The mental health representation in this book was so well done, especially with the main character. The book had me intrigued from the very first line to the very end.

unfortunately this was a DNF for me. i'm not opposed to trying future books by the Nakamura but Cursebreakers was just not for me. i tried to push through but i felt like there was more effort but into the over descriptive language than there was put into the world building. i will not be reviewing on social or review platforms because i do not post reviews for dnfs unless they are problematic.
thank you so much for the opportunity be an arc reader for this book!

This book absolutelycaptivated me!
Both the plot and the characters kept me hooked and the LGBT representation is also very notable in this book, even without a more traditional romance plot.
I was only slightly let down by the world building, as I thought a lot of the terms and rules of the world were quickly rushed over and I often struggled to understand how this world worked.

Mental health was a major topic throughout the book and although I don’t feel experienced to say if this was an accurate representation, it was interesting to read about in a fantasy setting.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

This is a peculiar book because it is a fantasy strongly centered on mental health and addiction. Sure, it’s not unique in this, but what is pretty unique is the way in which the author treats it all. Our MC is a Professor of magic with a tragic past and even more tragic present. He was a medic who destroyed the minds of some of his patients. Sure, it was an accident and it happened during experimentation, he and his team didn’t want to hurt their patients, they were trying to help but shit happened. Now he carries this burden, he renounced his practice as a healer and has become a professor. But this is not all. Because with the burden from his past, he has to carry the burden of his sickness. He suffers from what we can, in our world, call bipolar disorder. And the way in which the author portrays it is artistic, it is original (up to a point, sure, because mental diseases are often referred to as demons even in our world, but still, I think she did an amazing job with it) and it is organically inserted in the world she creates.
And, since things are never easy, our dear professor is also an addict in recovery.

This part is front and center in the narration, is constantly in our faces and you have to take it into account at every turn. I recently read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson, and the author treats mental health in it, and it did so amazingly well, but mental health is just one of the many levels of the story, is a part of being human and as such is treated. It is more delicate, it is more sedate, while in Cursebreakers we have the exact opposite of it. It shouts in your face, constantly. And, to be honest, this is not a thing that usually works so well for me, but here it worked., mainly because it is not that we are seeing the author’s agenda but because this is the theme of the book and it is pretty clear from the start. So if you are interested in something that talks about mental diseases and that did it well, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Even more so because we don’t see only Adrien’s perspective but also the impact that his problems have on the people around him. Even if Adrien is the only POV we get, we see the relationships and the consequences that his malady has on the people around him. How it impacts the relationships and his way of being around other people. I really think that this part was well-developed and that the author put a lot of research into it.

Linked to this theme, we have the best feature of the book. Gennady. He is a Vigil. A soldier. And the Vigil is the exact opposite of the Pharmakeia, that is the ensemble of the magician. And he becomes Adrien’s reluctant ally while they try to discover why people are entering a coma and how to stop all of that. Gennady is broken. He is deeply, truly broken. And yet, he slowly becomes my favorite character and my favorite thing in the book. He and Lady, the rache, the sort of dog to whom he is linked (every Vigil person is deeply linked to a rache) become the ray of hope that the book needs, because it is, on the whole, pretty grim.
And Gennady reminded me a bit of Bothary, from the Vorkosigan saga by Bujold. Mind me, they are completely different characters, but in both cases their being broken is what saves them, in a sense. It is what made them human. And Gennady is masterfully done.

That said, there are some things that could have been a bit better. My main complaint is about the world-building. The author creates an interesting world, or better, an interesting city, because the city is all we get to see, and I am okay with that, but it is not so present in the narration. We get some glimpses here and there, and the necessary explanations to follow her along while she narrates the story and sets the stage for her characters, but just the bare minimum. It is really like the author is setting up a stage, where the place is not as important as the characters or the story. And it is a bit of a shame because it seems interesting and worth exploring, at least a little bit more.
Similarly, the plot is not as well developed as it could have been, I think that there are a couple of instances where you have to suspend your disbelief for things to work and I am not a fan of that, especially because they were things that could have been done better, or more organically, with very little effort.

