A review by poisonenvy
Cursed by Marissa Meyer

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Marissa Meyer remains one of my favourite authors. I didn't reread Gilded before starting this, and while part of me wishes I did, I actually remembered a fair amount from that book already, so it wasn't strictly necessary (the whole duology will be getting a reread though, and probably soon).

There was a lot of dark in this book, but also a lot of light. I found myself living the Erlking more than I thought I would. The pacing was excellent. I listened to probably a little more than half of this this book (read the other half physically), and the narrator was also great. 

And that ending. THAT ENDING. Chef's kiss.
I make no secret about my hatred of the forced happy ending. The "Oh no, someone must die for us to win the day they MUST but oh look, through the power of idfk love or whatever, they're MAGICALLY RESURRECTED for no reason whatsoever" ending. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. 

Meyer manages to make it work.  There's groundwork laid out for them coming back. There's actual magical explainations for them coming back. It works, and it works so well. I love it.
 

Meyer has made fairytale retellings into an art form, and it's an artform she excells at. I understand her next novel will be a companion book to Instant Karma, but I'm excited to see what her next retelling is, too. 
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