Remy and Cam have been friends for years, but Remy has recently come to realize her feeling for Cam on an even deeper level. She plans to tell him during their trip to Tokyo. After Cam and Remy take a banned magical soulmate elixir Cam doesn’t remember Remy and Remy’s memories of Cam slowly begin to slip away. With the help of their family and friends Cam and Remy try to find an antidote for the elixir before their conditions become permanent. Will Cam and Remy be able to find a way to keep their memories or will their love be forever cursed?

I loved the Tokyo setting and the magical aspect I thought actually added a lot to the story in a pleasant way. I really enjoyed this YA romance!

I gobbled this book up! Loved the magical part of the story. I was cheering them on to a romance.beloved this book!

Definitely selling at the store

Thank you net galley the author and publisher

Highly recommended

3.5 ⭐️ rounded

“Real love is about falling in love every day.”

I have never been more enlightened by Candy Crush references and yet petty that Remy’s about 300 levels ahead of me.

Unpopular opinion, I love the soulmate trope. And it’s friends-to-lovers. And the amnesia trope is here too … no wonder I’ve been seeing mixed reviews but all of that is probably why my quite anti-fantasy reader self looked over the magic realism. The contemporary setting helped but that’s besides the point. While this plot did drag a little and was boring, it was nice to read. Remy and Cam have an adorable friendship that you kinda have to root for with all the lovely memories and fate seemingly working against them.

I was so much more invested in the Candy Crush references.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

Friends to lovers. Magic. Tokyo. The makings of a delightful story! I did enjoy this story that included one of my favorite tropes. Remy and Cam have been friends since birth and Remy is set on working up the gumption to tell him she loves him while they’re visiting a magical university in Tokyo. Things go wrong when she gets a terrible fortune: she doesn’t have a soulmate. Remy and Cam were so cute and watching them get both closer and further away to and from each other was sweet and nail biting at times. There was such an emphasis on food in Tokyo and I wanted to eat all the things and drink the magical drinks. I wish that their siblings had played a bigger role, but I understand why they didn’t. So sweet and enjoyable. Props also to the BTS references! They made my sad little self smile each time!

This was such an interesting book! I really loved the magical aspect of the romance here. I also loved the setting and focus on memory. I read it over Christmas and that was the perfect time with the timeline of the book.

I absolutely loved Julie Abe's "The Charmed List," so I was super stoked to read the follow-up story about the younger siblings. Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me. I'm honestly not sure exactly what it was that didn't work for me, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as the first book. The romance was sweet and I loved the travel and magical elements, but it didn't grab me the same way the first one did. I'll definitely read more of Julie Abe's books in the future, but I was slightly disappointed by this one.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

I really enjoyed Julie Abe's THE CHARMED LIST so I was optimistic that I would have a similar experience with OUR CURSED LOVE. Even though it's not a sequel, we still get an update on what's going on with Jack and Ellie. It's not that I didn't love the story, but the overall tone of the novel is quite different--just more serious and less rom-comy. Additionally, I didn't find the worldbuilding as effective even though OUR CURSED LOVE is technically in the same world despite being set in Tokyo, Japan. And I don't think I ever cared completely about what happened to Cam or Remy, even though their choices and motivations felt realistic. The story just seemed to lack the same pizazz that THE CHARMED LIST had.

This book overall was cute and an enjoyable read, perfect for those who like magic and YA. I loved the journey and seeing the characters grow as the story went on and the details about Japan. It's a perfect palette cleanser and was soft and sweet, the cover is GORGEOUS and I look forward to more work from this author hopefully in this shared world. This would make a cute film, pacing was a bit slow and the end felt a bit rushed/jumbled but I still liked the book and had fun reading it.

I liked this book a great deal. Not only was it nice to get an update on how Jack and Ellie's relationship was progressing, but also to explore more of the magical world Abe created in The Charmed List. It was a less cozy story, although food and family were common themes throughout. I didn't mind the change. What I minded, really, was how the ending felt thrown together, with lots of complicating elements being added and immediately withdrawn. (I was also a little surprised that everyone who knew about the curse was not doing everything in their power to facilitate Cam and Remy's quest.) Overall, this was still a sweet, interesting book with all the good elements of a cozy anime. It just didn't quite win me over.

I love the characters Julie Abe writes - they are sure to make me laugh and fall in love. Or just believe in love! This book is filled with a little bit of magic, wishing, and a running clock to contend with. Luckily, when you know your best friend, it's easy to find your way back to his heart!

Just like Julie will find a way to YOUR heart! This is a great rom com to read!

