What do you think?
Rate this book
The Curse Giver
Lusielle's bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn't commit. She's on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.
Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.
Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their demise.
Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.
Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their demise.
510 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 4, 2013
71 people are currently reading
1701 people want to read
About the author
Dora Machado
8 books89 followersDora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series. She is one of the few Hispanic women exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today.She holds a master's degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan but grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a preference for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long and winding walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazingly clever readers who share in her mind's adventures. She is currently working on several projects, including her next novel, The Curse Giver, which is set to be published August 15, 2013. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.
To learn more about Dora Machado and her award winning novels, visit her website at http://www.doramachado.com/. You can also email her at Dora@doramachado.com, find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoraMachado101 or follow her on Twitter @DoraMachado.
To learn more about Dora Machado and her award winning novels, visit her website at http://www.doramachado.com/. You can also email her at Dora@doramachado.com, find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoraMachado101 or follow her on Twitter @DoraMachado.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 142 reviews
November 11, 2014
Two and half stars, I'm giving it three because my heartstrings were tugged.
I just finished reading The Curse Giver last night at 3:00am. I started reading it hesitant, I ended up absolutely enthralled, but ultimately very disappointed. I will try to keep this as unspoilerish as possible!
As a few people have already noted, Machado's style of mixing more conventional, formal "fantasy speak" with modern turns of phrase is a bit jarring, but this is something I quickly got over. Where the author really shines is character development.
Lusielle is clever, witty and engaging--if not a bit too perfect, but that's a minor complaint. She actively participates in and drives the story, which is a rare thing. She just doesn't have much of a story arc of her own though, she doesn't change, she doesn't grow. (But she does fall prey to an escalating number of convenient plot contrivances, I'll get into later.)
Bren is endearing even when he's brooding, he never becomes so glum that he becomes out-and-out Byronic. He's brave and dutiful to a fault, but considerate as well. Good natured, but short tempered. He is respectful of Lusielle and treats her like an equal. (But he does fall prey to an infuriating amount of obfuscation intended to make him more mysterious, I'll get into later.)
Together they make a fascinating duo to read about, they have sparkling banter and irritate and amuse each other in equal turns. The first half of the novel, which deals primarily with Lusielle and Bren escaping trouble and traipsing through the wilderness alone, was derivative of works like The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn, and I can't think of higher praise than that. The supporting characters raged from interesting (Khalia, Severo) to cartoonish (our trio of human villains, and Lusielle's self-appointed guardians**)--but they certainly don't detract from a story which didn't seem to be taking itself too seriously, and indeed took joy in being as comedic as it was swoon-inducing. I loved the first 300 pages (of approx 600 in my version of the ebook) of the novel that seemed to be a character piece about these two, their relationship, and the microcosm of their classist society they represented. I devoured that first 300 pages in a single weekend!
Then the novel fell off the rails for me.
I'm not sure why Machado switched gears so late in the game, but about 300 pages in is the point at which she seems to have decided that instead of a light sword-and-sorcery story, she wanted to write something (excuse my interwebs speak) moar epic! This book was a classic bait and switch in the worst possible way. There were almost 100 pages of extremely vague and tenuous info dump shoehorned in that didn't really add anything to the story. This usually consists of two characters engaged in a dialogue that sounds like this:
"But if A, then B!"
"How can B?"
"This convenient macguffin, that's how!"
"(reveals thing that happened in the past that is now relevant but was never brought up before)"
"Interesting, (quotes bit of poem that we're supposed to remember from over 100 pages ago that doesn't particularly seem relevant to the subject at hand)"
"(Thinly veiled metaphor about potion mixing)"
...40 more pages of this.
It's as if they're speaking in code and I'm supposed to follow along. Worse yet, it feels as though I'm trying to solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery where I've not been given the clues, otherwise trustworthy characters are deliberately withholding information, the stakes aren't plainly laid out and the author is intent on solving a very different mystery from the one the reader and the characters are engaged in. If it sounds like I'm struggling to articulate my frustration, frankly I am--because I equally struggled to understand what was going on and why I should care. It's like if Sherlock were horribly (and very vaguely) cursed and we wanted to know how and why that came to be, but Arthur Conan Doyle just wanted to wax poetic about how great Watson is by telling us all about his childhood for 200 pages first, only revealing anything about the central mystery of the story in the last 50 pages of a 600 page novel. That might be a bit on the nose.
