By A Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questal is a contemporary YA novel with a fantasy theme around a magical carnival. When Emmaline King visits the Le Grand Carnival Fantastic she is awed and excited. A spur of the moment kiss leads her to a much less awesome fate as the curse the boy had is transferred to her and she becomes stone cold and cursed to be The Girl in the Box with the circus, and that is just the beginning of her troubles. Benjamin Singer is trying to save up enough money to get out of the circus and settle down somewhere to call home, but the circus has a mind all it's own and a fate for him that he could never anticipate.

Jaime Questal creates not only a setting that is fascinating and mysterious but characters who's struggles pull you in and as you find out more of the mystery it just reels you in deeper. There were many twists and turns and unexpected depths as you progress through By A Charm and a Curse, and nothing is as expected.

Overall I recommend By A Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questal if you are looking for a carnival story with themes of magic, mystery, family, friendship and romance. The settings, storytelling and characters brought the whole thing together.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell sounded like such an incredible read, but, while I was captivated and intrigued from the offset, I ended up pretty disappointed.

The story is dual narrated by Emmaline and Benjamin, a carpenter working on the carnival, and the love interest. For the most part, they take turns narrating the story in alternate chapters, but depending on what's happening in the story, sometimes they'll have a few on the trot. While I liked both Emma and Ben, I didn't feel I got to know very much about them.

Emma and her siblings are living with her dad, as her mum is off on a work research trip that will take several months, and she hates it. Ben doesn't like that his mum is his boss at the carnival, doesn't like working at the carnival itself, and wants to get away. When Emma ends up kissing Sydney, and the curse is transferred from him to her, turning her into a barely alive porcelain doll, Emma can't leave; after she's gone a certain distance away from the carnival, she becomes paralysed, and without her, the carnival won't work how it's supposed to. Other than what I've said here, we learn very little about them. And so it's also difficult to see how they end up falling for each other so quickly; it's not instalove exactly, but it does happen super quickly, based on I don't know what. It doesn't help that between two chapters, Emma has been at the carnival for a few days, and then a month goes by. The two must have got to know each other during that month, but we don't see it.

And this is my problem with most of the book; there's so much that could have been further developed. It's a standalone novel, when I think it should have been developed more and been at least a duology. It's a fairy quick read, but it wasn't until just before 50% that thinking about breaking the curse is even considered, and then it's such an easy decision. The description mentions how breaking the curse will end the charm, and that will cause issues for everyone, because it's extended their life and stopped illnesses and such, but it's only given a little thought, and then the focus is on how to break the curse. Which means finding out how it all started. It was really interesting finding out how the carnival originally fell under a charm and a curse, but working out how to break the curse, and how it's actually done? So very easy. I mean, it's difficult in that there's a risk, but it's not some big convoluted thing. I just felt disappointed again and again. I really expected this to be the first book in the series, and when it became clear that everything was going to be wrapped up very easily in this book, it just fell apart for me. The not getting to know Emma and Ben well, both of them falling in love with each other very quickly based on nothing we get to see, and then find out how to break the curse very easily, and the actual act of breaking the curse being simple, it was just quite a let down.

There are some good parts about the book. There's quite a large cast of characters, the other people who work at the carnival, as performers and not, and they were awesome. I loved Gin and Whiskey, the equestrian vaulting act, Duncan and Pia, the fortune tellers who actually have the gift, and I even quite liked Sydney, the Boy in the Box before Emma. I would love to have read about Sydney's back story, or a spin off with Gin and Whiskey, or even Duncan and Pia, as they were awesome! It also has it's dark elements. There are quite violent moments, sinister moments, and the curse itself, how it affects Emma, is really quite clever but also pretty uncomfortable reading. And when the charm itself seems to start failing for no reason, there are a number of accidents that are really quite shocking.

