Cover Image: How to Break an Evil Curse

How to Break an Evil Curse

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Unfortunately DNF the book at 93%.
This is a fun easy read but not a HIGH- fantasy has marketed. Amazing twist that you will not see coming but the characters dialogue was just not for me. Overall just not my cup of tea

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Thank you Netgalley

I'm a person who gets very influence with covers and when I request it I thought it would be like A curse so dark and lonely or with the same vibe but I couldn't connect with the story.
It wasn't my cup of tea and I DNF when I was close to the end. I'm so sorry but If I my experienced doesn't mean the book is bad or something is just it wasn't for me

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How to Break an Evil Curse didn't quite connect with me, but I think it will be a great fit for many readers of humorous fantasy! It's a mash-up of many classic genre tropes, made a little twisted! It's got all the essentials for an entertaining quest: cursed princesses, evil wizards, sarcastic humor and a grand adventure!

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Thank you to the publisher for the free book in exchange of an honest review!

How to Break an Evil Curse has been able to add humor to the epic fantasy, a mission not usually very common or well played by the most.
That said, even if the characters are interesting and Laura Morrison has a clear ironical style, it's also true that those figures seemed in certain aspects more "caricature-like" than real people. Maybe they needed to be deepened more as much as the general plot, even if it talks about important themes (ex. sexism). So, my overall opinion is that's a good book, but I expect more from the sequel.

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I was hoping I'd enjoy this book but I just realized that this genre does not work for me. I am sure someone else would enjoy it if they are a fan of the genre.

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I DNF’D this book pretty early on. It wasn’t giving what I expected. But it is a middle grade book, and for that age, it may be perfect!

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I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

It's not quite what I expected, but I didn't dislike it. This is a fairytale story of a cursed princess who finds a prince along the way.

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I was HOOKED on Monty Python meets Princess Bride. Sold. Sign me UP. I am absolutely in love with fairytale retellings and fantastical atmospheres they set up within their stories and this is no different. It brings in the funny and humor but still plays on the moody and dark fairytale vibes. Sometimes the writing was a little over the place and the characters felt high strung which sometimes felt contradicting. Overall though, I did enjoy the light, funny read.

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After a long time, I'm finally reviewing this book. It took me so long because I couldn't really get into the story but once I did, I really enjoyed it.

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I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

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I really enjoyed this book, it was fun and witty. A fresh take on the epic fantasy genre, with humor being at the forefront. I love that Morrison didn't take herself too seriously with this book. I think one of the reasons why I moved away from fantasy is that it takes itself too seriously, we get long blocks of exposition that just seem to drone on and on for pages. Just because there's humor, it doesn't mean that Morrison didn't touch on some sensitive topics like sexism and classism.

Overall, a very fun and interesting read.

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A sarcastic YA fantasy broken fairy tale. I was all for it when I read it's a "Princess Bride meets Monty Python" kind of story. Alas, it fell flat. The writing wasn't very engaging. The dialogues felt unnatural. It wanted to be more than it delivered; or it needed a thorough edit.

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Loved this book! I laughed so hard. I am a sucker for a good satire novel and this delivered. Thankfully I read some reviews before reading this book. It is listed as a high fantasy book and after reading other reviews and seeing how others classified is as more of a fractured-retelling I was able to enjoy this book I think more than the readers who went into the book expecting something else.

Juliana was an okay character, and maybe in the next book she can grow into something a little more substantial. But overall I enjoyed this book, and if you go into it knowing its funny and more of a satirical book then I think you will enjoy it as well.

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I absolutely loved the look of this cover, and the title by itself was eye catching so I was excited to get approved for this ARC.

So first of all, let’s start with the tone. This has a very casual, chatty vibe to it that feels incongruous with the fantasy setting. There’s a lot of snarky interjections from a narrator and footnotes that felt like they were trying to be Terry Pratchett. Not that the tone is a bad thing, it’s just not what I expected from the description.

