I am overjoyed to take part in this amazing blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club. This is such an amazing tour company, one of the only ones I know of that don’t charge authors or publishers to schedule tours with them. That’s fantastic right?!
Seeing the cover is what really pulled me into this novel but I was surprised that there was not as much hype over it to start! Don’t forget to check out all the other great posts for the tour here.
Ever Cursed 
Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Published: July 28th, 2020
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Book Length: 320 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
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Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Damsel meets A Heart in a Body in the World in this incisive and lyrical feminist fairy tale about a princess determined to save her sisters from a curse, even if it means allying herself with the very witch who cast it.
The Princesses of Ever are beloved by the kingdom and their father, the King. They are cherished, admired.
Cursed.
Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. They are each cursed to be Without one essential thing—the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. And their mother, the Queen, is imprisoned, frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box.
But when Eden’s curse sets in on her thirteenth birthday, the princesses are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. To do this, they must confront the one who cast the spell—Reagan, a young witch who might not be the villain they thought—as well as the wickedness plaguing their own kingdom…and family.
Told through the eyes of Reagan and Jane—the witch and the bewitched—this insightful twist of a fairy tale explores power in a patriarchal kingdom not unlike our own.
I mentioned this cover was stunning did I not?! Can we just look at it for a moment? The color scheme is beautiful and the intricate details are simply divine.
About the Author
Corey is the author of YA novels, OCD LOVE STORY, LIFE BY COMMITTEE, MAKING PRETTY, and THE CAREFUL UNDRESSING OF LOVE, as well as the middle-grade novels RULES FOR STEALING STARS and THE SOMEDAY SUITCASE. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and The New School’s Writing for Children MFA program, Corey has been working in children’s publishing since 2009
In 2013, Corey was chosen as one of Publisher Weekly’s Flying Starts. Her books have been Amazon Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, Indie Next Selections, and BCCB Blue Ribbon Selections.
Corey is also on the faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
The first two books in Corey’s new chapter book series HAND ME DOWN MAGIC, hit shelves June 16, 2020. Shortly thereafter, her next YA, a feminist fairytale, EVER CURSED, comes ou July 14th, 2020!
Corey lives in Brooklyn with her husband, her daughter, her dog, Oscar, and a wide variety of cheese.
Review
I loved the magick system in this novel (of course because I am a pagan witch and all…) but what I loved most were the characters and their backstories. Five sisters are each cursed by a young witch as an impulsive act of retaliation. This was a unique set up for a story with wonderful potential. Each sister has a different curse:
-Jane can’t eat
-Nora can’t love
-Alice can’t sleep
-Grace can’t remember
-Eden, upon her Thirteenth Birthday celebration, won’t be able to hope.
I will say that I was disappointed slightly as I continued to read I found that the amount of time spent on each sister was split unequally yet I still adored them. I think this was the main issue that although I liked the premise of the sisters, I failed to truly connect with them.
The story is told from a dual POV; that of Jane and Reagan. Both of these women were truly what made me enjoy the story. Their relationship grew and developed, as did they in their own ways. Jane is one of the cursed sisters while Reagan is the witch who cast the curse. That seems like an unlikely friendship but this curse is more complicated than it sounds. One unsettling thought that constantly ran through my head was how weak the witches appeared here. Reagan could have defended herself on many occasions with her powers yet did nothing.
The twists this book takes the reader on are enticing built into a detailed world with a complex magick system. Granted, I am not a huge fan of feminist themes, especially ones that radiate through the entire novel but I devoured this one. Despite the few negatives mentioned, this was an enjoyable read. I was thrusting through pages to determine what happened next, sitting on the edge of my seat nearly falling over in anticipation. With strong female leads, themes of eating disorders and mental health are only a few of the social issues hidden between the lines.
Don’t miss out! Grab your copy today…
What do you think? Is this something you’d read? What is your favorite fantasy novel with a strong female lead character?
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You have me intrigued on why one of the cursed sisters would want to be friends with the witch that cursed her. Leaving aside the strong feminist theme which I now would be hard to get through I would still read this one day just to find that out. The curses themselves are interesting as well.
I know you mentioned that you like the cover but it does nothing for me. Most likely because it was not meant to as I a 39 year man am not the market they were going for obviously:) Without your review I would have just passed this book right on by.
That cover is stunning. And I’m definitely interested in any fairy tale-like fantasy…thank you for putting this on my radar with your great review!