So there were great things there, and I really feel if the book had been developed further, if it was made into a duology or maybe even a trilogy, it would have been better. I mean, the way the curse works is really clever and imaginative, so it's not like Questell can't do it. But it would have been better, I think, if she applied the same thing to trying to figure out other ways of getting out of the situation Emma's in before realising the curse had to be broken, then made it difficult to work out how to do that, and then made the breaking of the curse itself difficult. It just felt a little too easy to me, with a romance I didn't believe in. But other people have really enjoyed By a Charm and a Curse, so do read some other reviews before you decide whether or not to read the book yourself.

Thank you to Entangled: Teen via NetGalley for the eProof.

A very good fantasy book that kept me hooked since the first page. I really appreciated the plot, the setting and the characters.
Even if this book is classified for teens it can be enjoyed by adult as well.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley

This was a very unique carnival story and I LOVED IT!!!! I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like this! The curse was interesting and it was a pretty quick read!!!

2.5-ish

Here’s the deal: This isn’t a bad book. It has a cool premise and kind of a unique setting. Unfortunately, I was rather underwhelmed by the execution of it all. There was nothing new, original, or even engrossing about the story.

Side note:
I have read both The Night Circus and Caraval, both of which I have heard this book be compared to. Apart from the similar setting, I don’t really think this has anything in common with either of the two but to give you an idea of my reading taste: I adored and reread The Night Circus, while I want to take a star off of my 3-star Caraval review every time I think about it. Now on to the actual review.

By a Charm and a Curse follows Emma who is tricked into staying with a travelling Carnival by a boy, who transfers his curse to her with a kiss. Everything up to there is in the synopsis, everything from there is more or less predictable.
My main issue with this book is the characters. While I did kind of like them, I felt they had not depth at all what had me stop caring for them at some point. Which was the point when I started to feel that only wasn’t there much happening but this all didn’t really make a lot of sense other than fulfilling a bunch of clichés.

I have read a lot of YA books by now and I concede that someone new to the genre might have more fun with this than I did. Also, I didn’t hate it, so if you're in the mood for a quick read, you could definitely try it. I think the writing style is enjoyable and makes for a smooth read. But in the end, it felt a bit empty. The synopsis had promised so much more than the book actually delivered. And I think it could have been more, which is just a real pity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell is the magically whimsical story of Emmaline and how her first kiss turned her life into Night of the Living Dummy.

First kisses are almost always awkward. The word 'awkward' is awkward but that's a dicussion for another time. When you are thinking about your first kiss you worry that you might miss, suck, be sweating uncontrollably, etc. But what if you had to worry about if your first kiss would turn you into a living puppet? You probably wouldn't be so worried about all the others things, huh? If it was me, I would never kiss anyone. But, sadly, Emmaline didn't know her first kiss would land her on a one way flight to puppet town.

Emmaline is one of those characters where I wasn't sure if I liked her or not. There wasn't much to dislike but she just didn't have much of a personality, in my opinion. But this was one of those books where the story was the main character. And that story was, Emmaline now had to pass on the curse that was bequeathed to her. Passing on this curse means she has to do the same thing that was done to her. She has to trick someone in to kissing her. But this person has have a specific set of traits or it wont work. Emmaline has a lot of work ahead of her.

This is also one of those books where it is told is duel point of view so, luckily for me, I liked Benjamin. He was a very sweet guy and knowing what might happen to him made me pretty sad. It was also pretty sad knowing he didn't feel like he belonged where he was even though he did so much work for the carnival people.

One of the main things I think I enjoyed the most about the book was the sense of togetherness. All of these people relied on Emmaline and most of them showed their graitude. Obviously there were people who didn't but the majority wanted to help her pass the curse on. It was a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation. But some of the people could have taken a lesson from the old passage "don't bite the hand that feeds you."

In the end, this book was sooo good, especially if you are a fan of the Fear Street books by R. L. Stine. I felt like I was reading a creepy book from when I was a teenager. I loved the atmosphere of the story and the events surrounding the curse. It was a very solid book and I will definitely look out for more books by Jaime Questell in the future.