If the characters and mental health are the best parts of the book, and mind me, the author did good work with them, the world-building and plot could have been better. All things considered, I enjoyed it, and if you are intrigued by it all recommend it without reserves, it was an engrossing and captivating reading, and I really think that this book deserves to be read, but I also think that it could have been even better than what it is.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I really appreciate how the novel portrayed mental illness. since it is not an easy thing to write about. The way Adrien's Bipolar disorder was written felt real and relatable. The plot itself seemed really interesting, but too slow because every time I felt like something was going to happen it did not. I was half way through the books and nothing was really happening. Also the world building was not entirely there (for me) and I had no real idea about what was happening. Maybe this type of story is too elaborate for me and I just felt more confused the more I read. Just reading the summary, I was very interested and while reading it I wanted to see more of Adrien and Gennady dynamic. It did capture my attention after the midpoint and was definitely more interesting. but the beginning definitely lost me a little.

I have received this ebook from Netgally and in return I give this book an honest review.

review rating: dnf at 9%

"Adrien Desfourneaux: Cursed City" presents a promising urban fantasy with a blend of magic, conspiracy, and a city on the brink. The narrative skillfully delves into Adrien Desfourneaux's struggles with mental health and a precarious alliance, introducing a captivating conspiracy involving magical comas in the city of Astrum. Character dynamics, especially Adrien's relationships, add depth to the storyline.

However, the narrative's ability to captivate the reader faces challenges due to the intricate details of the magical academia and power struggles within the military. The complexity of the magic system becomes a barrier, leaving me occasionally feeling lost and disconnected from the central plot.

Despite the challenges I faced in fully engaging with "Adrien Desfourneaux: Cursed City" due to the complexity of the magic system, the book's promising premise, strong writing, and compelling character exploration leave me intrigued. I am considering giving it another shot, hopeful that a second read might offer a deeper appreciation for the intricate fantasy world and perhaps unveil nuances that were initially elusive. The potential for an immersive urban fantasy experience is evident, and I'm curious to see if a fresh perspective will allow me to fully embrace the rich narrative that this book promises.

Whew. Cursebreakers is one of the best books I've read in years. Even this early in 2024, I'm confident it'll be one of my favourite things I read this year.

Professor Adrien Desfourneaux is a magician and a disgraced physician, following an incident that left patients under his care in a coma. Now, much later, new people seem to be falling into a similar coma -- and of course he wants to help. When he uncovers a conspiracy causing these comas, he is desperate to do what he can to help... but as someone with bipolar disorder, even his closest friends and confidantes are more likely to dismiss the very real and dangerous conspiracy as delusions and hallucinations. Even so, Adrien can't turn his back on it, even if the only person on his side was the one who first came to him with the conspiracy: a very damaged and dangerously sharp-edged soldier, Gennady.

It's so, so well written -- it's hard for me to believe this is a debut (though it is) and I found myself making comparisons in style and how well the twists and turns were handled to more storied authors such as Katherine Addison and Max Gladstone. Adrien is an incredible character, believable, aching, flawed, and so deeply good even when he can't find it in himself to be kind. It's intense, and rough, but I was fully able to believe in that inherent goodness and the willingness of the narrative to carry it through ... even if it was likely to hurt along the way.

If you like dark academia and magic, look no further. If you're here for queer characters who are flawed but trying hard, here's a book for you. If you care about seeing mental health conditions portrayed well, without either understating how thorough they affect one's daily life or demonizing that fact, grab this book. If you just want a thrilling conspiracy, yeah, grab it.

I can't wait to reread this one on a yearly basis.

This book reminded me so much of Harry Potter. Originally it was the cover, but the magic and main characters played a role in that as well. However, this book fell a bit flat. I was often bored and skimming paragraphs. The writing was done well and the plot was very good. It was just hard to stay interested.

