(09/15/2020) 3 stars. Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this novel!

This is quite an unconventional YA read. It reads very much like a fairytale and at times I even thought it was like the opening of Shrek. The narrator has a very interesting, snarky style of going about telling the story and it makes it very funny but sometimes I wish the story progressed a little faster.

The reason for my 3 stars is that the story just didn't jive with me. I found myself skimming a lot. I get that it was going for a satirical angle to fantasy but I just found it to be okay and nothing spectacular, but I also think that I am too old to properly connect with this style of book so it's no fault of the author's. I think this would be a great book for a parent to read to their child (especially because of the fairytale nature of the narration.)

I am also on the fence about the twist. It's great set up for another book but it makes the struggle of the entire novel seem moot to me. But maybe I'll change my tune when I see what Morrison has planned next.

So yes, I’ve finally finished this book. It was cute and funny and a nice adventure. I really enjoyed Morrison’s humor and her use of footnotes throughout the story that added that much more to the style. It was also a unique story that had me rooting for different people all the way throughout!
I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 for a few different reasons. Firstly, while it was witty and a fun read, there were a few parts that drug for me and made me want to put the book down. It wasn’t the majority of the novel, but it just didn’t have that fast pacing that I typically like. Secondly, I couldn’t really find a character I loved. I know that sounds a little silly, but I really like having at least one character I either connect with or just overall love. They were all good characters with good arcs, but there wasn’t one that really jumped out to me personally.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone that likes a little fantasy, a little rebellion, and a witty writing style. I think you’ll find this as fun and cute as I do.

Posted on instagram @accio.abi.reads

I’m always on the look out for a good fantasy/comedy series. While most of what I consider good fantasy obviously contains comedy elements, it’s typically nothing more than some witty dialogue. Nothing that would justify an added genre to the book itself. But, of course, they exist! “The Princess Bride” is a perennial favorite. And as I just discovered in a recent review of “The Princess Will Save You” , the comedy is central to the success of that story. So I was excited to see fantasy story that was actively marketed as a comedy, finally!

Julianna has grown up in a dungeon. Well, a dungeon that her mother practiced her interior design skills on to make as comfortable as possible, but there’s no getting rid of the decidedly dungeon-ness of it all, old prisoner ghosts and all. But with a curse that dooms her to death if touched by sunlight, Julianna’s royal parents didn’t see another choice. But that hasn’t stopped Julianna from taking things into her own hands and tunneling outside the castle walls. There she meets the young man who could be her salvation, a strange mix of boy who loves music and grew up on a pirate ship. Things only get more strange from there as they set out on an adventure that may finally free Julianna from her curse.

This book was an interesting read. There were times where I was all in on it and its concept, laughing out loud and just enjoying the romp that was being laid out before me. But at other times, I found the humor and comedy elements to be almost relentless and a bit overbearing. Unlike “The Princess Will Save You” that was almost aggressively earnest and lacking witty dialogue even, this book throws itself as the comedy element, never letting a single joke slide by. It’s a tough thing to review or critique because much of it was successful. The story uses footnotes to pretty great effect and doesn’t ever take it or its own ridiculous concept too seriously. But at other times, I felt I need some sense of weight or a different emotional tone to help balance out this nonstop comedy.

The characters themselves sere all very engaging, maybe especially the villains and the backstory we get for them at the very beginning of the story. I also liked Julianna and Warren, though it was with these two main characters that I most wished for a bit more emotional depth from the book. The funny moments for them hit home, but it was hard to feel truly invested in either of their stories when everything was played for laughs.

The pacing was also a bit strange in the book. As I mentioned, the first part of the story focuses on the villains and their history with Julianna’s parents and the curse that is ultimately laid upon them. So there are a number of time jumps involved in telling this part of the story. Id din’t find it confusing or anything, but it does take a while for the story to finally settle in on our main characters. It seems to take quite a while for them to even meet.