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm totally on board with the concept. The curse has clear rules and adheres to them. Characterization is decent. Not particularly complex but reasonably consistent. I think there are some plot failures, particularly as the plot comes to it's conclusion. The villains are too simple. They are plain "bad guys". I'd have liekd to have seen them genuinely trying to protect the carnival rather than their own self-interest. There were a number of side plots that were either abandoned or closed too easily.

4.5 Stars

'By a Charm and a Curse' had me intrigued after reading the description. I have to admit that I immediately thought of 'The Night Circus'. (If you haven't read 'The Night Circus', I can't recommend it enough. I absolutely loved it and it's one of my all-time favorites.) I haven't read many books centered around circuses in general, let alone young adult ones. The premise sounded fascinating and lived up to my hopes. The romance part of it was very prominent because it's the majority of the story, and I have to admit that it was pretty predictable. It was very obvious early on what was going to happen and we just had to watch it unfold. I normally don't care much for romance in my books, but I enjoyed this relationship between Emma and Benjamin - seeing them grow together and fall in love was sweet.

The plot was an interesting concept and I like how there was both a charm and a curse involved - and they were codependent on one another. I really liked learning about each one and seeing how they both worked in the circus. We get to learn the beginning story of them both towards the end of the book and I loved the stories. Emma and Benjamin were good main characters who were realistic and easy to identify with. The other secondary characters were kind of flat because we don't get to know them very well. That was okay with me because the main plot didn't really need them to be complex.

The last thing I want to talk about was the writing style. This is a very important part of a book for me and can definitely make or break it. The author wrote the book in what I think was a perfect fit - from the first person point of view, in alternating narratives from both Emma and Benjamin's perspectives. I loved getting to know each of them on such a personal level. We get to know them deeply - their every thought, hope, fear, dream, and everything in between is open to the reader. I loved that the author chose this as the writing style and it definitely made a positive impact on my reading experience. I definitely recommend this book for fans of 'The Night Circus', YA, fantasy, magic, and romance.

3.5 Stars. Overall I enjoyed this. The plot was interesting and I love books with a circus or carnival setting. Add some magic and I’m hooked. This one was good, but the one thing that bothered me and made me not enjoy the book as much is what happens to the people who are cursed in here, specifically what happens to their bodies. It’s weird and it was a bit hard for me to extend my belief when everything else in the book was incredibly realistic. I also didn’t like how easily Emma accepted her fate and after one night it seemed like it didn’t bother her. I wanted more anger on her part. But the characters were great and the story was creative.

The nitty-gritty: A dark and dangerous tale, perfect for fans of circus and carnival stories.

The moment I saw the cover for By a Charm and a Curse, I wanted to read it. And the fact that the story revolves around a travelling circus, with comparisons to The Night Circus and Caraval, didn’t hurt either. I was delighted to discover a dark, magical tale that wasn’t quite what I expected, but which turned out to be a compelling page-turner. Like many young adult novels, there is a romance which is central to the story, but knowing what I was getting myself into, I took the romance in stride.

The story alternates between two characters, a handyman named Benjamin, who has been with the carnival his entire life, and a young teen named Emma who visits Le Grande’s Carnival Fantastic one evening with her friends and has the terrible misfortune to run afoul of a decades-old curse, which binds her to the carnival until she can pass the curse to some other unsuspecting innocent.

Sidney is “The Boy in the Box,” saddled for the past fifty years with the curse that, along with a charm, holds the carnival together. Sidney works in a fortune teller’s box every night, hoping to meet someone who he can trick into taking on the curse, thus freeing him from a life devoid of feeling. You see, ever since Sidney was tricked by the last holder of the curse, he has lost his sense of touch, smell and taste. He’s little more than a mannequin, able to speak and move about, but without his senses he feels as if he’s lost his humanity.

But one night, Emma wanders over to his box, and he immediately knows she’s the one he can finally pass the curse to. His plan works like a charm, he carefully follows the steps necessary to transfer the curse to another person, and before she knows it, Emma has unwittingly become a part of the carnival.

