Book Review: A Unique and Diverse High-Stakes Fantasy

Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic, must survive his own failing mental health and a tenuous partnership with a dangerous ally in order to save the city of Astrum from a spreading curse.

Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic and disgraced ex-physician, has discovered a conspiracy. Someone is inflicting magical comas on the inhabitants of the massive city of Astrum, and no one knows how or why. Caught between a faction of scheming magical academics and an explosive schism in the ranks of Astrum’s power-hungry military, Adrien is swallowed by the growing chaos. Alongside Gennady, an unruly, damaged young soldier, and Malise, a brilliant healer and Adrien’s best friend, Adrien searches for a way to stop the spreading curse before the city implodes. He must survive his own bipolar disorder, his self-destructive tendencies, and his entanglement with the man who doesn’t love him back.

Overall Rating

4/5

Quick Take

Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura is an inclusive fantasy adventure that features a main character dealing with bipolar disorder in a high stakes dark academia world. Filled with action and unrequited romance, I easily became entranced by this debut. It is ideal for fans of queer fantasy with a mental health edge.

Tell Me More

As a mental health specialist, I always love when I find books that address mental health, and Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura did so in such a brilliant and inventive way. While it is an adult fantasy with dark academia vibes, the main character, Adrien, is a professor of magic struggling with bipolar disorder. His struggles with his mental health are relatable and make him deeply human. But the way that Madeleine Nakamura incorporated these very human concerns in such a magical and fantastic story was ingenious. I couldn’t put it down.

At times, I did find it hard to keep up with the worldbuilding due to extensive language that was hard to follow; however, I do blame that on the fact that I am not a frequent fantasy reader. Readers who do enjoy fantasy and read it consistently should be able to keep up with the complexities of the story.

Nakamura also incorporated such excellent LGBTQIA+ representation, which was beautiful and I found intensely relatable. That paired with the mental health representation and the intense world building made Cursebreakers a profound and impressionable story.

If you enjoy intense fantasy with LGBTQIA+ and mental health representation, you are going to love Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura.

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