Lastly, I do want to touch on the marketing failure with this book. From what I saw, this was being marketed as a high fantasy novel. This isn’t doing anyone any favors. Not the book, not the author, and not the readers. High fantasy is a fairly specific brand of fantasy (we’re talking “Lord of the Rings” and “ASOIAF” type fantasy). It is usually more serious, has a grand scope, and includes a lot of complicated world-building. But it is by no means the only type of fantasy, and it’s also not “better” fantasy than any other type. I think too often that seems to be the perception which then leads to publishers trying to attach that genre description to all of their new releases in the hopes of attracting more readers. But it’s not “better!” Sure, some people prefer that type of fantasy, but others actually prefer more light-hearted fantasy or want a good fantasy comedy now and then. By not properly identifying the book, you have a bunch of readers picking it up expecting the wrong thing and becoming disappointed. And then the readers who were actually looking for this type of book could be put off by the often intimidating aspects of what we expect from typical high fantasy. It’s too bad, because I feel like they almost set this book up to fail by doing this.

So, while it’s definitely not high fantasy, if you are looking for a comedy fantasy story, this might be a good one to check out. Just know that when I say comedy, I really mean it. In some ways the comedy aspect felt more prevalent than the fantasy itself.

Rating 7: A fun enough story, though missing the necessary emotional weight to balance out all of the fluff and laughs.

Link will go live October 10

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m afraid this one is a DNF for me. The writing just seemed too wordy, like this version of the story is before an editor has combed through. It’s such a shame as there is a lot of potential here in the story itself but the execution is clunky to me, resulting it me being unable to focus on what’s going on.

This book was incredibly cute! I love the author's rich descriptions and world building, the characters were incredibly well written and the diaglogue felt flowing.

I tried finishing this but i just couldn't. I liked the uniqueness at first. It takes a humorous approach to fairytale. But after awhile, i got bored. I just thought the storyline was taking too long to get to the main point.

DNF at 18%

I’ve been dipping in and out of this book since I got the ARC, but I can’t bring myself to finish it. I can’t stand the tone. I think the author was trying to sound cool and sarcastic, but all it did was come off as childish and immature. It didn’t make me buy the story, nor connect with the characters if the tone didn’t suggest I should take the story seriously.

I don’t know who edited this, because there’s so much that could’ve been cut. Nothing happened in the first part, and it really could’ve been condensed. It was a boring slog to get through, which is bad since it’s meant to be an adventure story.

The idea was interesting, but it did not live up to its promises.

‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡. 𝘼𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩.’⁣
⁣
Well, HOW TO BREAK AN EVIL CURSE by Laura Morrison was quite unique if I may say…⁣
The narrator here is "omniscient »: he is not only aware of the reality in which the story takes place, but also of our own reality.⁣
The fact that he draws parallels and makes comparisons between Fritillary and our world is somewhat disturbing at the beginning, and at a certain point in the story it even becomes annoying: I found that it breaks the rhythm of the narration with details that seem insignificant to me (but which will find their full meaning later on, at least I hope so...).⁣
The different characters are quite well balanced, and the ones we are most interested in (at least from my point of view) are not the most developed: I found the characters of Mirabella and Farland more fascinating than those of Julianna and Warren, so to speak, which is a pity because they are, in the end, characters that have been relegated to the background of the story. ⁣
The end of the novel leaves me unsatisfied, and even the ending twist didn't make up for the lack of depth in some of the plots. ⁣
What future awaits Julianna and Warren? We'll see...⁣
⁣
HOW TO BREAK AN EVIL CURSE will be released on October, 13, 2020⁣
⁣
Thank you @netgalley and @blackspotbooks for sending me this arcbook.

The characters were the most interesting part of the novel, even if they were mostly one dimensional. We have an evil twin who is just that. No other depth, no real reason why, except she was soulless, for her to be evil. She just was. Her twin, the good sister, the one who again, has no real reason to be so good and yet she was the picture of pure and golden shine. The king, who is hated by all and yet in the story barely showed anything to make me want to hate him also. The evil wizard, who we know nothing about except that he was once the king’s friend who was jealous of him.

Oh, and did I mention there is a character called McManlyman? I’m just going to let you digest that one, because I certainly did not.

Then we have our main cast.

Julianna, the naive princess who’s never stepped outside the dungeon walls, yet seems to miraculously navigate the world without too much of a hitch and successfully become a stealth thief in a matter of days.

Warren, the 21-but-acts-16-year-old, who has never stepped on land in his life, but like his sister Corinne, seems to forget that fact after a few hours and know how to do things that he never would have after spending an entire life at sea. He is the one, the true love who will break the curse. The one who has a weird allergy to asparagus. I’m seriously not even making this up.