We want to undestand Bren and his motivations, but we're simply not allowed to. That makes his sacrifice seem significantly less heroic because we don't understand what the stakes are. That becomes endlessly frustrating as his plight is the central conflict of the book and it is, time and time again, skipped over to dwell on much more boring aspects of the plot. For instance...
I don't think giving Lusielle an elaborate back story (inelegantly revealed via pages and pages of telling and not showing) actually makes her character stronger. She was very strong as a person who, despite humble beginnings, proves to be more dedicated, more thoughtful and more witty than anyone is willing to give her credit for. She holds firmly to the idea that her classist society is unfair, but when certain things are revealed about Lusielle's past and parentage you're left with the empty feeling that her specialness has less to do with her and more to do with a series of ever expanding, elaborate, nonsensical plot contrivances and the desire to inject the story with epic lore--at the expense of the social commentary Machado seemed intent on making in the first place. This doesn't enhance the story, it weighs it down. The swashbuckling fun we've been enjoying grinds to a halt. I think 300 pages in is the point at which Machado decided she wanted to write a sequel and that she needed to flesh out her world. Were that the case, the wiser thing to do would be to revise the story from page one to better incorporate the epic elements. That's not what happened here and the story suffers because it's just too overstuffed with plot, and too badly paced to keep us interested.
The two main characters (the very thing that kept this book going) are separated for almost 250 pages. This is a terrible thing since their relationship and interactions were the driving force for the story's momentum. Lusielle's mini adventure with Severo is more interesting then Bren's nonadventure with Hato, but I slogged through the last 200 or so pages. We're forced to read, instead of adventure and romance, about politics and ancient history, but neither is interesting enough to force the story forward for such huge portions of the book. It was agonizing. It took two weeks to read less than I had in one weekend. I found myself getting angrier and angrier with how the last act of the book was mishandled. Even Machado's stylistic quirks become more frequent and irksome at this point because these pages are joyless, confusing and boring.
By far the most frustrating thing about The Curse Giver (besides the title villain herself who shows up for a grand total of 40 pages and is deeply uninteresting with no clear motive for her villainy--which dilutes the emotional punch of the ending, in which Lusielle actually comes up with a clever and refreshingly positive way to save the day) is that I can see the better book lying right there between the lines. I can see how with better editing and more narrative focus this could have been rollickingly good right to the end. I think Machado has a better book in her yet, and I look forward to reading it.
**I found the characters of Elfu and Carfu troubling and problematic. They're described as being dark skinned "monkey men" which, in my opinion, hearkens to nasty racial stereotypes of African Americans. I hated this in particular.
I just finished reading The Curse Giver last night at 3:00am. I started reading it hesitant, I ended up absolutely enthralled, but ultimately very disappointed. I will try to keep this as unspoilerish as possible!
As a few people have already noted, Machado's style of mixing more conventional, formal "fantasy speak" with modern turns of phrase is a bit jarring, but this is something I quickly got over. Where the author really shines is character development.
Lusielle is clever, witty and engaging--if not a bit too perfect, but that's a minor complaint. She actively participates in and drives the story, which is a rare thing. She just doesn't have much of a story arc of her own though, she doesn't change, she doesn't grow. (But she does fall prey to an escalating number of convenient plot contrivances, I'll get into later.)
Bren is endearing even when he's brooding, he never becomes so glum that he becomes out-and-out Byronic. He's brave and dutiful to a fault, but considerate as well. Good natured, but short tempered. He is respectful of Lusielle and treats her like an equal. (But he does fall prey to an infuriating amount of obfuscation intended to make him more mysterious, I'll get into later.)
Together they make a fascinating duo to read about, they have sparkling banter and irritate and amuse each other in equal turns. The first half of the novel, which deals primarily with Lusielle and Bren escaping trouble and traipsing through the wilderness alone, was derivative of works like The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn, and I can't think of higher praise than that. The supporting characters raged from interesting (Khalia, Severo) to cartoonish (our trio of human villains, and Lusielle's self-appointed guardians**)--but they certainly don't detract from a story which didn't seem to be taking itself too seriously, and indeed took joy in being as comedic as it was swoon-inducing. I loved the first 300 pages (of approx 600 in my version of the ebook) of the novel that seemed to be a character piece about these two, their relationship, and the microcosm of their classist society they represented. I devoured that first 300 pages in a single weekend!
