How to Break an Evil Curse
Author: Laura Morrison
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
Reviewed: Maya

This book is a very light, easy read. For a book with only 410 pages, it took me seven days to read when normally a book this size would take me four days, maximum. The main problem for me was that this was marketed as YA, when it is 100% middle grade so I struggled to get into the storyline as much and found the book to be laggy. If I had read this in Year 5 or 6, it would have easily been a five star read. The characters are funny and straightforward (quite unrealistic in their dialogue) and the writing style was great. The pacing of the book could be a bit awkward, which meant some days I would have less motivation to pick up my Kindle and read. The ending of the book was done very well as it has some conclusions, but leaves the reader counting down the days until the second book in the series comes out. I think I am being generous with my rating because I personally don’t like middle grade so this book wasn’t for me, but there were still some great elements and this book could be a hit. I would recommend this book if you like reading middle grade fiction or if you’re into a breezy, but entertaining fantasy book.

This review will be published on Goodreads (thebibliophilebuddies) and Instagram (@thebibliophilebuddies). The date of the published review was the 10th of December, 2020 and the links can be found below.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Spot Books for providing an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really good. It's book that you can sit in one sitting and it has the kind of writing style that will get you out of a slump. It did feel like there were a couple of plot holes and some parts were underdeveloped but I didn't feel lost or find myself reading back to see if I missed anything.

The protagonist did feel a bit cliche however, that is what kept me reading since a strong, independent protagonist in YA is what I look for when reviewing books.

Highly recommend this for younger teens - mid teens looking to get into reading or get back into reading.

Honestly? I really wanted to love this story because I'm a sucker for Fairy Tales, but it was really disappointing.

It started off okay, but I feel like the author needs to pick a couple of ideas and work on them, grow them, and evolve them. This felt like way too much lore thrown together with a hasty backstory and it was all just too much and not enough at the same time. The characters fell flat and and two dimensional and I feel like maybe if the author JUST focused on Juliana she might be able to bring it back around.

Also please, please, please get rid of the endnotes. They didn't work in nevernight and they don't work in this,

I have decided to dnf this one at 30%, unfortunately I didn't get along with this, The writing style was irratic, as was the story. The decisions and dialogue of the characters was unbelievable and I just didn't care for any of them or the story.
Just not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

I had to dnf this book around 21% after I’d been trying to read it for months. I personally couldn’t jive with the writing style and the way the story was told. It felt very simplistic and flat to me. Younger readers may be able to engage with it more.

Another excellent fairy tale rendition, How to Break an Evil Curse, is campy and funny, creating a fun atmospheric read with pirates, evil wizards, and a princess determined to save herself.

Campy Storytelling
There are times when How to Break and Evil Curse was reminiscent of Princess Bride and Monty Python and The 10th Kingdom. There is so much humor in the storytelling; the tone and voice are reminiscent of someone telling this story to a group of kids.

Following the curse of an ex-best friend to the prince wizard Farland, Julianna has lived her life in a dungeon. A refurbished and wonderfully decorated dungeon but a dungeon, nonetheless. Cursed to die if sunlight ever touches her skin, Julianna longs to see the world. So, she secretly digs a tunnel out of the dungeon and begins exploring her kingdom by nightfall. Already the reader can see the imagination that has gone into this storytelling.

There is so much humor on every page, filling the reader with joy and laughter as the story expands its range of characters, adding in funny escapades, modern jargon such as “dude” and “man,” give the story its charismatic edge.

How to Break and Evil Curse is a story that should be read aloud because of that tone and how captivating it is. But what is also fun are the anecdotes and footnotes. Honestly, an audiobook version of this novel is probably going to be incredible.

However, there are times when the story kind of drags. The footnotes are funny, but they do not always seem to drive the story forward. Therefore, it would make a great audiobook because as it is being read, the narrator can seamlessly insert those footnotes into their storytelling. Whereas with reading, they are left at the end of the chapter, and the reader sometimes must go back to find where this footnote was to see what it is referencing. Always funny, they do not always seem to be important to the plot and can sometimes be skimmed.

Fun Characters
This is also a fun cast of characters. Princess Julianna can talk to ghosts, and as a princess, she wants to do more than be a princess. It is an admirable quality that does not always work out for her. But it never seems to be a downer for her. She is stubborn and creative, using her imagination to its fullest. The whole cast is fun to follow and read, from the poet and playwright Corrine, to the female doctor Jane, to the Pirate McManlyman, the raven’s blood (yes, I wrote that correctly), former thug and aspiring writer Copernicus, and finally Warren.