The vial of raven’s blood, the only redeeming character who I actually loved. He bought sass, savagery and snark that was needed. I just wish the words ‘dude’ and ‘bro’ didn’t come out of his mouth quite so much.

So much more detail could have been given to give this book more atmosphere! Don’t just tell me the fabric is the finest available. Tell me that its the finest silks, velvet that flowed like water on your hands, embroidery that almost seemed to come to life in the right lighting conditions. Make me not just understand that it’s a palace, but believe that I could be there.

How do I even start with the writing? At best, it was okay. At worse, it was downright sloppy and read like the first draft written by a teenager who wanted to tell an elaborate story but isn’t sure exactly how a story is constructed.
Who even is the narrator? The story is written in a style reminiscent of Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight, the narrator somebody we don’t yet know who is giving us an overview of the world and telling us the story. But at least in the Nevenight series we get some sort of clue who the author truly is, whereas here, I honestly couldn’t even try to guess. I hated the narration style, in all its confusing glory.

We are told this is a high fantasy series, but it didn’t read as one. Inserting a little bit of magic into a generic fantasy-medieval land does not an epic fantasy make. Especially when the words ‘kid’, ‘dude’, ‘dad’ were used in abundance. It spoiled both the atmosphere and the believability of the story.
There was so much lacking in the development of the story too. We skip years of development and questions as Julianna, cursed to never touch sunlight lest she dies there and then, becomes an adult and is about ready to escape her (literal) dungeon.

Yes, it has been lavishly decorated and the past covered over with beautiful paint and fabric, but the fact there are literal ghosts that for some reason, only Julianna can see and the fact it has taken the princess over a decade to dig herself an escape tunnel does not take away the fact it is still a dungeon. I had so many questions here. For one, she has never stepped foot outdoors. Yes, she is destined to die should sunlight touch her skin, but did her parents honestly never take her out at night time to at least let her have some sort of view of the outside world? Apparently not! Also, does the servant who Julianna has been drugging for YEARS as she builds her escape tunnel really not have any suspicion at all? None? And I don’t believe that in ten years, not once has Julianna ever left anything that people could notice such as some dirt, or stains on her dress. She may be meticulous but that just seemed a little too perfect.

I would have liked to see more from her childhood years. Moments where she questioned her curse, those inevitable snatches as she tries to escape and narrowly avoids being caught before she reaches the light. There were moments it was mentioned, but I would have liked to see more, and really felt that urgency as she tried to escape the sun’s rays.

Anyone who knows me as a reader knows I can’t stand footnotes. Especially when there seems to be more footnotes than actual text on a page, and even more especially when the footnotes add absolutely nothing to the story. And my absolute, number one maddening hate? When the footnotes could so easily just be written into the story!

There were moments where I found myself sniggering. There were also moments when the writing was surprisingly complex, with a glimmer of potential that had me hopeful for the future development of Morrison as an author. But they were so far in between and few that I feel I wouldn’t want to continue on with the series even if there was an improvement.

I was given an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This book is full of adventure and humor. I mostly enjoyed myself. The characters were memorable and the plot had some good twists and turns. I wasn’t fully expecting the surprise twist at the end, but it was good. It was actually very predictable for the time period as well. It just fit and it gave me a good little chuckle.

Anyway, the only reason why I’m given this book 4 stars instead of 5 is simply due to the narrator. Yes, the narrator is part of the charm of this book, but the narrator explains WAY too much of the backstory and the moods of the characters.

It was just info dump, after info dump and even more info dumping in footnotes.

There are pages of stuff I had to skip because it was all too much. This book desperately needs to be edited down at least 50 pages worth of too much info dumping.

I understand this is a middle grade novel, but good Lord. They don’t need so much hand holding, I guarantee it. Matter of fact, as an English teacher in middle school, I can tell you from experience that they pick up stuff quicker in the text than I do. Sometimes.

Another problem in this book I had was the villain romance stuff, it came out of nowhere. The sulking the villains do, the male ones mind you, just seems out of place in this story. And the narrator would of course do deep dives into it and it just seemed unnecessary and it slowed the plot down immensely. There was one romance that made sense, but the other one was just meh. Especially when the females tell them they don’t like them and they still pine after them anyway.

One even gets a tattoo on him to show how much he cares about what she cares about. I grimaced and groaned loudly at that part. I don’t know if the author was going for corny humor in it, but it was just so cringey.