Then the novel fell off the rails for me.
I'm not sure why Machado switched gears so late in the game, but about 300 pages in is the point at which she seems to have decided that instead of a light sword-and-sorcery story, she wanted to write something (excuse my interwebs speak) moar epic! This book was a classic bait and switch in the worst possible way. There were almost 100 pages of extremely vague and tenuous info dump shoehorned in that didn't really add anything to the story. This usually consists of two characters engaged in a dialogue that sounds like this:
"But if A, then B!"
"How can B?"
"This convenient macguffin, that's how!"
"(reveals thing that happened in the past that is now relevant but was never brought up before)"
"Interesting, (quotes bit of poem that we're supposed to remember from over 100 pages ago that doesn't particularly seem relevant to the subject at hand)"
"(Thinly veiled metaphor about potion mixing)"
...40 more pages of this.
It's as if they're speaking in code and I'm supposed to follow along. Worse yet, it feels as though I'm trying to solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery where I've not been given the clues, otherwise trustworthy characters are deliberately withholding information, the stakes aren't plainly laid out and the author is intent on solving a very different mystery from the one the reader and the characters are engaged in. If it sounds like I'm struggling to articulate my frustration, frankly I am--because I equally struggled to understand what was going on and why I should care. It's like if Sherlock were horribly (and very vaguely) cursed and we wanted to know how and why that came to be, but Arthur Conan Doyle just wanted to wax poetic about how great Watson is by telling us all about his childhood for 200 pages first, only revealing anything about the central mystery of the story in the last 50 pages of a 600 page novel. That might be a bit on the nose.
We want to undestand Bren and his motivations, but we're simply not allowed to. That makes his sacrifice seem significantly less heroic because we don't understand what the stakes are. That becomes endlessly frustrating as his plight is the central conflict of the book and it is, time and time again, skipped over to dwell on much more boring aspects of the plot. For instance...
I don't think giving Lusielle an elaborate back story (inelegantly revealed via pages and pages of telling and not showing) actually makes her character stronger. She was very strong as a person who, despite humble beginnings, proves to be more dedicated, more thoughtful and more witty than anyone is willing to give her credit for. She holds firmly to the idea that her classist society is unfair, but when certain things are revealed about Lusielle's past and parentage you're left with the empty feeling that her specialness has less to do with her and more to do with a series of ever expanding, elaborate, nonsensical plot contrivances and the desire to inject the story with epic lore--at the expense of the social commentary Machado seemed intent on making in the first place. This doesn't enhance the story, it weighs it down. The swashbuckling fun we've been enjoying grinds to a halt. I think 300 pages in is the point at which Machado decided she wanted to write a sequel and that she needed to flesh out her world. Were that the case, the wiser thing to do would be to revise the story from page one to better incorporate the epic elements. That's not what happened here and the story suffers because it's just too overstuffed with plot, and too badly paced to keep us interested.
The two main characters (the very thing that kept this book going) are separated for almost 250 pages. This is a terrible thing since their relationship and interactions were the driving force for the story's momentum. Lusielle's mini adventure with Severo is more interesting then Bren's nonadventure with Hato, but I slogged through the last 200 or so pages. We're forced to read, instead of adventure and romance, about politics and ancient history, but neither is interesting enough to force the story forward for such huge portions of the book. It was agonizing. It took two weeks to read less than I had in one weekend. I found myself getting angrier and angrier with how the last act of the book was mishandled. Even Machado's stylistic quirks become more frequent and irksome at this point because these pages are joyless, confusing and boring.
By far the most frustrating thing about The Curse Giver (besides the title villain herself who shows up for a grand total of 40 pages and is deeply uninteresting with no clear motive for her villainy--which dilutes the emotional punch of the ending, in which Lusielle actually comes up with a clever and refreshingly positive way to save the day) is that I can see the better book lying right there between the lines. I can see how with better editing and more narrative focus this could have been rollickingly good right to the end. I think Machado has a better book in her yet, and I look forward to reading it.
