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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I honestly did not like this book due to the fact that it was not as fairy-tale like as I thought. The summary really misguides the reader as to what the book is about. The characters weren’t lovable nor were they that developing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
This book centered on issues encountered by women in a fairytale setting. Issues that already happened in different eras and still exist even today. One of my favorite quotation from the book is
"There are a hundred ways to be strong. There are a hundred ways to move on. A hundred ways to survive. I get to choose the way I want to survive."
This book deserves to be read by all people trying to survive, struggling and still keeps on fighting.
"There are a hundred ways to be strong. There are a hundred ways to move on. A hundred ways to survive. I get to choose the way I want to survive."
This book deserves to be read by all people trying to survive, struggling and still keeps on fighting.
The blossoming power and self-realization of the women in EVER CURSED was beautiful, and I'm glad I stuck around after originally thinking I wasn't going to finish the book. It wasn't perfect, but the end was very satisfying, I want to clap out loud lol.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
5 ⭐️
Trigger warnings: sexual assault/rape, eating disorder, sexism
A year ago, I read an auto proclaimed feminist high fantasy that ended up being more of a sexual revolution book for white feminists. I couldn't finish it because it didn't felt real. This book does. It's everything The Women's War isn't: intersectional, full of empathy, deep, and real. Oh, so real.
It's heartwrenching and heartbreaking and hard to read if you're a woman who has been sexually assaulted or just knows how terrible life can be under the patriarchy. It took everything in me to keep reading despite how much it rang true, but I also couldn't stop reading because of it. It pulled me in and I wouldn't let go until I finished it. And I'm so glad I did.
It ends well. I feel this needs to be said because many might not have the strength to keep reading. Partly because we are living in strange times, when a pandemic won't let up and governments around the world rage war against their citizens. Partly because many of those who will read it have been victims of sexual assault.
But for all its darkness, it shows characters of different colours, of different classes and of different sexual and gender orientations without batting an eye. It's rooted in inclusivity and it felt so good to read a high fantasy that shines this light on otherwise marginalized people. And I especially loved the way those with privilege eventually realized they had it and pushed the voice of those less fortunate instead of talking over them.
I don't think I would read it again, because it hurt too much to get through, but I wish everyone did read it. It's the kind of story that needs to be told again and again, until we can change things and start to heal the way Ever does.
5 ⭐️
Trigger warnings: sexual assault/rape, eating disorder, sexism
A year ago, I read an auto proclaimed feminist high fantasy that ended up being more of a sexual revolution book for white feminists. I couldn't finish it because it didn't felt real. This book does. It's everything The Women's War isn't: intersectional, full of empathy, deep, and real. Oh, so real.
It's heartwrenching and heartbreaking and hard to read if you're a woman who has been sexually assaulted or just knows how terrible life can be under the patriarchy. It took everything in me to keep reading despite how much it rang true, but I also couldn't stop reading because of it. It pulled me in and I wouldn't let go until I finished it. And I'm so glad I did.
It ends well. I feel this needs to be said because many might not have the strength to keep reading. Partly because we are living in strange times, when a pandemic won't let up and governments around the world rage war against their citizens. Partly because many of those who will read it have been victims of sexual assault.
But for all its darkness, it shows characters of different colours, of different classes and of different sexual and gender orientations without batting an eye. It's rooted in inclusivity and it felt so good to read a high fantasy that shines this light on otherwise marginalized people. And I especially loved the way those with privilege eventually realized they had it and pushed the voice of those less fortunate instead of talking over them.
I don't think I would read it again, because it hurt too much to get through, but I wish everyone did read it. It's the kind of story that needs to be told again and again, until we can change things and start to heal the way Ever does.
“There is more than one way to be brave.”
This is the powerful, feminist, dark fairytale I didn’t know I needed! I thought this would be like any other predictable YA fantasy, but it’s not at all — it’s so much more! The writing is beautiful and lyrical, the characters are flawed and hauntingly real, the magic is fantastical and terrifying and stifling, and the story itself is dark and doesn’t shy away from very real subjects. (Trigger warning: rape.)
This book is dark but brave. It doesn’t shy away. It doesn’t look away. It delves deeply and truthfully into the subject of rape. But it goes deeper: it shows what it’s like to not be believed, to be believed but not have justice, to have to be brave everyday, to feel like a possession, a thing for someone’s amusement, to be nothing except a pretty face and a trophy for men’s amusement. It shows all the ways women can be harmed by the act of rape: the woman who is raped and has to be brave everyday because of it, her family and friends who know and wish they could help her, and the women who turned their heads away so they wouldn’t know because it brings about an uncomfortable truth about someone they love.
Reagan’s mom mentions how “unfair it all is, to have things taken without permission.” The story elegantly connects rape with the spell that Reagan cast on the princesses; it took too a piece of them away without their permission. It’s an assault of a different kind — a magical one — and it works to bridge the real with the fantastical.
I’m so glad this book went back and forth between the POV of Reagan (the witch) and Jane (the princess). We get to see both sides to the story and we get to see how both of them grow as women in tough situations.
I love the magic in this world because it’s real and flawed and strict and stifling for the witches. There are rules for the spells that are cast and every spell that a witch casts ends up as a skirt around her forever; everyday spells are silk and chiffon whereas big spells are wool and burlap. Such a fascinating idea! It also plays into the fact that women are always burdened by their lives and their choices and can never escape them.
