This seemed like something that would be right down my alley. A queer romance involving magic? Sign me up. The execution of this book however left a little bit to be desired for me.

This book felt a lot longer than it actually was and was a little bit of a slog to get through. The editing of this book could've been a little bit better to help with how well it flowed. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the romance and kind of thought that they would've been better off without each other because they just didn't seem well suited at all. If I'm meant to believe in this star-crossed romance then surely they should actually be good together.

I think the build-up and worldbuilding could've been done a little bit better and it would've felt a lot more immersive for the reader. There was definitely parts of this book that were interesting, but they just weren't incorporated enough for me to really enjoy it.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had this sitting on my kindle for ages and for some reason I never picked it up but I’m so glad I did because I really enjoyed it! I don’t read that much Urban Fantasy but I think I found a new favourite genre!

The start of this was a bit hit and miss. I enjoyed the character introductions but I think the worldbuilding needed more attention. I slowly started to get into it but at the start it was a bit confusing because I felt like I was dropped into this world with no explanation. Sometimes, that’s not a bad thing but something about how it was in this just made it a little confusing and hard to get into.

I’m glad I pushed through that initial uncertainty because this book has a really great plot and interesting cast of characters. There is some nice representation in this and some issues are addressed with subtlety but it’s still clear what is being addressed.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this book was the character of Max and the ending. I think I needed more of Max’s backstory to fully understand what he brought to the story. The ending was quite abrupt which is fine but I can’t believe that after all that, ew still don’t know if the...thing worked! Not knowing is killing me! Also, in some places the writing could have used a bit of work but as this is a debut novel, it is to be expected to a certain degree I think. In fact, most of the book was very well written there were just occasional bits that were written in a way that was a bit confusing.

Back to the good stuff! I really loved the magic system and everyone’s different powers (once I got my head round what all the different words meant), I loved the relationships and how they built throughout the book and I also really enjoyed the mystery element of it.

Overall, a solid debut novel.

"Luke always smelled like church and magic"

* * *
3 / 5

The Uncrossing was an odd little book. It’s about a curse on a young man called Jeremy Kovrov, the adopted son of a powerful family, and another boy who can unravel almost any curse. It’s about magic in New York, about power and history and the lengths we will go to to hide the past. But it was also just plain weird.

"I know he's hard to like," Alexei had said, "but he loves you." There was nothing as simple as word for that.

Luke is employed by the Kovrov family, who are sort of the magical gangster family of New York. They’re powerful and dangerous and they employ Luke, against the wishes of his parents, to unravel curses for them. In Jeremy Kovrov, Luke finds the first curse that he can’t seem to break. It’s just a weird twist of fate that Jeremy’s been in love with Luke since they were kids and Luke has a boyfriend who seems like a bit of a dick.

The Uncrossing is incredibly imaginative. Jeremy’s curse is really interesting (I won’t spoil it for you) and you really feel for him. His family has a lot of secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the book and his relationships with his two older brothers are complicated and interesting. Eastlake has written some really compelling relationships: Luke the curse-breaker and his curse-maker sister; Luke and his parents; Jeremy and his slightly insane family; Luke and Jeremy. The romance between Jeremy and Luke is a slow-burn, full of heart-break and pain, and I thought it was very nicely done.

"Camille's glare was intimidating. She wore a thick layer of black lipstick like she wanted someone to ask her if it was a metaphor"

But a lot of the book is just very confusing: I didn’t really understand how magic and New York fitted together. Do normal people know about magic? Is there just magical communities? Then there’s some sort of magical gangs? Huh. The way curses are made and unravelled is also sort of weird and not very well explained.

Overall, whilst I found The Uncrossing confusing to read, it had a lot going for it: interesting characters, a novel setting, and an imaginative plot.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this book. Most likely it was just me having an off day. Hoping to eventually come back to it in the future.

This book took me a long time to finish. Not because it was bad, but at times it was boring. I would just find something better to read then come back to this, the more I got into the book the more interested I became. It took me awhile to tell what was happening and it was a bit confusing at first.

The writing wasn't bad, the characters weren't dull or boring, which is always equals a star or two for me when I rate a book.

Now Luke and Jeremy were great characters. I liked the rising romance between them. She kept the romance real and more realistic than just throwing the characters into a romance. They both made mistakes and at times I grew annoyed with both of them, but in the end they were cute and adorable.