But as Emma slowly comes to accept her new life, and makes friends with the other carnival folk, something odd is happening. Le Grande’s has always been a place of safety due to the charm, but suddenly, accidents are happening, machinery is breaking down, and everyone is on edge. There may be a way to repair the charm, but first the carnival must travel to the home of the woman responsible for it in the first place.

The story starts fairly tame, but then the author throws in a doozy of a plot twist when the curse is transferred over to Emma, and things get real dark, real quick! I loved the sense of danger that permeates the story, and I never really relaxed after that moment. As the charm starts falling apart, Questell puts all her characters in danger, which only added to the excitement and tension.

Because Emma is now The Girl in the Box, everyone understands that she is a vital part of their health and success, and so they make a point to take care of her and bring her into the inner circle.  I was a little surprised at how quickly she adapts and accepts her fate—because really, this awful thing has happened to her and she had absolutely no choice in the matter—but I’m sure her growing attraction to Ben had something to do with it. And now that Sidney is free from the curse, it’s also his duty to help Emma adjust. I couldn’t understand at first why he was hanging around, after all, he’d been cursed for fifty years! But there is a reason he’s reluctant to leave, and the author throws in a twist that involves Sidney and Ben’s mother Audrey that I did not see coming.

I liked most of the characters, and I especially had a soft spot for a couple of trick horseback riders named Gin and Whiskey (!) and one of the fortune tellers named Pia. And despite Sidney’s underhanded trickery in getting Emma to take over the curse, I did grow to like him. He has a sorrowful past with one of the other carnival members that gave him an air of regret and sadness, and he really was good at looking out for Emma and showing her the ropes. A family of acrobats, the Moretti Brothers, act as the “bad guys” of the story. They are serious bullies and not a single character escapes their brand of nastiness, unfortunately.

And it wouldn’t be a YA story without some romance. Emma and Ben hit it off right away, and I could see the romance coming a mile away, but I thought the author handled it pretty well. I loved the idea of a warm-blooded human falling in love with a cold, unfeeling mannequin-like girl, which I thought was a great way to add something different and unusual to what could have been standard romance. After all, Emma is only cold on the outside. Inside she’s just the same as she was before the curse.

I have to admit I had to suspend my disbelief for parts of this story. I had a little trouble wrapping my head around the idea of “a charm and a curse” that work in tandem together. Questell comes up with some complicated rules as to how these elements work, and they didn’t always make sense. But in the end, the characters and the atmospheric storytelling won out, and I brushed away the “rules” in order to enjoy the tale.

This is a fairly quick read, but Questell packs a lot into it. If you love your stories on the dark side, the By a Charm and a Curse should not be missed.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

This book was pretty good
I loved the idea behind it, the characters were so well done. Can't wait to read more by this author

while their mom is away indefinitely in Guatemala. The only thing Emma has to look forward to is attending the travelling circus, Le Grande's Carnival Fantastic with her long-time friend Juliet. Little does she know how much her life is going to change when she is forced to become a central part of the carnival. The only way she can escape is to break its curse, but to do so will also remove the charm that protects people she has come to care about.

Ben and Emma are wonderful protagonists. The chemistry between them is highly charged, providing an additional thrilling element to the narrative. The differences in how they see and experience the carnival are understandable and create further depth to their relationship. The story is told through their multiple viewpoints and is rounded out with a cast of diverse and colourful characters.

Jaime Questell is an eloquent storyteller. She brilliantly brings to life the unusual and magical nature of the carnival. The crowds, smells and screams of excitement in the air - there is a strange innocence to this world, but it is also tinged with something slightly sinister. By a Charm and a Curse is an enchanting, unique and magical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Full review will be posted at Fangirl Confessions!