These characters balance one another out perfectly, creating a fun cast with quirky traits. But once again, this language here works out perfectly. The tone of each character, the mannerisms, and the detail that Morrison gave her characters worked so well in the story’s favor. They are relatable; they are fun, campy, and charismatic, driving the story forward.

Final Thoughts
How to Break an Evil Curse is a fantastic story. It has humor and action and great characterization that engage the reader from the beginning to the end.

Did not finish at 10%. The book was fairy tale satire along the lines of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles or Heroes Guide to Saving the Kingdom. It did well with being arch, but unlike the other books I mentioned, it did not balance it out with any heart. The characters were good for punchlines, but not interesting as characters. It made everything feel like a joke carried on too long. Getting the balance right in this kind of novel is hard, and this one did not succeed at it.

This book was archived within 24 hours of getting approved. I was not emailed that I was approved so I was not able to download the book to review it. When I buy the book I will be able to offer more of a review for it. But I am extremely frustrated that it was archived so quickly. I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The story reads very easy and fast. The writing style isnt all to difficult.

The story doesn't feel as original as I was expecting. But still a pleasant read.

The story itself was decent but there were things that drove me nuts throughout and therefore kept me from really enjoying it. Some of the names -Captain Maximus McManlyman, the pirate captain liked to go by! Annoyed eye roll everytime I read that. Copernicous as a side character name is alright I guess but that one kept making me think of Shrek's copernicus. Which would be ok if this was a graphic novel, by the way I think it would of been better if made into that format instead. There is a lot of humor in story but it just feels wrong in the writing, idk exactly why that bugs me in the book but I get a princess bride or shrek feel but not quite as good. Like some monty python or something. I'm more a book than movie person but I think this would be better played as movie than written story. Maybe it's just not my style. There's a lot of old themes like castles, princess with a problem, wizard, evil relative, talking blood!? There is writing from that time period but then there is words from newer times like "Chillax". I just could not get a good connection with all of the things that erk me in it so that's why the three stars. While it ends with leaving something for the second book I don't think it will be a series I will continue.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion from NetGalley.

This book had a good premise, but it ended up being not for me. While the writing was good, the story and the book itself didn’t meet my expectations.

I don’t really know where to start with how much I didn’t like this book and I only made it to 93 pages. I DNF books very infrequently and I’m afraid this one is the first I’ve DNF’d in a long time.

I don’t like the writing style at all. Even worse is the sourcing that happens in many chapters with foot notes explaining the numbering that happens throughout the book. It’s like an academic paper but just your everyday story.

This synopsis looked amazing, but everything is pretty lack luster. There isn’t much world building, much character building or much story to be had (I’m sorry). I’m not normally so negative but I just can’t continue reading this.

The final straw for this book was a line that goes something along the lines of “!!?” Said Warren. I’m sorry he said what? I just couldn’t keep reading.

I meant to review this ages ago but to be honest it just didn't stick with me enough. How to Break and Evil Curse is neither really good or really bad, it just is MEH.

I thought it was a fun read and I know there will be a lot of my students who will agree with me. It doesn't feel high stakes in the sense of personal commitment. That being said, I am an avid reader of high fantasy and I felt as though this novel was wrongly marketed as such. It's not really high fantasy but rather a low goofy sort of fantasy (?)

either way I'm gonna plunk this one right in the solid /3/ category.

Wer viel Fantasy liest, dem ist dabei womöglich schon aufgefallen, dass einem dabei die immergleichen Themen und Thematiken begegnen: Verwunschene Prinzessinnen, die nur darauf warten, von ihrem Prinzen – oder so ähnlich – erlöst zu werden; böse Zauberer, die willigst ihre Pläne teilen und – vor allem – namensgerecht super böse sind; Liebe auf den ersten Blick, bei dem nur so die Funken sprühen; und noch viele mehr. In How to Break an Evil Curse findet ihr all das, nur überhaupt nicht so, wie ihr euch das vorstellen würdet.

