This is a very, very different type of book. It's about reclaiming power and feminism and believing, in the guise of a fairy tale.. I don't know who I would recommend it to, but I know that it will stay with me for a long time.

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for giving me access.

There are trigger warnings from the very beginning. Please be wary of reading this book is you are a victim of sexual assault or are triggered by reading such things. If you do read this, have a friend on standby for emotional support. Talk about your feelings.

This story contains so much, not only is it a wonderful fantasy read, it also brings attention to victims of sexual assault. It was written beautifully and I look forward to reading more from Corey Ann Haydu.

Ever Cursed is told from the POV of Princess Jane, the oldest princess, and Reagan, the witch who cast the spell. We learn the reason for Reagan's anger early on in the story as we follow them both as they try to break the spell. What follows is a painful, eye-opening experience for the both of them. Ever Cursed tackles rape culture, class differences, and the privilege that comes with money/power (magic). It's a lot to take on, and the book is often heavy handed when discussing these themes. Also, for a good chunk of the book, some of the characters (e.g. Abbott, Olive, and Reagan's grandmother) talk in riddles when giving advice to Reagan or Jane. It gets frustrating that the characters won't just come out and say what they mean, but eventually they get there. By the end, everyone is telling the truth and expressing their pain clearly.

Despite these frustrations, this is a great book that explores important, relevant topics through fantasy. At first I didn't understand why Reagan punished the princesses and queen when it was the king who did such an awful thing. But isn't that always the case? Women often suffer for the sins of men. Or, on the flipside, think of the woman in the fridge trope. Hurt a woman to make a man's story more meaningful. The king certainly uses the pain of his daughters to his advantage.

Jane and Reagan were fascinating characters who learned a lot and changed a lot over the course of the story. I especially liked the history of Ever and its missing princess and the way it tied into the present story. While I found the ending a little baffling, the journey was still worthwhile. I will recommend this book to readers looking for fractured fairy tales or feminist reads.

This book seems very simple and fails to stand up to the standard set by the blurb. There are some queer characters (trans MC/gay MCs), but some villains are also made queer (spoiler: someone who tries to assault the MC's sister is gay). Would not recommend to anyone without giving these warnings and trying to find a better match first.

Ever Cursed is the story of two young women: Princess Jane, the eldest of four princesses who are beloved by their kingdom but cursed to be Without one essential thing when they turn thirteen, and Reagan, the young witch who cast the curse. The princesses have the opportunity to break the spell before it becomes True and dooms them forever, but in order to do so, they might just have to team up with the witch who cast it in the first place.

I've always enjoyed reading Corey Ann Haydu's work. She writes primarily about the lives of complex characters facing complicated circumstances, magical or otherwise. And I've always found her approach to these stories to be engaging and clever. This is true of Ever Cursed as well, and I still can't get over how much I ended up being into this story.

I had hoped to enjoy Ever Cursed, but I don't think I could have predicted how much I would end up feeling so invested and moved by the experience of reading this story. It's fantastical, with strong fairytale vibes providing extra whimsy and a sense of unreality to the tale. But it's also got relatable and difficult themes grounded in very real themes. (Now might be a great time for me to mention a few content/trigger warnings for this story, specifically sexual assault and eating disorders.) I really admire how Haydu wove these things into her tale in a clever way that felt very organic, and still maintained that eerie, magical vibe that most fairytales possess.

While it wasn't an easy read, for me, Ever Cursed ended up having a very strong overall message. Both Jane and Reagan had to confront the realities of their world, including the societal divides, the treatment of other people and the bits of their past and present that they cannot (or refuse to) see at the start. And when faced with these facts, they each must decide how they can use their voice and talents to stand up for the right thing. It really felt empowering to watch them both grapple with the truths that their respective lives were serving them and to make the choices they did at the very end.

To sum it up for you, Ever Cursed was very good. I was so hooked on the way Haydu chose to tell this story that I read it all in one sitting! And the thematic content was something I found myself sitting with for days after I'd finished reading. I hope you'll consider checking out this book, and I hope it ends up being the same powerful reading experience for you that it was for me.

A story of two girls righting the wrongs inherited by years of complacency.

Jane is the eldest daughter and always puts the duties of being the future queen of Ever first. She has lived cursed longer than any of her sisters and she will only have days to break the spell before all their curses become permanent. Eden is the witch who cursed the princesses and must guide them to revelations about the kingdom and the suffering of their people.

The story transitions between Jane and Edens's perspectives, explaining the life of women confined to the kingdom and the witches banished from the kingdom. The story challenges the patriarchal system and the crimes that go unpunished in the kingdom. The plot has a moderate pace and a wide cast of characters. A lot was packed into this story and for the most part, it will be easy for readers to process. However, towards the end, a lot goes down and the plot gets complicated. The book leaves a satisfying ending.