By A Curse & A Charm had a ton of potential and as a fan of the whimsical aspect of a carnival, I went into this with high expectations. The writing felt incredibly rushed, and because of this, the pacing did as well. I found difficulty in connecting to the characters, who weren't developed as well as I would've liked. With all the incredible aspects that the story did display, it was overshadowed by the insta-love, making the romance the main plot. I definitely wish I enjoyed this more than I actually did.

Hello, Everyone!
I hope that you are having a wonderful, pre-Valentines day week. I am not much of a Valentine's day person myself, but all the love in the air has put me in the mood to read a light hearted, love-struck read. Luckily, I received a copy of By a Charm and a Curse from Netgalley and got asked to be a part of book’s blog tour by Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review, so I had just the book on hand to fit my mood. *I was not paid by Entangled Teen, nor am I sponsored in anyway by them. I received an ARC of By a Charm and a Curse in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*
I will be the first to say that I am not one for romance. I much prefer a book to have an awesome friendship or sibling relationship rather than having a romance. And don’t get me started on love triangles. However, the blurb of By a Charm and a Curse reminded me of the Night Circus, so I got sucked straight in. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed myself.
First of all, I liked both of our narrators, Benjamin (Ben) and Emmaline (Emma). Emma is very snarky in the beginning and her banter with her best friend Jules reminds me of conversations that I have had with my friends. However, Emma is forced into a total 180 by the curse that is put on the Carnival Fantastic, which makes her grow quite a lot over the course of the novel. Ben, on the other hand, has been with the Carnival for so long that he is more than ready to leave. He is more level headed than Emma is and understands that the circus only continues to function because of the curse, whether he likes it or not. Yet, he is more compassionate than some of the other circus folk when it comes to the new Girl in the Box. He makes sure that the box is brand new, positioned so that she will get the most customers, and makes her trailer a little more homey before Emma moves in. Emma and Ben are destined to be together. She sees him with Gin, a performer at the circus, and it is instantly clear that they are going to end up together. (It is not very subtle about moving their relationship along quickly either). For some reason, I didn’t mind the instalove as much as I usually do. Maybe because I accepted that this was going to be a fluffy read, and left my higher level, literary criticism hat at the door. Either way, there were several scenes that hit you right in the feels and I think Ben and Emma are very cute together.
Secondly, I loved all the secondary characters. Other than the setting of the circus itself, I think they were my favorite part of the story. Lars, a remorseful older man that runs the ferris wheel, gave me grandfatherly vibes that made me smile. Whisky and Gin were an adorable sister pair that made me smile. Marcel and Ben’s relationship made me smile too. Duncan was another one of my favorite characters.Yet, I wish he would have been a little more dimensional so he didn’t come off as the stereotypical gay friend with fashion sense. I would say that one of the faults this book has is very one dimensional “bad guys”. They set up in the beginning as the clear antagonists and their motives are incredibly straightforward. If they had been more well rounded, I feel like I would have been satisfied with the cast as a whole.
Finally, the story itself. I feel like this is where By Charm and a Curse let me down the most. The story, although fun, was very predictable. It felt a bit like a basic plot structure diagram that had been covered by a love story and a circus setting. I was expected a love triangle between Emma, Ben, and Sidney, which I am grateful we did not get. There were also some new aspects of the circus life that were explored that were relatively interesting. While the cinematic writing style and loveable characters shone, I don’t think that the writing or story will stay with me in the way I hoped it would.
Overall, By a Charm and a Curse is a very fluffy, fun circus read that won’t take you that long to get through. If you are looking for a new, romance filled, light hearted take on the circus genre, look no further.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
77% out of 100%

After reading Caraval by Stephanie Garber last year, I have been dying to pick up another carnival-related book. 

This one was the perfect choice. 

The beginning is a little slow, but the pace picks up a few chapters in. The humor is a little different than what I am used to in my YA books, but I loved it a lot. The writing flows really well, almost like a poem. I really appreciated how easy to read it was. Often times in fantasy novels, I get confused by all the extravagant words, especially in the world-building. This was easy to follow along with. 

The characters were also really relatable. I loved Emma a lot because of how sweet she was. Although she was in a tough position, she always strived to do what is right. 