I didn't understand at first why there was Instagram and paparazzi follow them around at first. I thought it was an AU type book. Still after understanding the storyline the book was still a little weird to me. Not my kind of book and I won't read it again but the author's writing I liked and will try more of her work in the future.

The Uncrossing was a beautiful book, as you can clearly see by that stunning cover! The story matched, too, with a great storyline that is sure to keep you interested and characters you will instantly love!

The uncrossing is a debut novel by author Melissa Eastlake.It’s told from the POV of Jeremy, a 17 year old boy bound to a curse he didn’t ask for and Luke, a 17 year old boy with the power to uncross any curse he comes upon. Slowly Luke and Jeremy work to uncross Jeremy’s curse and fall in love along the way.

This novel wasn’t bad but wasn’t great either. I’ll start with what I liked: the characters and the romance. Jeremy and Luke were great main protagonists. They were both defined well and realistic. Luke drove me up the wall at times and Jeremy was precious. They both made mistakes throughout the novel which is expected considering their age and the shit they have to deal with. The author really knows how to write interesting characters. Some you want to hate but can’t help but loving. That’s exactly how I felt about some side characters. Mainly Jeremy’s family. I wanted to hate but I loved how much they genuinely cared for him. Luke’s family were amazing. I loved his sister and would be interested in reading more about her. Camille was badass.

I’ve seen some reviews complain about the romance between Luke and Jeremy but I’ve got to say I actually liked it. Yes they fought and yes they drove me crazy at time! But they’re teenagers and they’re dealing with shit no teenager should deal with. Their fights mostly happened over lack of communication. However they work and grow throughout the novel and I was rooting for their HEA.

Now onto what I disliked: everything else! This books biggest downfall was lack of world building. We got none. Nadda. Zilch. I had no idea what was happening for about 80 % overall. The Magic system isn’t explained at all. It frustrated me so much. I’m not someone who relies on the world building to love a book but I do need something. We didn’t get any information neither at the beginning or end. If this wasn’t an Arc and I didn’t like the characters as much as I did, it would have been an DNF. On top of that the writing was choppy and confusing.

The plot was so confusing at the beginning. It took me three weeks to read 16% of this. That’s how confused & irritated I was at the beginning. I’m sad to say, while it got easier to follow I still can’t tell you what happened and I’ve finished the novel. There were also times when paragraphs would finish at one subject without answers and the next paragraph is two days later and still no answers!

After everything that happens this ended terrible. Don’t even get me started on the ending. I feel like the way it ended made the whole book pointless.

Overall, it’s wasn’t the worse book ever but the bad defiantly outweighed the good. This book was hard to follow and frustrated me to no end. I did like the characters and I think the author could write some really funny dialogue and defined characters it’s a shame the world building fell like it did. Honestly I can’t recommend this.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy to review.*

Thank you Entangled for the ARC of Uncrossing.

I adored this book. I liked how both the MC's were original and not like the boys you normally read in YA books. Neither of them were perfect in looks or personality. They had faults and I loved them. I loved the magic in the book and the new take on a fairy tale story (spoilers, don't want to give away which fairy tale). I also liked the adult's personalities and how we got to know them a little. Honestly, I wish the book had been longer because I feel like it was missing details and would have benefited more with additional world building.

Overall a great book, but I am giving it 4 stars because I felt that it was rushed and we missed a lot due to this.

Luke and Jeremy make a cute couple and I loved them. I also loved the supernatural aspects that were embedded in the book. My main problem with the book was the plot. The beginning of this book was a bit of a blur. It was really easy to get lost in (no pun intended). It’s pretty dense overall because of this I got a bit lost at time. A bit of clarity and fluidity would be helpful.

This is a surprising debut from Melissa Eastlake. Heavy on the paranormal elements with dashes of fairy tales and quite a lot of sarcasm and humor thrown in, this m/m book was one that I really enjoyed from beginning to end.

One of the reasons I found this debut surprising is the world-building. Paranormal books have a rather large task ahead of them in the worlds they have to establish for their audiences to be able to get comfortable with the characters, relationships, and even the rules the society is working within. Eastlake did not shy away from this task and set the parameters pretty early on with the family of the Kovrovs and setting up how feared and admired they are. Jeremy comes from this family and is rather…odd. Not that anyone can put a finger on what is odd about him. Luke comes from a magical family that works for the Kovrovs. Luke’s magical ability is to *uncross* people – as in he removes hexes essentially. There were a few bumps establishing this world – it’s complex and messy, so the readers can feel a bit lost at times, but the world that is established is rich and one that I really loved once I got a better feel for it.

