is going through a famine, when witches cast a spell, magically they have a new skirt. Why? I want to know why? Why is no one questioning where the skirt came from in the first place? Was a curse cast on all witches? I want to know more.
The story ended in a very satisfying, but unsatisfying way. The whole kingdom finds their voice, but it's just not satisfying. I wish more of the story was neatly wrapped up in a bow.
Stayed up super late finishing this because I could not put it down!
Exciting and also heartbreaking. The magic system in here was fascinating and learning the secrets of the kingdom was also an interesting journey. I really liked the characters, especially Jane and Reagan (btw, girl, I get the rage and attitude, I'm right there with you).
While it was a really interesting and creative take on the issues with patriarchy and how women are treated, part of the ending felt a little.....odd and forced.
However, I still really enjoyed the story. It was inclusive without being forced or flat and used tropes effectively, turning a couple of them on their heads.
Would def reccommend.
Exciting and also heartbreaking. The magic system in here was fascinating and learning the secrets of the kingdom was also an interesting journey. I really liked the characters, especially Jane and Reagan (btw, girl, I get the rage and attitude, I'm right there with you).
While it was a really interesting and creative take on the issues with patriarchy and how women are treated, part of the ending felt a little.....odd and forced.
However, I still really enjoyed the story. It was inclusive without being forced or flat and used tropes effectively, turning a couple of them on their heads.
Would def reccommend.
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I appreciate what the author was trying to do here, but I didn’t love the presentation. RTC.