The romance was also done very well in this novel. It wasn't too lovey-dovey or too heavy. The relationship didn't take anything away from the plot, which I liked. 

Overall, if you were a fan of Caraval or The Night Circus, I would highly recommend this book! The setting/world was just amazing, and the storyline was great. It was a really enjoyable read for me and I can't wait to buy the finished physical copy.

Emma hated being back in her small town, and with one fateful trip to the Carnival Fantastic, she’s stuck traveling with the circus, cursed to be the new Girl in the Box, a half-marionette version of herself that keeps the circus from from falling to bad luck. She can pass on the curse to some unsuspecting individual, but that would mean dooming another to feeling the effects of the curse.

I really enjoyed By a Charm and a Curse, especially the wide cast of characters. While sometimes things seemed to drag on, especially the side plot of the Moretti Brothers’ and their issues with the other main character, Ben, I didn’t have to slough through to finish the book. It was a quick read, with a little reminiscent of The Night Circus but not as magical.

While Ben and Emma’s romance was definitely a little quick to come to fruition and I would have liked to see a little more of that unfold organically on the page, I’ve definitely read worse. Their interactions were definitely plenty, and the challenge of falling in love with Ben’s mother’s problems and the carnival was definitely gripping. One thing I would have liked was a little more background on Sidney and Audrey, the conclusion was very one-sided and not as emotionally gripping as I would have liked.

I was so excited when I started reading By A Charm and A Curse because, even though I'm not too fond of books with a circus setting, I was extremely intrigued by this and couldn't wait to get my hands on it!! I can't say that I went into it prejudiced or expecting to hate it but, I definitely had no idea that I would end up loving it! I got immersed in the story from the very beginning and fell in love with the fascinating world that I was introduced to in its pages. Throughout the novel, everything was so vivid and described in such great detail that I could actually feel the air simmer with the scents that come with carnivals and see the various acts in motion right in front of me!

I'm not going to get into great detail about the plot itself because it's too perfectly complicated for me to explain and you should definitely unravel its mysteries by picking up the book yourselves! The characters though, we're going to talk about because I connected with them from the very beginning and felt for them until the very end! Emma was tricked into a life she had no idea would change her and Ben was born in it. Both of them are obviously looking for a way out and fall in love in the process, which is not as simple as one would initially expect. The story itself is told from both their perspectives which made the experience of reading it even better! I immensely enjoy having the chance to see the world in each novel that I read, from different perspectives and it definitely makes things so much more interesting for me, as a reader!

I also felt like every single character developed so much throughout the course of the story and I was quite impressed by their depth and how three dimensional they slowly became! The secondary characters were extremely fascinating as well and added their own magic in each chapter! There are a lot of them but, they were so well written and I could tell them apart from early on! Their paths intertwined so smoothly with Ben and Emma's and their bond became much stronger as the story progressed! They, along with everything that happened throughout the novel, were so vivid inside my mind and I could not stop reading!

The story was immensely engaging and suspenseful, even though you can't really tell just by the synopsis. It was so much more than I thought it'd be and I couldn't have been more grateful for having the chance to read and review it! It was so unpredictable and some of the things that happened blew my mind because of how surprised I was! It was also very original and I don't think I've ever read something similar to it before! The idea behind it was phenomenal and I'm in awe of the author for managing to spun such a fascinating tale around and give us the chance to experience it! It was so unique and complicated, I wouldn't have had it any other way!

My only complaint was not having the opportunity to get a glimpse into Emma's life a bit more and get to know her as much as we did Ben! Other than that, everything about By A Charm and A Curse was simply perfect and my reactions to it are so much more expressive because of how little I expected because of the circus thing and all that! I finished in and just sat there staring into nothing because I couldn't believe its plot twists and the surprises that followed in their wake!