Böse Flüche, verwunschene Prinzessinnen und Spargel-allergische Jünglinge
How to Break an Evil Curse von Autorin Laura Morrison, die das Buch als ihr erstes seriöses Projekt bezeichnet, erzählt die Geschichte von Prinzessin Julianna, die aufgrund eines Streits ihres königlichen Papas mit dessen Ex-bestem-Kinderfreund-Schrägstrich-bösem-Magier Farland dazu verflucht ist, bei der geringsten Berührung mit Sonnenlicht zu sterben. Der einzige Gegenfluch: Sich unsterblich in einen jungen Mann zu verlieben, der sein ganzes Leben lang auf See verbracht hat, dessen Eltern einst Teil einer reisenden Theatertruppe waren, der Banjo und Akkordeon und Cembalo spielen kann und obendrein allergisch auf Spargel ist. Na wenn’s weiter nichts ist.
Trotz Jugend im tiefsten Kerker des Schlosses, den kein Sonnenstrahl je erreicht– natürlich umfunktioniert zum gemütlichen, wenngleich etwas feucht-kalten Gemach – ist Julianna allerdings alles andere als lebensverdrossen, ganz im Gegenteil: Seit Jahren tut sie Nacht um Nacht nichts anderes, als ihre Aufpasserin mit Schlafmittel vollzupumpen, um ungestört einen Tunnel nach draußen zu graben – verborgen vor allen lebenden Bewohnern des Schlosses und überwacht von ihren drei Geisterkumpeln, die nur sie sehen und hören kann. Immerhin muss so ein Fluch ja auch Vorteile mit sich bringen.
Als sie eines Nachts endlich selbst einen Ausflug ins Reich Fritillary unternehmen kann, läuft das allerdings nicht so, wie sie sich das vorgestellt hat (ihr seht, das ist das inoffizielle Thema des Buches): Die Stadt ist heruntergekommen, ihre Bewohner tatsächlich arm, diese planen überdies eine Revolte gegen Juliannas nicht ganz so gütigen Vater, und die verfluchte Prinzessin wird schnurstracks in die Machenschaften von Schurken gezogen und läuft obendrein direkt in Warren und dessen Schwester – die aktuell auf ihrem ersten Landausflug überhaupt sind, nachdem sie ihr ganzes Leben lang auf See mit ihren Eltern verbracht haben, die einst Teil einer reisenden Theatertruppe waren ...

Kritische Selbstanalyse
Kritisch? Selbstanalyse? Wow, klingt das langweilig – aber auch das ist nicht so gemeint, wie ihr euch das vorstellen würdet. How to Break an Evil Curse rechnet mit so gut wie jedem Klischee ab, das ihr in Fantasy nur finden könntet, verpasst ihm einen frischen Twist, würzt alles mit der richtigen Portion Sarkasmus und erzählt dennoch eine klassische Märchenstory – oder zumindest so ähnlich. Wer braucht denn auch schon Liebe auf den ersten Blick, wenn die Prinzessin weit Wichtigeres zu tun hat – beispielsweise den Jüngling, der eigentlich sie retten sollte, (wiederholt) zu retten?
Einer der größten Plus-, aber auch Minuspunkte an How to Break an Evil Curse sind seine Charaktere. Von der taffen Prinzessin Julianna, die alles andere als Jungfrau in Nöten ist, und Warren, der zwar kein stattlicher, kampferprobter Prinz ist, dafür jedoch umso mehr Mut und Durchhaltevermögen hat, über Farland, der nur eines noch mehr liebt als seine bösen Pläne: seine dramatischen Auftritte, bis hin zu einer ganzen Riege an schrägen, aber liebenswerten Nebencharakteren, darunter etwa eine körperloses, dafür aber telepathisch begabtes magisches Becken voller Rabenblut, das für seine Untaten in den Händen Farlands büßen möchte, indem es nicht nur Julianna und Warren hilft, sondern sich auch noch dem Widerstand anschließt.
Während die Hauptfiguren dabei durchwegs gut erforscht werden, passiert es leider auch regelmäßig, dass Charaktere mit viel Raum für Potenzial eingeführt werden, um dann auch ebenso schnell wieder aus der Story zu verschwinden – zumindest zunächst, denn How To Break an Evil Curse ist nur Band 1 der Reihe. Ein wenig schade ist es dennoch, wenn so viele Stränge eröffnet und bloß ein kleiner Teil davon im Laufe des aktuellen Buches wirklich weiterverfolgt wird.
Wirklich schaden tut das der Story aber nicht. Diese schafft es, mit ihrem flotten Stil durchwegs bei der Stange zu halten und durch Sarkasmus Tiefe zu schaffen, indem sie immer wieder amüsant auf genau jene Dinge aufmerksam macht, die in Märchen üblicherweise komplett ignoriert werden – seien das die miesen Lebensumstände des einfachen Volks, die fadenscheinigen Motive der Antagonisten, so böse zu sein, wie sie das sind, oder Helden, die konstant eines über die Rübe bekommen, ohne dabei auch nur ein einziges Mal Gehirnerschütterung zu bekommen.