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

This was such a cozy and sweet book. I don't always love the "lack of communication" trope but it didn't matter here because the main characters are just so adorable. Loved the apothecary!

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

I enjoyed the first book but this one was a lot better. I liked that it was in dual POV so we got to see both Remi and Cam stocks. They were kind of adorable, but I’m biased because I always love a friends to lovers. It was really cute, how they went about trying to get his memories back and I really enjoyed hearing a memory from each side. I was a little bit worried at the end that they weren’t going to make it but it’s romance book so they always are.

Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe

Published: December 12, 2023
Wednesday Booms
Genre: Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 284
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

It is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers story with mystical elements. This was cute. I enjoyed the easy flow of the plot and the characters. There is a good use of humor, and I loved the magical elements.

I want to hate Cam, but I can’t. He’s young and still significantly influenced by his dad. He made a foolish choice, and I thought my heart would shatter completely.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Remy and Cam as they had their grand adventure of getting Cam’s memories back. The charming connection between these two is swoon-worthy.

Soul mates are rare and when one is your best friend how do you get the confidence to tell them you love them? Our Cursed Love explores how love can manifest in different ways and you truly have control of your future. Abe brings a classic trope of soul mates and adds interesting questions to the plot but ultimately falls short. The added magic element felt forced and shallow, there was no world-building connected to it and the history was non-existent. The soulmate element was not fleshed out and did not resolve itself by the end of the book. Only wondering what happened to the other soulmate and if the concept was even true.

"Our Cursed Love" was a sweet story about two best friends who take a trip of their lifetime to Japan in search of entering the magical college. When they take a love potion, their world gets turned upside down, but will their friendship be enough to remember? I was immediately enamored with Remy and Cam. The different sites throughout the story were well described and made me feel as I was walking alongside Remy and Cam in this story. Not only was their friendship tested, they each also go on their own journey to make a path for their individual futures. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

THOUGHTS

This book is as soft and sweet as I thought it would be. Perfect for fans of Julie Abe's The Charmed List, this book pulls on familiar characters but is also perfectly standalone. It's a gentle romance, set in a magical city with dazzling enchantments, bubbling elixirs, and delicious food to try around every corner.


PROS
Light and Fun: There's something so magically delightful about this book. It's soft and cozy, perfect to curl up with on cold winter nights. The city lights are dazzling, and the sightseeing is as romantic as anyone could hope. This book perfectly encapsulates a soft and fluffy romance.

Magical Tokyo: Tokyo is already a city of lights and technology, so adding magic to the mix only enhances it all the more. Tea shops where you can seek your fortune, department stores that dip into the future of (magical) technology, and hidden nooks and crannies that only reveal themselves to those who know what to look for: what's not to love about that?

Magical University: On top of the city itself being imbued with magic, the university where Remy has to go for her college interview is even more magical. So steeped in magic that the ancient tomes of the campus have come alive to act as guides around the campus, there's all the charm of the magic outside of the university walls plus a touch of academic flair that's just nice.


CONS
Love Triangle Strikes: You know what I really didn't like in this book? The unexpected love triangle. Love triangles generally aren't my thing, but I don't know that I've ever read a book where the love triangle was more unnecessary. Thankfully, it doesn't play a major role, but the existence of it at all is irksome. There was really no need here.

Keeping Secrets: These kids obviously like each other, so why have they held the truth in all this time? I can get nerves. You don't want to change the dynamic with your best friend, not when there's a chance the feelings aren't mutual. But nerves really only seemed to be the case for one party here. The other party has other motives. I don't want to spoil anything here, but the motive in question is really quite dull. I didn't buy it, not for two people who know each other and respect each other as much as these two.

High School Sweethearts: Sure, it's cute and soft and sweet, but the depth of their affection at times felt a bit too intense for their actual situation. I know high school sweethearts can go on to have happy, successful adult relationships. But Cam and Remy's feelings for each other nonetheless felt a bit more mature than I would have expected from two seventeen-year-olds, no matter how close they are.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of Melissa Landers's Lumara will love this new contemporary world touched by unexpected splashes of potent magic. Those who loved the magical chemistry of Julie Abe's The Charmed List will adore this new, ill-fated couple.

loved this romance and how the journey stated and ended. loved the friends and all of the trials that they went through on the journey. loved the cast and i can't wait t read more.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc!

This was so heartbreaking in the best way possible. I loved the story and the romance and couldn’t put it down.

It's cute. The prose is pretty good, there's no real issues with the book. It's a sweet story. I think it will do well with the core audience, which I am not, so maybe i am biased.