Overall, this was such a unique and wonderful story that kept me on edge from the very beginning! Every single thing that happened was very unexpected, the charm and the curse aspect of it was extremely clever and expertly woven around each other to form a fascinating tale of loss, love, regret and sacrifice! It was dark, it was raw and it felt real! I cannot recommend it enough!

TL;DR:
Overall, this book was a lot of fun. It was creative, it had good pacing, and it had such a unique premise. I think that if you’re still on a high from The Greatest Showman (which I hear was really good) or want something to hold you over until Legendary comes out, I think you’ll really enjoy this one!

Full Review:
In 2017, we definitely saw a lot of authors take us readers to many fantastical worlds. One fantastical world we visited several times this last year was the circus. Between Caraval, Daughter of the Burning City, and (at least for me) the Night Circus, there were several trips to fantastical circuses and carnivals that we wished we could take a trip to. For those who still want to go to one more show, By A Curse and A Charm is a fun take on the circus story with a different spin.

zoltar.jpgI love how this one followed the other acts in the circus, but had an interesting way to bring our main character into the story. If you’re like me, you hear a couple of things to sell you on a book and stop reading the synopsis so you can go in kind of blind and not form any opinions. What I missed was one of the parts I really liked, our main character Emma actually gets tricked into joining by becoming the new “Girl in the Box.” This is like those fortune-teller things you can see at Arcades or circuses or Renaissance Festivals or wherever (reference picture is on the side). At this circus, there is actually a real person trapped in the box and due to a curse and they take on a puppet-like form. This person has smooth skin; doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or even breath; and is responsible for holding the charm over the circus in place and can only be freed if they pass the curse along.

This plot is pretty simple, but it was a lot of fun, so I don’t mind. It’s Emma getting trapped and looking for a way to get free. But this simple plot really worked to the book’s advantage. By keeping everything pretty linear, we got to know more about the circus, the curse, and the characters, without having to take too many reading tangents. This book also added more depth by giving us a second point of view from one of the circus’ carpenter’s Benjamin. I like this dual perspective since Emma and Ben have incredibly different points of view during the story. Having Emma’s confused outsider perspective aside Ben’s insider knowledge was able to strengthen the story.

Praise for this book aside, I did have some issues keeping this story from being a 5 star read. My biggest issue was how predictable the conclusion was. I liked the set up a lot, but there weren’t many possible resolutions. I’m just annoyed that I saw the resolution coming as soon as I did. Despite that being a bit of a letdown, the journey the plot went on was still a lot of fun.

Another complaint I had was that there were times where the charm wasn’t working and I thought it was because Emma was passed the curse correctly. I guess that wasn’t the case, but yeah it was really confusing. I’m happy we did eventually get an explanation and clarification, but for a good chunk of the book, I was pretty confused.

**More reviews like this one can be found on my blog: www.coffeecocktailsandbooks.com**

By A Charm & A Curse is dark carnival novel that intertwines a story of sacrifice, love, and selflessness. The characters and the plot embrace you from the very beginning, sending you on a rollercoaster of thrills, chills, and a close up of the secretive and melancholic world of carnivals. I love carnival/circus books, and this book added a bit of fantasy and grittiness with twisted curses into the mix of Ferris wheels and fortune tellers.

Told in multiple points-of-view, I liked that we got a unique look at both the historical pieces of a traveling carnival and the electrifying thrills of today’s carnivals. The mian characters, Emma and Ben, both provide a very vibrant and straightforward account of their surroundings. The story had some unexpected surprises, but the pacing had me longing for solutions for the hopeless and helpless characters that were cursed. By A Charm & A Curse is definitely a page-turner.

By A Charm & A Curse is a dollop of charms, suspense, romance, and darkness thrown into pages of decadent carnival magic. I enjoyed reading the connection that builds between Emma and Ben; however, I would have also loved more focus on the secondary characters, who all had some insane, mind-boggling talents (maybe we will get a companion novel or some novellas in the future!). Overall, this book becomes a complicated bundle of ancestral curses, but provides a beautiful outlook of a small community coming together to change fate.