By A Charm & A Curse
by Jaime Questell
♦publisher: Entangled Teen
♦release date: February 6th, 2018
♦hardcover, 300 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review
Le Grand’s Carnival Fantastic isn’t like other traveling circuses. It’s bound by a charm, held together by a centuries-old curse, that protects its members from ever growing older or getting hurt. Emmaline King is drawn to the circus like a moth to a flame…and unwittingly recruited into its folds by a mysterious teen boy whose kiss is as cold as ice.
Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for.
Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss.
Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for.
Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss.
{Amy's Thoughts}
Unique and truly original, By A Charm and A Curse keeps all the wonderment of the circus, but also adds to it a sense of danger and mystique. With a stage of strong characters, and a story that has deep roots, readers will quickly fall for this one.
Told in two alternating voices, you will be able to see the circus from both sides. One voice, who’s unknowing sacrifice throws her into the harsh life of the circus changing it forever, while the other one calls the circus and all its many secrets home. This opens the storyline for forbidden romance, secrets, and lies while also setting the scene for betrayal and the choice between family and love.
Jamie Quenstell, portrays circus life in a believable manner, as one large dysfunctional family that ultimately needs each other to survive, unwilling to add an outsider to the mix, making Emma’s forced transition into the circus one filled with angst and uncertainty. Quenstell’s writing is well rounded, delicately building the tempo as she goes, giving you a multitude of vessels to think about all at the same time, while also not giving you a one-stop solution to a problem. Jamie Quenstell gets it right, with a fully developed storyline, strong characters, and without any structural flaws.
Like a lone Ferris Wheel spinning at night, this book catches you eerily unaware, taking you within its grasp. If only it came with a faint smell of cotton candy, and the carnival music playing in the distance.
•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•
JAIME QUESTELL grew up in Houston, Texas, where she escaped the heat and humidity by diving into stacks of Baby Sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books. She has been a book seller (fair warning: book lovers who become book sellers will give half their paychecks right back to their employers), a professional knitter, a semi-professional baker, and now works as a graphic designer in addition to writing. Currently, she lives in the suburbs with her family, one derpy dog, and one imperious cat. If she had her way, she’d have an army of corgis, like the Queen of England.
Purchase the book: Indiebound • BookDepository • Amazon