What Adrien, now a professor of magic, and formerly a healer, wants more than anything? To be useful. But the way things are going, what with his mental daimon threatening to surface and schisms and schemes playing out among the city of Astrum's most powerful, Adrien will have a lot to overcome before he achieves what he wants. Kudos to debut author Madeleine Nakamura for creating a fascinating and complex alt world. I loved the setting and the wry tone of this fantasy novel, and I enjoyed the magic interwoven with medical and mental health practices. Also in the mix: gaslighting, chosen family, an unreliable narrator, dark academia. What knocked it out of the park for me was the representation of neurodivergence, both with the main Adrien character and Gennady the damaged, police-y young soldier. Instead of enemies to lovers, these two went from enemies to mentor-mentee. And the development of that relationship was as compelling as conventional romance.

[Thanks to Red Hen Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Adrien Desfourneaux, the magic professor and former doctor, stumbles into a conspiracy in the vast city of Astrum, where magical comas afflict the residents. The narrative captivates through Adrien's dubious perspective, skillfully revealing the narrator's unreliability. The intertwining of Adrien's past, mental illnesses, and the plot captivates as the boundaries between reality and perception blur.

The story offers no breathing room, slightly hindering the development of personal relationships (which could be more deeply explored). Adrien, an atypical protagonist in his early 40s, and Gennady, a character I would have preferred wrapped in a cozy blanket, shape the narrative. One critique from me is the limited information about the system of different leadership levels, making the story seem complex. Overall, though, it's a captivating adventure with clever twists and an exciting setting.

This book was a little hard to get into because of the descriptions, but that is just a given with most fantasy books, so reading progressed a little slower than I anticipated. But that's not the fault of the author; it's more of a warning for other readers. I do think the author handled the descriptions well enough; I just wish there was a pronunciation guide for some of the words. The author did good when describing how hurtful it is to love someone who doesn't love you back or situations where you tell the truth but no one believes you, no matter how hard you try, like screaming at a wall and hoping the wall at least whispers back. I love how the author describes the final stages of the grief you can feel from being hurt by the ones you love, even though they aren’t at fault either. It was heartbreaking to read the resolution in Adrien's voice when none of his closest friends believed him during his episodes. He sounded utterly defeated and was just okay with that. The loss of fighting is a loss that is hard to describe, and I think the author captured that so well. The author wrote all of this from the POV of someone who deals with bipolar disorder and addiction. I myself have no experience with bipolar or addition, so I hope my review is not rude or ignorant. (If it is, please feel free to yell at me about it, and I will change it.)

I will say that at some point the book started to annoy me because I realized at around chapter 20 that I didn’t understand what was going on, and when the book was reaching its climax, it was confusing because I didn’t feel the urgency in saving the students, soldiers, or themselves; their urgency felt like they were screaming in lowercase letters. The ending was bittersweet and interesting. I was hoping this was going to be a romance, but I’m not disappointed. I’m definitely going to reread this at a better time so I can understand.

4.5/5, rounded down. I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley, admittedly about two minutes before I realized it was also available at my local library. Regardless, thank you to NetGalley and Red Hen Press / Canis Major Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book gave me a lot of feelings, so this is going to be a bit of a long one, please forgive me!

As someone slated to receive my medical doctorate in about 5 months, I'm always a little bit too excited to read SFF books where major characters are (or, in this case: were) physicians; not for any reasons involving the nitpicking of various accuracies (or lack thereof), but just because I think it's fun and relatable. I have also recently read several doorstopper novels that could honestly have benefited from being about 150 pages shorter, so I was pleasantly delighted to see that Cursebreakers was under 300 pages long according to GoodReads (though in reality on my Kindle it ended up 351 pages). I can really appreciate a tightly-knit story.

All of this is to say, Cursebreakers was an absolute breath of fresh air and I greatly enjoyed it. Even aside from its length, it read very quickly and I swallowed it all in a few hours. Adrien's internal narration is opinionated about everything he encounters, and characterizes himself and his surroundings extremely vividly. It's a joy as a reader to pick it apart. We are told he is an unreliable narrator, both by himself and by the people around him, but what really struck me is that we're told this because he has a magically-managed version of bipolar disorder with psychotic features... but in reality, a lot of his unreliable narration comes from being gaslit: by the people around him and also by himself, because he's been called unreliable so frequently that he's been trained into affirming even to himself that he's prone to delusions (and also unpleasant, and a bad friend, and overly snappish, and many more unkind things that he matter-of-factly asserts internally and which are not contradicted on the occasions that he asserts them out loud), nevermind that the very definition of a delusion is that one is incapable of being convinced that their beliefs are wrong.