Another sticking point for me in this book was the pop culture and feminism in it. This setting and the references to me were constantly fighting each other. It seems to me that this takes place in medieval European times. Yet there are some pop culture references. One made me smile, but after that it got a little tedious. The feminism thing was just odd. I get how it played in the story and like how the female character stuck up for themselves, but it just didn’t fit into that time period.

I know I might get attacked for my views, but for me, the feminism streak just didn’t stick. Even the narrator mentions how feminism wasn’t a thing back then, and turns around and starts a movement during this time of history. It just contradicts itself.

I think there is a way to incorporate feminism into books, but this wasn’t it. Maybe after some more editing, it can be done better. Just as it is, it is just awkwardly shoved into the storyline.

Overall, despite the issues I had with this book, I would recommend this book. I still had fun, loved the humor and the characters were quirky. It had a good plot and good themes weaved throughout. Her talent for storytelling is here, just needs a couple of tweaks here and there. I don’t know if I would read a sequel, but I am interested in any other works that the author would write..

2.5-3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Black Spot Books for sending me a free early copy to review!
I found this book really confusing there were too many modern ideas in the story as well as the narration which I found really distracting while reading, I felt like I was constantly being pulled from the story which is not what I want in a fantasy, especially something marketed as a high-fantasy.  The language was old-timey while also being really modern at the same time which for me just didn't fit together.  I liked the use of the narrator and their opinions throughout the story but it felt overused and really factored into the feeling of being pulled out of the story but it was a fun element.  It felt like they wanted to write a retelling but couldn't decide on what elements they wanted, or a time period.  I think that if this wasn't marketed as a high-fantasy or was just marketed better I wouldn't have been as disappointed, I also didn't realize that this book was middle grade until doing some research after reading.

This book was light and fun. It didn’t feel like a high fantasy but I still enjoyed it a lot. I liked watching the characters relationships grow. My favorite part of this book was that the characters didn’t make unnecessary stupid decision. I felt like they were smart overall. Will definitely read the sequel!

This book was an alright book not as good as I hoped but still a great book. I enjoyed reading this book.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley so thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy.

Princess Julianna is cursed, she cannot come into contact with the sunlight or she will die. From the age of 8 she has been slowly tunneling herself out of her room in the dungeons, the place that she had always know. A trip out of the castle turns out to be the one thing that ends up changing her life because of all the stuff that happens.

I really like the plot and the characters but the way it was told had me put off a bit. It is told in a way that has it being a story told to the reader by an almost narrator. It breaks the wall between story and reality. It says things like ‘now reader’ or ‘unlike our lives’ and things like that which I found slightly off putting and that’s why it’s only a 3 star book. It would be 4 stars if it wasn’t written the way it is.

As I said before I like the characters and plot and all of that. There is nothing wrong with the characters or plot. One thing that has me super like WTF is that there is a talking blood vial which I have no idea what that’s about and kind of ignore it so that’s also something I found I disliked. The ending though had me like ok wasn’t expecting that to happen and does have me kind of interesting in where the series will go.

I was drawn to the title and cover on NetGalley. I really wanted to like this ARC, and I hate DNFing a book, but this style of storytelling was not for me. I wasn’t sure who was telling the story and frankly, several of the lines took me completely out of the story.

An example:

“Excellent,” he sleazed and followed her into the cave. Mirabella the Traitor held out the stack of papers to her partner-in-crime. He took them and began to read, cackling evilly at the contents. He laughed harder with each page, until he’d flipped too many pages for that to be sustainable, and then the laughs remained at the same intensity for the rest of the stack. It was really a pretty big stack of paper. So much evil cackling.

I was really excited for this book. It sounded like it was going to be a sort of trope bending, tongue in cheek take on a classic retelling.
And while it was that it almost felt like it was too much of that.
The humour felt like it was pushed to the front beyond even the plot or characters and it was almost off putting at times to read.
I did find some moments genuinely funny but a lot of the time I felt a little confused about what exactly was happening as things tended to contradict themselves.
I think what I was expecting wasn’t exactly what I got and I’m not sure if that’s my expectations of the book or if the blurb needs to be tweaked to more accurately reflect the book itself.
Overall it was fun but not quite the book I was expecting or hoping for.

if you’re looking for a fairy-tale parody, this may be for you.