There are themes of rape and sexual harassment.

*Review courtesy of NetGalley*

Let’s appreciate the cover for a moment shall we? It’s what lured me in and then the synopsis is really quite interesting.

Once upon a time there was a witch who was so angry she cursed the entire royal family, so that on their thirteenth birthday they become cursed. It’s a dual POV so we get to see the oldest princess, Jane, and our witch Reagan and how they’re dealing with issues. Jane is cursed to never eat, and only the curse keeps her from dying. But on her Eighteenth birthday, if it shouldn’t be fixed, she will die from the curse.

Jane is naive and particularly a weak character since she gives in to her father’s goodness, which we are often reminded he is so good (but we never see why he is? Just told quite frequently by her) She is soft, and allows herself to be humiliated because apparently future queens do that.

Reagan is a hot headed witch, who is conflicted because the spell didn’t turn out how she wanted. She loves her family and wants to protect them as well as witches too. She was ok I guess. I just have some issues with the writing which really didn’t help with me enjoying the story.

The writing style never allowed for me to dive in and understand or even enjoy the world. It’s as if we are only being told half stories at a time. We are told things and we are to believe them, which automatically makes me not believe them. The king is good, but the witch hates him, so clearly there is a story there which is seriously only hinted toward for a majority of the book. Actually so much of the book is vague and it begins to tell a story only for it to stop and change directions. It just frustrated me. Half explanations from characters, all telling and no showing. I didn’t know what the heck was going on in a good portion.

Eventually you learn the truth, but at that point I was reading for morbid curiosity.

I immediately fell in love with this book when I saw the cover. And oh boy, it did not disappoint. I loved this book! The audiobook for this is also phenomenal. The story line was so fascinating, I couldn't stop reading it because I just needed to find what would happen next!

The characters in this are SO GOOD. I will say, the princes sucked, like omg. I haaaaaaate them. I did love Jane. She is awesome. She is probably my favorite character. This world was so cool. With the Witches and magic, it was just awesome. This book was a little slow-paced, but not in a bad way. I usually avoid slow-paced books because they make me sleepy, but this one was done really well.

So, if your looking for a captivating, somewhat slow-paced, standalone fantasy read, then this is the book for you!

The kingdom of Ever is cursed. Their princess went missing over 80 years ago. The curse encased the Queen in glass box, trapped for almost 5 years. The princesses of Ever are cursed on their 13th birthday. Jane cannot eat. Alice cannot sleep. Nora cannot love. Grace cannot remember. Eden will soon lose hope. They are determined to break the spell when Reagan the young witch who cursed them returns before the spell turns true on the witch’s 18th birthday. This challenge takes them on a quest to visit their kingdom instead of admiring their subjects from afar, to see their father and other royals for who they really are, and take a strong stand against oppression and compliance. Will they break the spell in time for the undoing or will they be Ever Cursed?

I would give this book a 3.5. I was intrigued by the dual perspectives and stream of consciousness narration alternating between Princess Jane and Reagan the Witch. It felt like the story dragged at times for me. It wasn’t very subtle in exposing the issues it wanted to tackle like eating disorders, insomnia, and abuse. But I was intrigued enough to finish it.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

This book was heavy hitting, so you should proceed with caution. It had trigger warnings, which intrigued me the most (apart from that beautiful cover). It has a good set of characters and a plot that gives a strong feminist vibes in every page. Please give this book a chance. I know you will love it and hold it close to your heart.

Let's start with the first thing I knew about this book and what dragged me in - I am obsessed with the cover! That cover is really gorgeous! I was pleasantly surprised that I did enjoy the story very much. However, this book was HEAVY and a tough read. I highly recommend it, but with caution.

There’s a lot of things about Ever Cursed that I should have loved. Princesses and witches, weird magical curses, a feminist fairy tale about the bewitched and the bewitcher. But honestly? It never felt right.

Ever Cursed is about the Princesses of a kingdom called Ever. A young witch casts a spell on the princesses to make them go without something; food, love, sleep, memories, or hope. After five years of this misery, the witch returns and gives them a way to break their curse in just a few short days. I hoped this would be a thrilling adventure of girls banding together in a kingdom they’ve never seen, but it was a slow paced, wrong-voiced read.

The way Ever Cursed is written, you’d think it was a middle grade story. It reminded me a lot of Wizards of Once and Dark Lord Clementine. And usually, that would be a good thing. But Ever Cursed is meant to be a YA; and a dark one at that. There’s sexual abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, sexism, and more hinted at through the early parts of the book. So when a character said “fuck” for the first time, I was really thrown off because I just thought this whole time, I was reading a middle grade. The voice just never clicked for me.