I think there is a lot to be said for how Adrien is treated by his friends, and also how unfortunate it is that his two closest friends at the start of the book are also people who are medically responsible for him. There is a reason that our modern world has fairly strict rules about doctor-patient involvement, and as someone who has worked in inpatient psychiatric facilities with people experiencing psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, there were many parts of Cursebreakers that struck me as a painfully accurate depiction of the trauma associated not just with being bipolar and psychotic but specifically with being profiled as a person who experiences psychosis, as well as the medical gaslighting that occurs when a person is decided to be "unreliable". The level of dismissiveness and active resentment disguised as beneficience that is directed toward Adrien by one of the people responsible for his wellbeing is so palpable (even as Adrien justifies it to himself via self-blame and claiming it's for his own good) that it did not surprise me when it came to a head.

Adrien is a very active character in terms of plot autonomy, but his self-perception is just extremely beaten down in a way that screams 'learned helplessness'. He is grateful for every tidbit of decency he receives from the person ("keeper") with power over him, as if it is a gift and not basic human respect; he rolls over with acquiescence any time he is blamed or disapproved of, his thoughts spiralling into self-deprecation even when he knows he is right; and especially telling, when he regretfully snaps at Gennady it is in a dehumanizing way that he immediately identifies as reminiscent of ways that he himself has been treated before.

Speaking of Gennady: I have less to say about him, other than that I loved him from the bottom of my heart. I love his enemies-to-mentor-and-student relationship with Adrien, I love the struggles he has with every relationship in his life and his issues with expressing himself, and I love how all of that happens despite his overt, rude straightforwardness. He is a fantastic foil to Adrien, who is tangled up in his own self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating thoughts. Also, I would like to pet Lady. I loved the concept of daemons from His Dark Materials way too much not to love weird soul-linked catdogs that can both howl and purr. Also also, as a small aside, having recently read Six of Crows: It is so damn refreshing to see someone get Russian naming conventions right with Genya and his sister. It really added a lovely layer of meaning to the familiarity he does or does not have with other characters.

My only quips with Cursebreakers are about plot plausibility. It seems like a lot of the plot progression, on the sides of both the protagonists AND the antagonists, happened due to willful inaction and lack of care on the part of basically every system of authority in the novel. Perhaps that was intentional (and after doing clinical rotations I'm certainly familiar with how weirdly easy it is to just walk into secure parts of the hospital if you look like you're supposed to be there), but after a certain point, it started feeling a little bit weird that 1) Adrien could basically go anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted, and 2) that not one of the several different individuals of organizational leadership seemed to be willing to give a damn about what was happening until it escalated to a point way beyond what was necessary. That said, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story and I was willing to suspend my disbelief.

Anyway, there is a great deal more that goes on in this book apart from what I've talked about, but I am trying not to be here all day. Overall, it was a lovely book that I would highly recommend!

I absolutely loved the world building and the characters.

The writing style was brilliant and the this was an amazing adventure filled with magic and mayhem.

The cover was giving me Harry Potter vibes and the same intensity bleeds into the story and the writing.

Definitely recommend

This was a solid read but it didn't blow me out of the water. I enjoyed the diversity and the magic system but it wasn't amazing or anything. I will definitely check out the sequel though cause I did enjoy it.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book. Unfortunately I could tell from the first few pages that the tone and writing style were not for me so I won’t be reading further - I don’t want to knock down a book that feels as though it could be perfect for other readers but just not to my tastes,

Beautiful portrayal of found family, deep friendships, courage in dark times and how we all make a difference even though we may have mental or physical hinderances.

The description of depression/anxiety/mental health disorders is exquisite and felt very familiar to me.

Absolutely loved this story and will read whatever else this author puts out.

