“Ideal for fans of Jennifer Donnelly’s Stepsister.” –Booklist Damsel meets A Heart in a Body in the World in this incisive and lyrical feminist fairy tale about a princess determined to save her sisters from a curse, even if it means allying herself with the very witch who cast it. The Princesses of Ever are beloved by the kingdom and their father, the King. They are cherished, admired. … kingdom and their father, the King. They are cherished, admired.
Cursed.
Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. They are each cursed to be Without one essential thing–the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. And their mother, the Queen, is imprisoned, frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box.
But when Eden’s curse sets in on her thirteenth birthday, the princesses are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. To do this, they must confront the one who cast the spell–Reagan, a young witch who might not be the villain they thought–as well as the wickedness plaguing their own kingdom…and family.
Told through the eyes of Reagan and Jane–the witch and the bewitched–this insightful twist of a fairy tale explores power in a patriarchal kingdom not unlike our own.
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I’ve had a lot of trouble with fantasy and books like this recently, but this one I had no problems picking up and getting sucked into immediately. The story itself was so unique and different from most fairy tales, and even how the curses went and how the witches’ magi worked, all of it was so new and interesting. Every time something was tried to fix the original curse, it seemed something else popped in to either take its place, make it worse, or make it more understandable why the witch had made it in the first place.
And then there was the big reveal at the end, the big twist that while I got a tiny inkling of something like that being possible, but only from the clues the author laid down throughout the story, and bits of the synopsis. It was a really, really great twist. There were so many things in that end of the story that really do reflect the world we unfortunately still live in at times as women. And even how easy it is to convince others by things looking good on the surface, them refusing to see what is right under their own eyes at times because of being blinded by what someone wants them to see.
I downgraded on my blog rating to a 4.5 stars, because while I get the symbolism, I don’t like that they had to end up with never-ending daylight, because I love the night, and also that they got rid of the forest. Again, I get the symbolism, nothing to hide the dark things, but forests are good! So, those are my only, probably silly, complaints. Because this book is as beautiful and intricate as its cover!
Wow…this was QUITE the feministic man-hating mess. I was really excited to read this book as I read and LOVED ‘Eventown,’ but this was a huge disappointment. The dialogue felt very juvenile, and a lot of pages were just feelings and emotions being repeated over and over, like the book needed to be ‘filled out.’
What I loved about ‘Eventown’ was the overall positive message of the story. Unfortunately, the only message I got from ‘Ever Cursed’ is that all men are bad (seriously…ALL men in this are bad with the exception of Abbott) and only want to rape women and take power and control of all things.
That aside, though, I was still on board with the story for the majority of it. This was a solid three stars for me until about 87% of the way through. The ending was so ridiculous and so “We Are Women, Hear Us ROAR” that I just couldn’t take it.
In the end, I’m going with two stars because it wasn’t so bad it was unreadable. I read the entire thing, and while there were parts that were juvenile and repetitive, it wasn’t a terrible story, but the ending is not good. It also kind of negates the ENTIRE plot since not all the items were acquired and handed over freely. And the crowns…for all women? No. Just….no.
My suggestion? Skip this. Yes, the cover is beautiful, but that’s about all it has going for it.
Amongst my extensive TBR this was one of the highest anticipations of an instant 5 star I could find. Was super excited to read this and desperately wanted to fall in love with it. I couldn’t find an ounce of passion in this writing at all. Just very meh. Could not connect with the characters and when “the bad guy” was asked to go easy he rolled over and said oh…okay. Bad writing. I’ve read worse books but I most certainly have read better. So disappointed.
A captivating story about a curse placed on a kingdom and the princesses’ challenge to defeat the curse before it becomes permanent. I loved the strong female characters in this story. I was also intrigued as I continued to learn more about the kingdom and the secrets that continued to be uncovered. The back and forth storytelling between Jane and Raven allowed myself as the reader to gain more insight into both sides of the curse.
What a beautiful cover! The story inside matches! I loved it so much! Is it too soon to have already read one of my favorite books of the year? I highly recommend this one!