The writing also circled around itself several times. Chapters one after another would repeat information we’d already gotten twice before and it felt slow. Like a whole lot of nothing going on. I appreciate the trigger warning we got right at the beginning, but it still didn’t really prepare me for all the abuse we underwent. It made me feel hopeless as a reader because I didn’t see a way things could improve with all the terrible things going on.

Ever Cursed also dragged on quite a bit, despite being a fast read. I could get a quarter of the way through the book in one stretch of before bed reading. The prose itself read quickly, but the story dragged its feet. It was enough to keep me interested to finish, but I didn’t like doing it. The whole time I was reading, I just wanted to get to the next book on my TBR.

The cover is simply stunning, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who would fall head over heels for Ever Cursed, but unfortunately, I’m not one of them. The narrative style felt wrong for this book; too whimsical to counteract the dark themes. I’m sure it could have worked with a more careful hand, but to me, it didn’t.

I really wanted to like Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu. The trigger warnings intrigued me, plus I love a good story about magic and princesses. Unfortunately, it is nothing but a rehash of an oft-told story.

Men control women. Women silently suffer in an attempt to keep the peace. Something changes to make women aware of the control and lack of power. Women fight to protect their rights and wrest control from the men. The end. Throw in some magic, long-held family secrets, and misguided attempts at doing the right thing and you essentially have the plot to Ever Cursed.

As for the trigger warnings, I understand why the author includes them. That being said, the reasons for the warnings are not nearly as explicit as I expected. Because there are such warnings, I expected the danger scenes to involve details that would be difficult to read. They are not. In fact, they are very tame, in my opinion. They are in no way graphic. Personally, I think the warning about eating disorders is more appropriate because Ms. Haydu spent more time talking about Jane's hunger and mealtimes than she does going into specifics about any violence.

Ms. Haydu does one thing right, however. She does a decent job of portraying the sense of betrayal the girls feel towards their father once his actions come to light. After all, the only father they know is a loving, attentive father who not only played with them but was also progressive about their upbringing. So, their disbelief at the information they learn about him feels authentic and is one of the highlights of the story.

Overall, there is nothing new about Ever Cursed. There are many novels about the power struggles between men and women across all genres and age levels. The addition of cursed princesses adds a little something extra to the story even as it does not change anything at its most basic level. It is the same with forcing the cursed to work with the cursing - a fun addition but it adds nothing. So, Ever Cursed is just another disappointment in a string of them.

Wow this book tackled a lot in a diverse rom-com package. Liya has severe PTSD from the horrible experience she had as a child. The fact that she is still paying for this mistake from her parents and religious community made me so mad. I loved the contrasting upbringing that Jay had. He was a part of the same religious community but was raised by more progressive people. The meeting of these two was a constant battle but enjoyable to read. I'm glad there was a showdown at the end and they chose to make their own happy ending.

This title looked so promising and I was very excited to read some sapphic rep in fantasy, but I was unaware until opening the ebook and getting a few pages in that this book could be triggering for people who suffer with eating disorders. While I appreciate the trigger warning before the beginning of the novel, I am unable to review this title.

Beautifully and almost lyrically written!

And can we talk about the absolutely SWOONWORTHY cover!?!?

Great characters, fun plot, quick and amazing read!

* I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own*

I will admit, the cover of this book drew me in before I ever even looked at the story. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the story as well. A family of princesses are cursed by a witch as revenge for what their dad did to her mother. They don't know why they were cursed or if they are going to be able to break the curse, and the book focuses on how rape can affect not just the victim but all of the people around the victim and the rapist. It was a tough read, for personal reasons, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be recommending it to patrons!

When I heard this book was being compared to Damsel by Elana K. Arnold, I knew I had to pick it up immediately, and I am so happy I did. I read this book in a single sitting because I simply could not put it down. I loved the strong feminist spin on the fairy tale genre in this book, and I thought the book covered some very important topics. I also loved the writing style, the characters in general, and the different perspectives we saw. This is a dark book, and it's an important one, and I'm very grateful I had a chance to pick it up.

Corey Ann Haydu creates another magical world full of twists in her new book Ever Cursed.
Five princesses were cursed by a witch by the spell of without. Each princess has lost something from the spell. One cannot eat, one cannot sleep, one cannot remember, and one cannot love. It is almost time for the curse to be removed, and Reagan, the witch who set the curse, will have to travel to the castle to help remove it.
This book has one of the most interesting magical systems that I have ever read. The system is so inventive and original. It was very easy to get immersed in this world and in the characters that inhabit it. The cover of the book is also gorgeous, that I kept pulling up the image to look at it.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys YA fantasy with fairy tale vibes.

The story hooks you in from the beginning due to the premise the author sets you up with from the state. What and how are they being cursed? And what is the deal with the mom? So many questions you get from the beginning. I will say thought, things get a little redundant towards the middle and the world just felt short. I wish it captivated me a little more. Characters were great, just wished it grabbed me more.