You should say you’re crossed, not cursed. Curse makes it sound hopeless.
Jeremy and Luke were really cute together. Jeremy came across as pretty immature at times, but it works within the story, because of reasons I don’t want to give away. They both have amazing families they interact with and those interactions are what really make this book shine. Jeremy’s family dynamics are complex, consisting largely of his Uncle’s. It cracked me up to see how Alexei and Sergei both protected Jeremy but also treated him almost like a little brother.

Maybe in hoodoo you get crossed. But in Mother Russia, curse gets you.
This book has something for everyone. Magic. Turf war. Fairy Tale. Love. Action. Drama. Definitely recommend it!

Luke's powers allow him to fix all types of bad magic spells and his family's dept to the Kovrov family means he has plenty of opportunity to use that power. Then he meets Jeremy and realizes that even his great strength might not be enough to save them both from the forces building to kill them.

I really liked this book despite the fact that it had many flaws. The world building of gangs controlling parts of the city, in this case the Russian/Ukrainian gang of the Kovrov's, and fighting with other gangs was no doubt based on reality. I could feel that depth and appreciated everything it added to the story.

However, the world building was also the greatest weakness. The magic that was inherent in the story was never fully explained. How it came into existence, how they learned to use it, or even how the curses worked. I could have used a lot more detail to fully flesh out this story. The plot was the same, with wonderful fairy tale aspects that kept my interest the entire way, but just lacking enough detail for me to be able to give this story a full five petals.

A wonderful, magical story perfect for those searching for a happily ever after.

The Uncrossing was genuinely one of the cutest novels I have read in a long time. Melissa Eastlake’s debut hit every single one of my favourite themes and tropes that I adore as a reader. Diversity? Check. Fairytales? Check. Consent? Check. Positive family relations? Check. The Uncrossing was a literal dream come true for me, and I basically had a huge smile on my face from beginning to end.

The Uncrossing is an urban fantasy and that is obvious from the very first page. Although I read almost exclusively from this genre from 2008-2011, I haven’t read much during the last few years, aside from Cassandra Clare’s books. To say I was intrigued by Eastlake’s world building, and the chance to immerse myself in this genre from a different perspective again, would be an understatement. And Eastlake delivered. Eastlake has interwoven a fascinating, complex magical system into a contemporary New York setting, and with each description and explanation of mojo and hoodoo, I wanted to know more and more. We have curses, magical mafia, powerful witch families, true love’s kiss … what more could you possibly want?

The inclusion of magic also felt realistic and the little bursts of exposition explaining the history or how to use it, were expertly placed in the text. Oftentimes with any fantasy story, I find the text is bogged down with info-dumping to ensure the reader understands what’s happening, but Eastlake reveals background information only when necessary. That meant I wasn’t constantly rereading paragraphs to make sure I didn’t miss any vital information, because oftentimes, Eastlake allows the reader to get there themselves, too.

The fairytale elements were by far my favourite parts of The Uncrossing. Eastlake has taken an old and tired fairytale trope and given it a fun and imaginative twist. Mix that in with a modern setting, organised crime, and forbidden love, and Eastlake has created something truly captivating.

So the characters … oh boy, oh boy the characters. I adored them so much and shipped them from their very first interaction. Jeremy is the sweetest – he’s painfully shy, friendly, loveable and tender. He has had a massive crush on Luke since he was six years old. I just wanted to give him a big hug each time he second-guessed himself or didn’t think he was good enough. He’s a little cinnamon role that needs to be protected – but jokes aside, many readers will be able to relate to him. He is so precious and I consider him to be my favourite male character I have read so far this year.

Luke was so genuinely likeable: he cared deeply for his family, and went out of his way to help people, even to his own detriment. He was also hilarious, and I loved how cared for Jeremy, not only physically, but mentally too. With Jeremy’s curse putting a strain on his life, Luke is there to help him in any way possible, from trying to uncross him to texting him silly jokes to remind Jeremy to laugh and that he’s not alone.

I was also highly impressed by the fact that the teenage characters act like teens: they use apps like Instagram and Snapchat, they sleep around, they talk about weird and random things that teens talk about – basically, they’re flawed, modern teenagers and it makes me so happy to see that in a fantasy. I’ve talked about this before, but it’s quite rare to find a book where teenagers behave like teenagers; there’s all this pressure on authors to make their characters “mature”, and I’m glad that in The Uncrossing, they were able to just be teens so teen readers will be able to see a reflection of themselves in Luke, Jeremy and all of the secondary characters too.

