This book is slow-paced and heavy, revolving around abuse. The two sisters aren't explored in-depth, and the book isn't geared towards younger audiences. It's more of a ponderous exploration of escaping abuse, rather than an exciting adventure.

This fantasy was an interesting read. I liked how simple this story was with easy to pronounce names and places. The story read slow for me. It stressed out about how loving the King and his family was. The story was also about the Witch and how they were punished for their use of magic. The punishment on the 5 Princesses were severe, especially Jane. Those Princes from different kingdoms were awful.


Ever Cursed was well written and different. I used to read a lot of YA fantasy and then I got so sick of it because every book seems to have a girl heroine who's good with bow and arrows. That's when I turned to thrillers for comfort. This young adult fantasy; however, doesn't remind me of other YA fantasies I have read before. I appreciate the new ideas. This book was an okay read for me. I guess if there were some romance I might have liked more. There was a hint that one Princess wanted to marry another Princess, but just scavenger hunts and a person who did bad things without remorse just didn't cut it for me.

Sisters! Witches! A dark magic system! A dual-POV narrative, with characters who share both similarities but are opposite sides of the same coin!

EVER CURSED is whimsical and lyrical -- dark, and yet, still hopeful. I loved it, and I have no doubt you will too!

I enjoyed this book. Liked the dark and whimsical atmosphere. The writing style was exactly what the story needed

While this book does deal with some heavy topics, sexual assault and eating disorders, it definitely doesn't make light of them one bit, which is why I feel alright making the recommendation on this one to anyone who's looking for a story that's steeped in magic but feels real. Of course, there's the "witches and royals" dynamic of the whole thing, a story primarily about breaking spells and casting them, but the underlying story is one that so, so many people need to read. That there's so many things I've heard from people before culminating in this novel, and that the subjects aren't taken lightly, makes this way better than I thought it would be.

The characters themselves are awesome, too, I love Reagan and Jane as paired voices. They strike a balance while also having paired framing, and that's something I can't say I've seen in a while. Nora, Grace, Alice, and Eden are also companions to Jane that I loved dearly throughout the entire book, they have such an energy about them without feeling heavy or overbearing when they get upset. Olive was also a HUGE standout that I wasn't expecting, I felt for her so, so much.

The magic system here also intrigues me, and makes a lot of sense. I'm surprised I haven't found something that does something similar, and I want more to do with it. This definitely has "stand-alone" energy, but I'd be happy with something within the universe at a later date, maybe with a slightly lighter tone.

This is a YA fantasy that was an enjoyable feminist fairy tale. i have seen the writing described as lyrical and I have to agree. It was just so fun and "pretty" to read. It was also a very inclusive read and LGBT+ friendly, which is always appreciated. It was entertaining but as I get older I just feel YA books are starting to lose interest for me. But I think high schoolers will really enjoy this.

I fell in love with this book pretty fast. The story of sisters and how not everything is always as it seems. Just because things have been done one way for so long means that they are right.

I've got 14 pages left, but I'm calling it. I can't take it anymore. For the first time in many years, I don't want to leave a review for a book. I know what the author tried to do. I appreciate what the author tried to do. I hate the execution with a passion.

Trigger warnings: sexual harassment, rape, eating disorder, parent abuse

Because of the content matter, this review will have spoilers.

[I genuinely would like to forget this book exists because of how much I loathed the direction it took. What started out as somewhat whimsy and quirky fell into a dark and shocking territory that I do not want to read. It felt jarring, weird, and wholly uncomfortable. The synopsis is rather misleading and I promise now that I do not want, now or ever again, to read a book that tries to be dark and edgy while tackling patriarchy by centering the plot around rape.

The premise of the story is that a witch cursed five princesses with spells of without. One cannot eat, one cannot sleep, one cannot remember, etc. And now they have but a few days to break the spell. At first, I was enchanted with this. Witch magic works in such a way that every spell cast gives them a new skirt. Silk for light spells and heavy burlap for the big spells. And the curses themselves seemed intriguing and were written in a whimsical way. Not unhealthy, but just I don't need to eat. Turns out, no. This girl is emaciated to the point she is impossibly thin, and when she meets princes for the first time, they like it. She is a girl who can break, who can be bent to their whims. That was where it lost me. 90% of the characters in here are disgusting pigs who see these girls as something to manipulate for sexual and nefarious gain.

The plot never went anywhere. I was so bored because half of it was just people being too scared to act, too eager to strike a woman down, or too wrapped up in arguing about the same things. They're meant to collect items to break the curse, and yet it felt as though it was barely part of the story itself. It leaned too far into the effort to be shocking with the actions of the men that it forgot to give the story an actual purpose. The magic system, which felt overly complicated and difficult to follow, did not help matters.