**I found the characters of Elfu and Carfu troubling and problematic. They're described as being dark skinned "monkey men" which, in my opinion, hearkens to nasty racial stereotypes of African Americans. I hated this in particular.
March 30, 2016
a dnf. immature writing, too many characters, and just plain ol' meh.
July 31, 2013
Full Blog Post @Book-Marks the Spot
This book was a doozy, coming in at about 500 pages!!! I thought I wasn’t going to like some of it, but I loved every page. I’m finding it hard to express my thoughts, though. There is just so much to say. I’ve read other books with curses incorporated into the story, but never with anything quite like this book. I felt the doom in the air and I swear it was like watching a movie unfold. The emotions were very real and frightening as the characters stood to face the curse. The book is told in 4 different POVs, so that we know what is going on away from the main characters. Those characters are Hato, Severo, Bren and Lusielle. I usually shy away from books with that many POV because things can become confusing. In The Curse Giver, however, I didn’t find myself confused- I just wanted MORE. The adventure (if that’s what you want to call it) was more like them running for their lives and it was exhilarating and I never knew what to expect- that my favorite part. I know I said there is so much to say, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Just know that the world building is brilliant and the characters were well developed. Aside from that, get ready for the ride of a life time.
Overall: An Epic Fantasy Adventure that will keep you up throughout the night.
(no, really. O.O)
Bren is a tortured man after witnessing his father’s -and then his brother’s painful deaths. He knows the curse is going to take him next, but he will do anything to save Laonia. Even kill a woman that bears the goddesses mark. He knows his duty and will fulfill whatever he needs to do. But underneath all that, there is a man crying out for help who actually HAS a heart. And there just might be one person that can help him. Too bad he has to kill her.
Lusielle was orphaned at the age of 16 and then married a horrible man. He beat her and did other unimaginable things to her. Even after all that, she keeps her head up and back straight. She is full of strength and proves it time and time again. She cares deeply for anyone injured and helps to ease their suffering- with her gift as a remedy healer.
Hato is a grumpy old man- but loyal to a fault. He has also like Bren in the fact he watched his friend’s downfall. He does everything he can to help Bren who is Laonia’s only hope and the last of his line.
Severo: I had my doubts about him, but I came to like he just like the other characters. He and Lusielle had some funny moments together as well as some terrifying ones. He is defiantly a guy that you want on your side.
5 STARS
Quotes:
“We’re not going down!” Bren shouted. “Do you hear? Heave! Come on, my pretty girls. What are you? Afraid of breaking your nails? Heave!”
~Bren
“When she dresses like that—”
Elfu growled. “Don’t stare at my mistress’ bosom!”
“I’m not!” Severo flushed.
“I’ll beat you up—”
~Severo and Elfu talking about Lusielle
Bren waited, pondering the strange turn his life had taken. Either he was a desperate man or he was becoming increasingly creepy. Both, he decided, smirking in the dark.
~Bren
This book was a doozy, coming in at about 500 pages!!! I thought I wasn’t going to like some of it, but I loved every page. I’m finding it hard to express my thoughts, though. There is just so much to say. I’ve read other books with curses incorporated into the story, but never with anything quite like this book. I felt the doom in the air and I swear it was like watching a movie unfold. The emotions were very real and frightening as the characters stood to face the curse. The book is told in 4 different POVs, so that we know what is going on away from the main characters. Those characters are Hato, Severo, Bren and Lusielle. I usually shy away from books with that many POV because things can become confusing. In The Curse Giver, however, I didn’t find myself confused- I just wanted MORE. The adventure (if that’s what you want to call it) was more like them running for their lives and it was exhilarating and I never knew what to expect- that my favorite part. I know I said there is so much to say, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Just know that the world building is brilliant and the characters were well developed. Aside from that, get ready for the ride of a life time.
Overall: An Epic Fantasy Adventure that will keep you up throughout the night.
(no, really. O.O)
Bren is a tortured man after witnessing his father’s -and then his brother’s painful deaths. He knows the curse is going to take him next, but he will do anything to save Laonia. Even kill a woman that bears the goddesses mark. He knows his duty and will fulfill whatever he needs to do. But underneath all that, there is a man crying out for help who actually HAS a heart. And there just might be one person that can help him. Too bad he has to kill her.