I will make a brief mention about something that I absolutely loved and really respect Eastlake for: how bi-postive the novel was. This might not mean a lot to some readers, but as someone who is bi, I really appreciated seeing my sexuality spoken about in such positive ways. When Luke realises Jeremy is queer, he doesn’t just think, ‘oh, he must be gay.’ No, he thinks, ‘oh so he’s either gay or bi.’ To me, it just reaffirms the existence of bisexuality. One of Jeremy’s brothers, Alexei, is bi and so is one of Luke’s friends, Wesley, and every mention of bisexuality just made me smile. Here are my favourite quotes:

“The first reason is when people say ‘Gay Wesley,’ he gets to give them his angry bisexual lecture.”
[This is SO me omg]
&
“You grow up with Alexei, see if you can forget about bi people.”

I was shocked when I discovered this is a debut novel, because Eastlake’s writing was absolute perfection. It sounds a little rude to say, but I think it obvious when you’re reading a debut novel: the writing can be a little clunky, the pacing is off – small things like that. That was not the case here. Eastlake’s writing flowed naturally and I was so impressed by her writing style. Some of the sentences and metaphors made my little editor heart swoon.

The Uncrossing is an impressive, outstanding debut and I am *this close* to emailing the author and asking her to write a sequel, because I want more from this world and these beautiful characters. I am definitely going to be reading anything else Eastlake published. Please do yourselves a favour and get your hands on a copy of The Uncrossing today.

A heartwarming, quirky romance with a likeable and diverse cast of characters. There's also a refreshingly realistic take on what constitutes "True Love" in a world where there's really no such thing.

This book got off to a somewhat shaky start, writing-wise, but started to hit its stride around the quarter mark. A bit more editing would have helped with that, fixing sentence structure and whatnot. I would have liked the magic system to be a little more developed, as it was confusing and inconsistent -- as was the whole "mafia" thing: none of the bosses really seem to do anything other than hang out, and the broad use of different national folkloric traditions by different ethnic groups in NYC, all coexisting without explanation, lends to the magic system being confusing.

But all this is secondary to the warm familial relationships and of course the growing understanding between Luke and Jeremy. Their interactions start out awkwardly and are thus awkward to read, but by the end of the book I was so happy with how things ended up. Aw!

The Uncrossing was everything I wanted before I knew I wanted it. The dual viewpoints of Luke and Jeremy pulled me right into this story of magic, family, and love. The story is well written, and left me wanting to know more about everyone, even minor characters. I can’t wait until the sequel, whenever that may be!

I had never heard of this book before requesting it, and what made me request it was the blurb. It's an urban fantasy set in New York, about these mob-like families who control the magic in the city, each with their own way of doing magic. There's not a lot in the way of actually telling you this information, so there are no big info-dumps (a good thing), but it's pretty easy to pick up as you go along.

The book tells the story of Jeremy and Luke. Jeremy is a member of the Kovrov family, brother to Sergei and Alexei, and he is under a curse, bound to his brother Sergei, and as such he can't leave Sergei's house between 1am and 12 midday every day. Luke is a Melnyk, a family who works for the Kovrov's but not directly, until he is called up by them to help unravelling curses (or, "uncrossing" as it's referred to).

The family relationships are perhaps the best thing about this book. The Kovrovs, despite being framed as a dangerous family, love each other so much, and just want to protect one another. The relationships between Sergei and Jeremy, and Alexei and Jeremy get me in particular. The brothers have completely different vibes around him, and different ideas of how he should act, but in the end they love him as one of their own. The Melnyk family is another example of a great relationship. They're supportive of one another, and would risk the wrath of the Kovrovs for each other.

One disappointment was the relationship between Luke and Jeremy. It felt like it was just missing something, a spark of some sort, perhaps. It fell a little flat, like although we were told that Jeremy has had a crush on Luke since he was six, it all felt a bit shallow. But there was potential there, and because I loved Luke and Jeremy individually so much, I couldn't bring myself to fully dislike their relationship.

One last point: that ending. Why would you do that??

Luke can uncross almost any curse—they unravel themselves for him like no one else. So working for the Kovrovs, one of the families controlling all the magic in New York, is exciting and dangerous, especially when he encounters the first curse he can't break. And it involves Jeremy, the beloved, sheltered prince of the Kovrov family—the one boy he absolutely shouldn't be falling for.

