Reviews with content warning for Rape - Ever Cursed

I didn't realize that I had higher hopes for this book until I finished it and felt severely let down.

Starting out, it was a little rough and slow paced. Plus, keeping track of the princesses, their curses, and other secondary, yet still important characters, was a little cumbersome. Also, there was a lot of switching from pre-curse/pre-present day mini-flashbacks to provide important/background information, to present day, and the transition wasn't always smooth. In the beginning, it happened often enough that it contributed to the rough start.

Multiple POVs (between Jane and Reagan) wasn't actually a problem, until closer towards the end when chapters got shorter and keeping track of the switches was a bit more difficult.

About halfway through, I was absolutely over the name of Ever and all the other, unoriginal naming. I try not to be critical of authors, since I know how difficult writing can be, but it seemed like Haydu couldn't think of original names and settled on using regular words - like ever - and capitalizing them. Serious, AndNot?

Finally, the ending felt like a cop-out. Nothing ever felt truly resolved. I don't want to spoil it, though, so I'll just leave it that the ending was a mix of predictable - after the "significant reveal," which I totally guessed earlier on, btw - and disappointing.

Content Warnings

filliefanatic's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

3.0

not a lot.... happened? & when it did it was v e r y s l o w

Content Warnings

talkstofish's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Please review content warnings before deciding to go ahead with this book. I didn't get any from descriptions online, but luckily the audiobook had a warning at the beginning that allowed me to steel myself. The book is interesting from the perspective of shared trauma and recovery from traumatic events. The plot is largely based on character development surround these ideas. I think that the book's focus is on how people who are abused, those who are aware of the abuse, and those who are bystanders to the abuse deal with these events in a fantasy perspective, which was a take that I hadn't really seen before.

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caidyn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When I first heard about this book, I wasn't sure what it would be like. But, I really enjoyed it! It's a deeply woven world with a lot going on in it. There are five princesses, all cursed with a Without spell that takes something away from them starting on their thirteenth birthday. For one, it's her ability to eat, another her memory, etc. And then there's the witch who cast the spell over them, one who has secrets and methods of her own. However, now it's time to break the spell. And, with that, secrets come out and truths are learned.

I felt that the ending was a bit heavy-handed, tbh. I liked the empowerment vibe that it had, but it was still very heavy-handed. Still, it was good. I did also enjoy the queer content included -- such as that Grace is into women and Alice is trans. I wish that there was more depth to it and we knew more because both were off-hand comments about their identity, like Grace falling for a woman and Alice not being forced to be a prince. The plot also moved at a quick clip, but it never felt rushed for me. Just that it was a quick story.

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