The characters were all interesting, although they felt very caricature like. We get pretty shallow treatments of everybody. Enough that I both really wanted to know more, but also feeling frustrated that we weren’t getting more. We bounce around through so many different POVs we don’t get the time.

We’ve got two pretty big plots going on too, with a third one added in the middle. There’s the problem of Julianna’s curse, an uprising among the people of the kingdom, and then an additional plot against the throne. We get one resolution by the end of the story, but at the expense of another plot thread introduced in the last five percent of the story. I get we need to set up a sequel, but it was a little too much sequel bait for me.

I’m not sure I’ll seek out the sequel, but this was a fun, light, and quick read for someone looking for a pretty irreverent fairy tale.

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This one wasn't for me so I didn't finish it. Many thanks to NetGalley for the free advanced reading copy.

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This title was not for me. Although the writing and story are great, I just couldn't seem to stay interested in it. It was easy for me to put down and forget about.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was good but not one I could really get into. There was a lot of humour and this is not what I was expecting and I felt that at times it took away from the storyline. Initially I was enjoying the development of the characters but they seemed to be stunted after a while. I did enjoy the antics of the ghosts that inhabited the princess’ dungeon and how they helped the princess get through her boring days.
Warren was likable and unsurprisingly their relationship was not straightforward as they discover not only a plan to overthrow the king but that maybe the king is not really someone who is worth saving.
Overall an enjoyable read however needs to be more accurately marketed as it is not really a grim dark fantasy.

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This book was enticing from the get-go and every twist and turn made me ready for more. I couldn’t put this book down.

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How to Break an Evil Curse is marketed as The Princess Bride meets Monty Python and I definitely got those vibes from this book. This is the story of Princess Julianna and the land of Fritillary. Princess Julianna has been cursed and cannot go outside in the sun or she will die. But she is definitely tired of letting the curse define her. She was cursed by the evil wizard, Farland Phelps, who used to be her father's (the King) best friend. Juliana has spent her life living in the castle dungeon along with her friends that are of the ghostly variety. She decides enough and is enough and slowly uses a serving spoon to escape her underground home.

We also follow Farland (the evil wizard) as he has been searching and trying to eliminate the counter-curse for Julianna's curse. The counter-curse just happens to be a boy who is allergic to asparagus and plays specific instruments among other things.

Warren just happens to be this boy and has stumbled right into town. Julianna and Warren of course end up running into each other, but nothing can ever just be that simple. There is also something just not right going on in the kingdom.

I did enjoy this book but had a very hard time getting into it at first. The first 50 percent unfortunately kind of drug for me, but I was hooked once got past that point. I liked the silly humor and the characters were all fun and crazy. The talked vial of raven's blood also just really cracked me up, it was a great addition. This book is a bit wonky and weird, but also a good time and had really cool world building. I only gave it 3 stars since it took me a while to really get into, however, I look forward to reading the next book and seeing what is next for the wiley cast of characters of Fritillary.

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How to Break an Evil Curse is a clever, funny twist on the cursed and/or imprisoned princess fairytale trope.

I was reminded a little of Sir Terry Pratchett’s writing style, especially in the footnotes and the sarcastic, dry commentary from the narrator as events unfold.

The plot is very busy, with everything packed in from pirates and witches, ghosts and revolutions, to royal plots and women’s rights – it felt a little like an entire series worth of fairytale/fantasy ideas jostling for their place in this first novel. As a result, some promising story threads fell away after only a brief inclusion (ghosts, raven’s blood, Mortimer), but as this is the first book in a planned series, I assume further books might pick up some of the ideas left behind.

And the ending does lead perfectly towards a sequel, which I will definitely be looking out for.

A fun, light-hearted read, not to be taken too seriously. I look forward to more adventures from the Land of Fritillary, and hope that the worldbuilding and characters get more chance to breathe and develop as the series unfolds.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

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