Where I really should have DNF'd is the reveal that the whole spell came about because the king once raped the witch's mother. This terrible curse was cast as revenge, but shocker, the king is a filthy, privileged man who gets what he wants whenever he wants and oppresses everyone around him. He doesn't give a crap, and I hated having to read it. Even his own daughters. Jane will die if the curse can't be broken and he's totally cool with that. Heck, let me even lock you in a tower to keep you from trying to save yourself. As a villain, he felt so cookie-cutter and predictable. Meant to outrage, but not in the way it should have. Yes, rape is the center of this book and I LOATHED IT.

This was a preachy book that served only to piss me off. It tried to do a new twist on smashing the patriarchy and missed the mark entirely for me. It has a misleading cover and synopsis and honestly, good riddance. There are several books out there in similar tone and material that handled sexual harassment and smashing the patriarchy a hundred times better, like Damsel by Elana K. Arnold, and I'm going to stick with those.

This was such an intriguing fairytale. It's darker and reminiscent of the original Grimm's fairytales. I was hooked from the start and was completely pulled in. I really liked that we got the witch's POV. The characters are flawed and I enjoyed how their dynamics changed throughout.

I found Ever fascinating, the world building was great and the perfect location for this unique tale.

The princesses of Ever were cursed on their thirteenth birthdays. Just before the oldest princess’s thirteenth birthday, a young witch, Reagan, visited them, cursed the five princesses, and enclosed their mother in a glass box. On each of their thirteenth birthdays they would be cursed, each girl losing the ability to eat, to sleep, to love, to remember, or to hope. The princesses will have just a few days to break the curse after the youngest princess turns thirteen and before the witch turns eighteen, which will make the curses last forever. The eldest princess, Jane, who has lost the ability to eat, has to look after her sisters and figure out how to break the curse, while also learning why they were cursed in the first place.

This story was set in a fairytale-like kingdom called Ever, but the serious subject matter wasn’t like a children’s fairytale. The Kingdom looked picturesque from the outside, but their history was filled with sexual assaults and rape. These things were hinted at through the beginning of the book, and weren’t confirmed until partway through, but I think it was obvious that that was what happened. These serious issues reminded me of the dark subject matter of the original Grimm’s fairytales, which were disturbing and not always meant for children.

I was hopeful for the princesses throughout the story, though they kept having bad things happen to them. It was getting so bad that I didn’t see how it could possibly have a happy ending. I won’t spoil the ending, but I think it was fitting for the story.

This is a great fairytale fantasy with contemporary themes.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Good story, but this book wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it I found the pacing a bit slow but I'm sure other readers will enjoy this book immensely.

Im glad we got the witches point of view since it helped me understand why she would cast such a terrible spell. Her motivations made a lot of sense to me even though I didnt agree with her. The friendship that develops between the witch Reagan and Princess Jane was very uplifting. They both had their own flaws that were addressed during their character development. Jane starts off as naive and unwilling to see the abuse going on around her until it effects her directly. Reagan on the other hand is more set on revenge than healing until she realizes some people will never acknowledge they're wrong no matter what you do.

I got Princess Jane's sisters mixed up because they all got introduced at the same time. I would have liked to see more of Jane's relationships with her sisters so I could see her love for them instead of just being told she cared. The side characters werent as developed as I wanted them to be, but I didnt mind it in this type of fairytale story where the message was the main focus. I feel like using general character archetype made it easier for the reader to apply the overall themes to their own life. I appreciated the nuanced view of the sexual predator showing us how they can have good traits that hide the evil underneath.

This original fairytale got a lot darker than I was expecting it to, but I liked the commentary it had on rape culture and mysogony. I liked seeing Pincess Jane and the witch who cast the curse work together to collect all the items necessary to break it. Their enemies dynamic slowly changing to a grudging alliance and than a friendship was a joy to read. The limited time before the curse becomes permanent added some great tension and kept the pace engaging. I really enjoyed the unexpected reveals and how everything wrapped up. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better ending. It was hopeful while still being realistic.

The dark and whimsical atmosphere was one of my favorite parts of the story. The storytelling was very reminiscent of the old fairytales I've read and the writing was so bingeable I read most of the book in one sitting. I enjoyed following Jane as she visit her kingdom for the first time and realizes things arent thriving like she expected. I thought the magic was really interesting like how witches get a new skirt whenever they cast a spell and the material depends on the type of spell that was done. The only thing that didnt quite make sense was how their body parts start to vanish whenever the kingdom wasnt at rest. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Sometimes you just need a fun YA fantasy novel to escape into and this book was just that. For a YA fantasy, this book was surprisingly dark. Jane is one of five princesses who have been cursed on their thirteenth birthday. She is hoping now that her youngest sister is thirteen, the witch that cursed them will come back and they can learn how to break the curse. Reagan is the witch who cursed the princesses, but she is not the evil witch that you expect from the beginning of the book.
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Throughout the book we learn more about the motivations of Reagan and what is actually happening in the kingdom of Ever. I really liked Jane and Reagan because we learn more and more about them as the book goes on, and they are not at all what I was expecting. The world building was superb and for such a short book, I thought the author did a good job of showing the world without too much explaining. I also appreciated the fact that the author had content warnings at the beginning of the novel. I have not seen this at the beginning of many novels, so I thought that this was a great detail added!
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Overall, if you want a fun and magical story, then definitely check this out!
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CW: sexual assault and eating disorder.