In ‘How to Break an Evil Curse’, the King’s firstborn is cursed to die if touched by sunlight. Princess Julianna, the unfortunate firstborn to the King of Fritillary is confined in darkness and dreams of a life of freedom. Disgruntled but also determined, Julianna decides to fight fate and live her life by escaping the somewhat nicely redecorated dungeon.

But first, how does one break an evil curse? Simple, really. The evil Wizard Farland admits there is a cure. All Julianna needs is to fall in love with a person that:
1. spent their whole life at sea,
2. whose parents are part of a travelling theatre troupe,
3. said person can play the banjo, accordion, and harpsichord, and
4. is allergic to asparagus.

“It is not impossible for such a person to exist, only improbable.”

Writing:
Firstly, I must state this: approach this with a light-hearted mind. The narration style may not be for everyone. Rather, it may come across as sarcastic to some, with fourth wall breaks, witty comments, and interesting footnotes. However, I feel the narration is a stylistic choice to add to the humorous tone and I find that it works well with the story.

Characters:
There is a large cast of characters in this book, however, they add to the story and it’s quite easy to follow. Although one may find certain characters to be shallow and two-dimensional, I feel like this story doesn’t take itself too seriously for you to do so. Although I must say, I appreciate how Julianna has initiative. Once she wants something, she goes after it.

Enjoyment:
I can appreciate this book for what it offers—a unique take on classic fairy tales. The humour may not be for everyone as it’s sarcastic and sometimes nonsensical. However, if you enjoy such humour, you may thoroughly enjoy this.

This book may serve well as a ‘palate-cleanser’—when you’re looking for a book that is light-hearted, entertaining, and easy to read. I’d recommend those who pick this up to not take it seriously, and enjoy for what it is. Overall, I find this book to be a quirky and amusing read.

Recommended for: people looking for a different take on fairy-tales, fans of satire, fantasy parodies, and snarky narrators

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on my blog closer to the publication date.

How to Break an Evil Curse feels hindered most by its description. The blurb promises a fast paced, magical adventure and while this is certainly a magical book, I wouldn't classify it as too exciting or adventurous.

While I enjoyed some aspects, this book did not completely work for me. It seemed like a very unique story at first, but it lacked proper world-building. I wished for more detail. This is definitely an atmospheric read. A few pages in and you're instantly transported into a world reminiscent of classic fairy tales. The problem is, while I understand that this is the first book in a series, this book had too much set up and too little actual plot. The characters are fairly static and nothing about it besides the gorgeous voice is unique enough to compel me to finish the series.

I also felt like there was a lot happening, but some of it did not seem purposeful. The plot branches off in so many directions, but in this case, less is more. A few things seemed distracting or irrelevant because of everything else that was happening, so I felt as though the book was not following a central idea or story anymore.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not sure how I feel about this book. It has taken all the fantasy bits and stretched them into the realm of the ridiculous. From the modern language to using asparagus as the most powerful magical ingredient in spells (speaking of which, I had a strong desire to go out and buy some asparagus to cook up and eat while reading this). The ridiculous really hit me when the pirate captain, McManlyman thought about how he had read a book (one of his favorite romance novels) and hoped his life would turn out like that between him and the captive doctor Jane. I think the humor might have been better if it was not applied to everything (the snark of the narrator got to me and made the story drag sometimes). There are some serious issues that Julianna discovers about the kingdom but that does not come across with all the silly bits. Tone those down and it would be a fun read, light but not ridiculous.

And despite the main characters (Warren and Julianna) being 21 and 19 respectively, it does read like a middlegrade fantasy. I know some other reviews have mentioned that it is supposed to be high fantasy but I can concur that it is definitely not. My favorite characters turned out to be Corinne (a very sensible girl) and the ghosts of the dungeon.

Some will love this book, but maybe I was in the wrong mood. It was okay and I liked parts but I have read better books.

(I received a copy of this novel off Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)
This book was surprising and a little off-putting due to the narrator. It pokes fun at other fantasy stories with a comedic and sarcastic twist. While this may be intriguing to others, the effect became annoying after only a few chapters. This book included so many different characters yet each one read just like their cookie-cutter archetypes. I feel that if the author had focused more n developing the story than making it comedic, it would've been a lot more fun and dynamic.