Märchen mit Twist(s)
How to Break an Evil Curse klang schon beim Lesen der Inhaltsangabe wundervoll und lieferte im Endeffekt genau das, was ich mir erhofft bzw. erwartet hatte: Eine Abrechnung mit allerlei gängigen Märchen- bzw. Fantasy-Klischees, ohne dabei darauf zu vergessen, auch selbst eine interessante Story mit liebenswerten Charakteren zu erzählen. Dank locker-lustigem Schreibstil war ich auch im Nu fertig mit den knapp über 400 Seiten und freue mich jetzt schon auf die offensichtlich folgende Fortsetzung. Somit gibt es von mir für How to Break an Evil Curse eine klare Empfehlung für alle, die Fantasy lieben und Sarkasmus leben.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Spot Books for providing me this ARC.

The first thing that stoof out to me in this book was the writing style. This is a lot different than other books. Laura Morrison truly speaks to the reader, and tells the story to you. Of course, every author speaks to their readers, but Laura Morrison does it differently. I’ll give you an example. A sentence in chapter 3 is: Come with me, dear reader, down a dark hidden hallway, through a dark hidden doorway, to a dark hidden staircase. Let us pause, summon our courage, and walk down, down, down. To the dungeon!

Here you see how Laura speaks to YOU, and I quite liked that. It took me some time to get used to, but it was really nice. She also does it in a really funny way. The first sentence of the book is: The Forest of Looming Death was, as one might guess by the name, a dreary place. This sort of sarcastic humour in a book really attracks me.

She also works with footnotes. I can see this work in a physical book, but in an e-book it wasn’t very helpful. You either had to skip to the end of the chapter and then go back, or you had to click on it to jump to the end of the chapter (but this didn’t really work), or you have to remember every footnote in the chapter and then read it after you finish the chapter. I went for remembering, with the result of sometimes not understanding what it was about.

There were also some small plotholes I didn’t fully understand. For example: Julianna can’t get in the sun, so she can’t go outside when the sun is up. But why didn’t her parents allow her to go out after sunset? I mean, it’s very cruel to let a kid grow up in darkness and not show her the world. She could’ve easily gone out after sunset, either with her parent or with a palace guard. She’s a Royal family member for god sakes.

Aside from these little things, I really liked the story. Of course, it is a bit of a cliche story. A cursed first born child trying to break the curse. But there were some surprising elements in it, and I really liked that you also saw the story from the evil wizard Farland’s POV.

this was a really enjoyable read, this was a great start to the series. It had strong fairy tale element that I really enjoyed and had great characters in it. I look forward to the next book in the series.

This book was so much fun! It gives me such Princess Bride crossed with Monte Python vibes and I really enjoyed it. It was so ridiculous but fun and I sped through it because I needed to know what happened.

The end had me a little disappointed because I didn’t get a closed ending. I am not sure if there will be a second book but I was left with so many questions that I hope there is one.

What a special book this is. The writing is phenomenal, so vivid and colourful.
The story is also unique, it isn't your typical YA Fantasy book and plot.
I highly enjoyed this book.

Unfortunately I DNF’ed this book after reading 100 pages.

According to NetGalley this book is Middle Grade but according to GoodReads it is YA. And to be honest I have no idea how to classify this either. But since I was just very confused while reading this, I would say this is YA, because probably it is too confusing for too young readers. But then again, it was also too confusing for me.

So in this book we switch perspectives A LOT! Way too often. And in such a way that it is not always clear that the perspective has switched. So sometimes I only realized it after a couple of sentences and had to go book for those sentences to make sense. This really took me out of the story.

And as I said there were so many perspectives, and most of them did not make much sense to me. I did not see how the different perspectives were related. And I don’t mind that in the beginning of the book, since the plot still has to start. But after 100 pages, I like to kinda understand the book!

For some characters I did see how they were connected, or would be later on, but also the plot itself I couldn’t really follow.

I was just not enjoying my time reading this, so I decided to stop..

I do hope the plot makes more sense to other readers, and that they will enjoy it!

Unfortunately, I just don't think this one was for me. The premise is interesting and it is definitely a lighthearted spin on typical fairytales and takes a parody esque stance on many of the tropes that are found in a lot of fantasy stories.
The characters felt a bit bland for me personally, and I really struggled through this one. I would have likely DNFed it if I wasn't such a stubborn person. The plot was pretty predictable and the pacing itself leaned nothing to the story itself.
The main issue I had with this book was its writing style, it tried to do something different and funny but ended up just being cringey and hard to read. Like, I couldn't tell if it was meant to be bad or not. It really aggravated me, especially with so many footnotes that really pulled you out of the story.
An interesting concept but just really poorly executed in my opinion, not one I would really recommend.
Rated:1.5 Stars