“Fear does the strangest things to you. It hunts and haunts every person differently…”

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

One thing I have to say, is the format for the ARC could have been better, a PDF where I have to zoom in on every single page and the words "advance readers copy" on every single page really made it hard to read (or a photo of the page in every chapter if exported to kindle) but I digress.

I couldn't get into this book, as much as I tried I had to DNF. This book could have benefited from a glossary or a small chapter of a lead-up to understand all the terms and the world. I read a lot of fantasy and I am no stranger to different magic systems but all the terms were just thrown around like I already should know what's happening and who to root for.

The world-building was almost nonexistent, I didn't know how to picture the school, the hospital, everyone's homes and even the people. The dialogue felt very much like "he said this she said that" I had almost no facial expression, they could have been texting or writing letters and it would be the same interaction.

I didn't understand character motivations at times and I just didn't know what direction this story would take me, there was no showing, just telling AND still the telling is questionable.

I think it's an interesting concept and I would have loved more exploration of the world, I think the book could have benefited from being a bit longer and more flushed out, and I would have loved a map too (It just seemed that the characters decided to go somewhere and then they simply *were* there).

Was super excited for this title and loved the premise so much! 3.5 rounded up. Loved how this book went so hard against How Things Always Go - nothing went like I assumed it would, and I massively appreciate that. But I didn't really *enjoy* it? Objectively well-written, and I'll pounce on a sequel or anything else Nakamura writes, but it didn't sweep me off my feet.

<u> Cursebreakers </u>begins as our professor protagonist, Adrien Desfourneaux encounters Gennady, a young, angry solider lurking outside of his lecture hall. Gennady, a member of the Vigil, the military/police force, is patrolling the halls of the Pharmakeia (magical educational institute) after several members of the Vigil wind up mysteriously comatose.

Things unfold quickly from there, as Adrien and Gennady, enemies-to-frenemies, team up to discover a conspiracy that includes powerful members of both their respective institutions.

Adrien, our hero, is utterly charming, with a wry, distinct narrative voice. Our hero is in his forties, has made some serious mistakes in his professional career, and struggles with bipolar disorder, which leaves his friends sure that the conspiracy is all a part of a bipolar episode. We’re in the same place that Adrien is; we know that Adrien is a unreliable narrator, even as we know that he really is trying to uncover why members of the Vigil and the Pharmakeia keep falling victim to a strange new curse. It's a neat narrative trick that grows the sympathetic relationship between reader and narrator quickly.

Adrien and Gennady are both well-realized characters and their interactions are one of the joys of the book. The Vigil is composed of indoctrinated former child soldiers and it’s painful to see Gennady wrestle with the betrayal of its higher-order members.

I think the weakest aspect of this story is a tendency to show, not tell. It occurs early on with some info dumping, which I felt fairly forgiving of, given that this is a standalone fantasy that’s less than 300 pages.

Other areas that felt lacking to me included Adrien’s relationships and backstory. Such as, Adrien has a “Keeper”, someone who helps him manage his finances and mental and physical health when he’s having a bipolar episode. His Keeper is also the fellow professor he’s been desperately in love with for many years. Casmir, Adrien’s unrequited love interest, is one of the weaker characters. I never have a sense for why Adrien loves him, beyond the fact that Casmir is handsome and Adrien feels beholden to Casmir for caring for him despite his battles with what he calls his demon even as he fears (correctly) that his struggles make him ultimately unlovable to Casmir (obviously a reflection on Casmir, not Adrien). But why Casmir in the first place?

I felt similarly about Adrien’s friend, Malise. We know a little bit about her: she’s a doctor, she and Adrien completed their medical training together, she "prefers women", she suffers from depression, she cares for Adrien. Only the last thing is portrayed on page, though, and even, read as surface level to me.

I’d like to understand more about Adrien’s past beyond the fact that he was a healer whose experimental treatment damaged his patients (leaving them comatose much like the new victims appearing) and altered his career. We read a few interesting allusions to his parents, but don’t have much detail on his background other than that. Why did he grow up in a military section of his city, for example?

That said, everyone is queer, the mental health rep is amazing, and the world building is strong despite the info dumping in the early chapters, so really hope this finds a wide audience!

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for the ARC.