Jeremy's been in love with cocky, talented Luke since they were kids. But from their first kiss, something's missing. Jeremy's family keeps generations of deadly secrets, forcing him to choose between love and loyalty. As Luke fights to break the curse, a magical, citywide war starts crackling, and it's tied to Jeremy.

This might be the one curse Luke can't uncross. If true love's kiss fails, what's left for him and Jeremy?- Goodreads

Well well.. this was something I was not expecting. Jumping right into this the book is a bit cliche. Breaking the curse for a chance of love with the one you really want. We've heard it and read it before. The thing about it you are reminded how much you have heard this before.

Jeremy is the perfect human being that is getting hit with the worst things possible and needs saving, a real good hug and love. But the thing with Jeremy is despite that he was an entitled brat and at times came off really, really annoying. Like roll your eyes status  I liked Luke with his "we can do this at any cost" attitude. But there romance was a little weird for me. Personally, Jeremy wouldn't even be the last person on earth, I would speak to. I would avoid him. So it was interesting to see Luke falling for him.

I did enjoy the romance between the two but it seemed to die down as the book went on and I wasn't too thrilled with that. I wanted that spark to keep burning for like ever.

What I loved was the setting and how the author created this magical world. I wanted more from this world. Not necessarily Luke or Jeremy but the author did some really good stuff creating the environment in which magic rules.

But the book despite it being only 292 pages on the ebook felt long and at times I felt the author was reaching. There was too much repetition within the book especially with Luke and Jeremy fighting. Also the lack of backstory was a killer. I love when books jump right into things but questions that would normally come in the beginning need to show up during the book.

Also the ending could use some work. Leaving it open for either a book two or just because isn't appeal and can come off as lazy.

Overall, it was an alright read. There is ton of potential and the author can pull you into a world. The trick is keeping you there.

2 Pickles

The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake was a book I was really looking forward to reading. The entire premise of curse work and Russian rivalries plus M/M YA story line reeled me in. But I was a bit disappointed. In the beginning I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters and usually that is never a problem for me. Within the first chapter I usually have it but I kept getting Luke and Jeremy confused for each other.

Then I got bogged down in understanding just what uncrossing and crossing really was. It didn’t seem to be the focus like I thought it would be. I actually got lost with what the main conflict was until the last 20%.

What I did like was the relationship between Luke and Jeremy. It was well written once I got everyone right in my mind. They were really sweet and fun to read in scenes together. I feel like if this could have been longer, the details drawn out a little clearer, this would have been an amazing book that I’d want to read over and over.
Will I read Melissa Eastlake’s work again? Most likely. She caught my interest and had a interesting storyline.
I did receive an E-Book copy of The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Uncrossing was a weird book for me.

First of all, I really, really wanted to love it. I mean, the cover was pretty engaging, and I'd go gaga for a great YA, M/M fantasy book. Alas, this book wasn't all that it appeared.

For the first 30% or so (maybe more), I had no idea what was happening. We are simply thrust into this world with magic and paranormal stuff with very little background or information. And, really, none ever comes. I still really didn't get this world of magic (do lots of people have the ability to do magic or just some? It is regional?) and the people in it (why are there paparazzi following around some of the characters? They seem so insulated.). The world never came together for me.

If you are reading this book for the romance... don't. The romance was measly at best, and it ends on a HFN or minor cliffhanger ending. I wasn't happy with the "romance" and don't really think this book should be categorized as such.

What brought up my rating at all was the concepts. Buried in the murky writing were a few very compelling concepts, and I think that if the author had fleshed out those ideas more or made the world more interesting and full, I would have been hooked. Jeremy had a absolutely fascinating backstory, and I wish the book did him justice.

The magic, the ending, the plot, the writing: it was all half-formed and not enough for me. While I really enjoyed some parts of the story, I enjoyed the potential most of all, and I'm sad the final story didn't live up to it.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

The blurb on this sounded pretty intriguing, but for me, the execution was simply confusing. I couldn't figure out what was going on and felt like I (the reader) was plunged into this world without enough preliminary information to gain solid footing. Without that background, the plot was murky, at best. I couldn't even choose a side because I wasn't sure what the sides were supposed to be. I also struggled with the perceptions of the two narrators. Luke seemed overly confident and cocky, and Jeremy seemed...confused and naive (which made it hard for me to have faith in his outlook). For me, it just didn't work, and I stopped caring early on in the book. That said, I've read a couple other reviews from folks who *loved* this, so clearly it works for some. Two and a half stars (rounded up to three here) because I think the plot was complex and clever (not easy to do).