This book sounded interesting and i was super excited about it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish this book. I found it boring and really didn't care to read on to see if the story got better.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This book started off interesting, but slow. The characters were interesting, but slightly annoying in the beginning.

This is an enchanting tale and there were lots that I liked about it. It took more patience than I would like to give a book, but I wouldn't say it was wasted.

It does have some triggers, and there is warning of it. I think that's important even for things people might not be triggered by. I think the book is still readable, easy to skip the parts if you need to.

It was fun. It was interesting. It's a slow start and that usually breaks a book for me, but I didn't mind finishing it.

This book is an interesting read. It reads a little like magical realism because there isn't very much explanation as to the magic system (and isn't very much magic at all), but it's set in a fantasy world. I liked the commentary on sexual assault, and it was interesting to see it woven into a fantasy type story.

This book is about a girl who casts a spell and curses the King's daughters, and the eldest of the daughters. I liked this set-up because I liked being able to see both the ramifications for the curse, but also the justifications. I will say I wished our witch Reagan got a little more character development because it felt kind of forced so close to the end.

I do think a lot of fantasy readers will be annoyed at the lack of historical explanation concerning the witches, cause it's really not very well explained, but it honestly didn't bother me that much. You can tell that's not the point of the story, and I don't really care for deep fantasy anyway.

The main problem I had with this book was that I just did not vibe with the writing style. It was repetitive and kind of annoying. That being said the plot was still fun and interesting for me.

Love this cover too damn.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Spellbound Princesses 👸 ... a young witch ... a frozen Queen 👸 ... a good father ... an evil King 🤴 ...

I was so excited to start this YA Fantasy novel about witches and princesses ! In the land over Ever, woman are oppressed and witchcraft has almost died off. Told from two POVs of a Spellbound Princess who has not been able to eat or drink for 5 years, and the young witch who placed the spell on the 5 Princesses ( each has something different that’s been taking away from her as a result of the spell ) there was definitely a lot of girl power resonating through this novel. I loved how the relationship between Jane and Reagan evolved and I enjoyed their two perspectives.

On the down side, the book was quite repetitive at times, and I wish instead more time was spent on exploring the witchcraft and the various spells that were cast throughout the book . Instead a lot of time was spent rehashing some of the same inner thoughts the narrators had.

4.5 stars

There is a lot to unpack inside my head after reading this book, it made quite an impression on me. Having suffered with an eating disorder and been a victim of sexual assault, I knew this book would be a hard read going into it. I did not foresee my inability to write a cohesive review for this book after I was finished reading it. I am going to try to put my thoughts into words though.

I’m going to start with Reagan, because I feel like her character goes through the least growth throughout this book. In the beginning she is angry, and rightfully so as we find out later. She has just found out something that has shattered her world and she is out for revenge and to punish the person responsible. She doesn’t think before she acts, and she sets the events of this whole book in motion. As a witch, she casts a spell to harm the people who the king loves most, his daughters, thinking that that will cause him the most amount of pain. We later find out how much this backfires on her. Through the book, Reagan continues to be angry and act without thinking, it isn’t until the end when she realizes how much she monumentally screwed up, and has a small redemption arc.

Jane, who is the other main character, goes through a very large amount of changes from beginning to end of the book. When the book first starts, a curse is begin placed upon her and her sisters, the curse of without. Once she turns 13 she will have to go without being able to eat until she has the chance to break the curse. She wastes away to practically nothing because she cannot die until the curse turns true. She learns the fact that her father did and continues to sexual assault women, and that that is the reason for the curse. Plus, she discovers that she also has magic. Through all this, her character continues to grow and realize the wrongdoings that are happening to her, her sister, their servants, and the people of their country all because of how awful her father is.

This book is about smashing the patriarchy and feminism, and while I get that, I feel the themes could have been even stronger. I wanted to see Jane become stronger and stand up for herself more, I wanted all of Reagan’s rage to be rightfully targeted, and I wanted to see the towns people rise up and support their queens more. I still love this book but I wanted it to be more.

I'm in love with the cover.
I'm in like with the plot.
I loath the presentation.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my DRC.

A dark and feminist read, featuring some badass women. Written like a fairy tale Ever Cursed may come of fun but the book tackles some very heavy subjects so the book may not be for everyone. I can see the comparison to Damsel by Elena K Arnold. The women in this book are flawed and at times horrible but I think that is also why I liked it. So many women can do some terrible things and its nice to read about how human they can be. If your looking for an action-packed fairy tale I found Ever Cursed to be a more literary, but I believe it works in Ever Cursed favour it adds to the atmospheric and tough subjects. Overall, Ever Cursed is a dark fairy tale of a book that those who enjoyed Damsel and or Girls Made of Snow and Glass.