The only thing is that the ending felt a little rushed and didn’t feel as satisfying as I would’ve liked.
Overall, I loved this book!
*Thanks NetGalley for the review copy.
This is the powerful, feminist, dark fairytale I didn’t know I needed! I thought this would be like any other predictable YA fantasy, but it’s not at all — it’s so much more! The writing is beautiful and lyrical, the characters are flawed and hauntingly real, the magic is fantastical and terrifying and stifling, and the story itself is dark and doesn’t shy away from very real subjects. (Trigger warning: rape.)
This book is dark but brave. It doesn’t shy away. It doesn’t look away. It delves deeply and truthfully into the subject of rape. But it goes deeper: it shows what it’s like to not be believed, to be believed but not have justice, to have to be brave everyday, to feel like a possession, a thing for someone’s amusement, to be nothing except a pretty face and a trophy for men’s amusement. It shows all the ways women can be harmed by the act of rape: the woman who is raped and has to be brave everyday because of it, her family and friends who know and wish they could help her, and the women who turned their heads away so they wouldn’t know because it brings about an uncomfortable truth about someone they love.
Reagan’s mom mentions how “unfair it all is, to have things taken without permission.” The story elegantly connects rape with the spell that Reagan cast on the princesses; it took too a piece of them away without their permission. It’s an assault of a different kind — a magical one — and it works to bridge the real with the fantastical.
I’m so glad this book went back and forth between the POV of Reagan (the witch) and Jane (the princess). We get to see both sides to the story and we get to see how both of them grow as women in tough situations.
I love the magic in this world because it’s real and flawed and strict and stifling for the witches. There are rules for the spells that are cast and every spell that a witch casts ends up as a skirt around her forever; everyday spells are silk and chiffon whereas big spells are wool and burlap. Such a fascinating idea! It also plays into the fact that women are always burdened by their lives and their choices and can never escape them.
The only thing is that the ending felt a little rushed and didn’t feel as satisfying as I would’ve liked.
Overall, I loved this book!
*Thanks NetGalley for the review copy.
1⭐️ - ehh, good themes and ideas, but not my favorite book.
The Princesses of Ever are beloved by the kingdom and their father, the King. They are loved. Cursed.
Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. Each princess has been cursed to be without one essential thing—the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. THe Queen, is frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box.
When the youngest princess turns 13, its a race as they are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. They only have four days to complete their tasks. They meet the young witch who cast her spell, Reagan bur all isn't as it appears to be. Maybe she isn't the villain in the story.
Told by two different perspectives Jane and Reagan. This was a wonderful read but also incredibly thought provoking.
Jane and Reagan are both strong characters. Jane is a princess who was destined to be queen, she has the mentality that she is royalty and therefore good. Reagan made a rash decision over something she was told, cursing the princess' and maybe getting more than she bargained for.
With the princess' cursed, they are treated as objects. Other royalty see them as a prize to be won and they don't want the princess' to break they spell. They are alluring as enchanted.
This book made me think about consent, how people should be treated and how women and men are treated in society. I didnt go into this book thinking it would be deep and meaningful, a message everyone should hear. The trauma in this is very well written and an accurate representation of just how people deal with their trauma in different ways.
Reagan's mother is broken, loud noises and sharp movements send her spiraling.
Jane finds it hard to believe her father, her kind, loving father would do such a thing to someone. Her representation of her grief of loosing a father figure, finding out who he was and what he did was was well done. From denying to accepting.
I can't praise this book enough, by far one of the most thought provoking and unique story I've read this year.
Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. Each princess has been cursed to be without one essential thing—the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. THe Queen, is frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box.
When the youngest princess turns 13, its a race as they are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. They only have four days to complete their tasks. They meet the young witch who cast her spell, Reagan bur all isn't as it appears to be. Maybe she isn't the villain in the story.
Told by two different perspectives Jane and Reagan. This was a wonderful read but also incredibly thought provoking.
Jane and Reagan are both strong characters. Jane is a princess who was destined to be queen, she has the mentality that she is royalty and therefore good. Reagan made a rash decision over something she was told, cursing the princess' and maybe getting more than she bargained for.
With the princess' cursed, they are treated as objects. Other royalty see them as a prize to be won and they don't want the princess' to break they spell. They are alluring as enchanted.
This book made me think about consent, how people should be treated and how women and men are treated in society. I didnt go into this book thinking it would be deep and meaningful, a message everyone should hear. The trauma in this is very well written and an accurate representation of just how people deal with their trauma in different ways.
Reagan's mother is broken, loud noises and sharp movements send her spiraling.
Jane finds it hard to believe her father, her kind, loving father would do such a thing to someone. Her representation of her grief of loosing a father figure, finding out who he was and what he did was was well done. From denying to accepting.
I can't praise this book enough, by far one of the most thought provoking and unique story I've read this year.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed the book and thought it was interesting magic system.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
I absolutely loved this book , really easy to read and get into . I normally find it hard to get into books with different view points , but this one wasn't a different view point from the same moment in time , it was a continuation of the story . A wonderful read about inner strength, courage and the beauty of self love no matter what youay have been through . Reagan is my fave character ... Self discovery : compassion , understanding , kindness, empathy , love and a wise knowledge that came from a mistake made from a place of hatered and vengeance.