Lusielle was orphaned at the age of 16 and then married a horrible man. He beat her and did other unimaginable things to her. Even after all that, she keeps her head up and back straight. She is full of strength and proves it time and time again. She cares deeply for anyone injured and helps to ease their suffering- with her gift as a remedy healer.
Hato is a grumpy old man- but loyal to a fault. He has also like Bren in the fact he watched his friend’s downfall. He does everything he can to help Bren who is Laonia’s only hope and the last of his line.
Severo: I had my doubts about him, but I came to like he just like the other characters. He and Lusielle had some funny moments together as well as some terrifying ones. He is defiantly a guy that you want on your side.
5 STARS
Quotes:
“We’re not going down!” Bren shouted. “Do you hear? Heave! Come on, my pretty girls. What are you? Afraid of breaking your nails? Heave!”
~Bren
“When she dresses like that—”
Elfu growled. “Don’t stare at my mistress’ bosom!”
“I’m not!” Severo flushed.
“I’ll beat you up—”
~Severo and Elfu talking about Lusielle
Bren waited, pondering the strange turn his life had taken. Either he was a desperate man or he was becoming increasingly creepy. Both, he decided, smirking in the dark.
~Bren
July 13, 2022
The Curse Giver
Copyright © 2013 Dora Machado
2013? Really?
1) This was a reread for me, I originally gave the book five stars and no review. After realizing I couldn't remember anything but a single scene - I was curious.
2) We begin with a slithery curse giver who can't rhyme but fancies herself a poet. This scene was not gripping but was only a prologue so whatever. 💁🏼♀️
3) Enter Lusielle - her plight spoke to me, the torment, the fear, the betrayal... I was hooked and pulled under by this poor girl's pain and her amazing resilience.
4) We were introduced to the world's belief system, prejudices and lack of justice in the first chapter alone. The pacing felt right, the character gripping, and the world was deliciously dark.
5) Until I got to chapter two and had to sit through some guy named Severo's point of view. 😑 But I kept going because... meh.
6) We finally meet Bren who is supposed to be the shadow to Lusielle's light, honestly though, I found him a little drab. 😮💨
7) I enjoyed Lusielle's chapters, she was brilliantly written, clever and unbreakable. Literally, the woman just could not snap under pressure, she is amazing.
8) The style of writing suited the setting, with the exception of some dialog which had a modern flare that ripped me out of the story from time to time.
9) The descriptions of herbal remedies and decoctions were a bit too detailed. Occasionally I felt as though I were reading a recipe book, but this quirk gave The Curse Giver the bitter flavor of an old epic fantasy written before publishing standards were changed.
10) I could have done without most of Hato's chapters and really didn't begin to enjoy the tale until after the half-way point.
11) The romance didn't feel believable to me, Bren and Lusielle had almost no chemistry at all and I really disliked the ending.
*spoiler ahead*
🙈
🙉
🙊
*last warning*
⚠️
⚠️
⚠️
Why was the world so fantastical and the ending so practical for the time period? Lusielle telling Bren that he should marry his betrothed (who was already married to her guard/wife) and give her his tile and power while Lusielle simply lived with Bren as a lowly shop owner was horrifically underwhelming. The fact that Bren was still cursed and they "shared the poison" (through his sperm or something... what?! 🤦🏼♀️) was not satisfactory in my eyes. The confusing conversation about Bren's duty to Laonia made it sound like he was a rapist whose "seed" killed the women he raped. (Um... is that for real?!) Then there was the fact that the Murderous curse giver who caused countless years of anguish for hundreds of victims was portrayed as a cute, sweet little water sprite who would eventually come around and be part of this big happy, family of "just friends." (Um nope... kill it.)
Idk guys... that ending fell flat to me. If it could be reworked, I would've liked the book better. It was flawed but intriguing, mysterious yet fun, dark but hopeful. It had lots of vile bad guys and crazy twists, but as a romance it just didn't feel convincing.
I recommend it for readers who enjoy books with a lot of detail. The world building is interesting, the character development was deeper than it first seemed and the peril was over the top!
Don't overlook this hidden gem, but also don't expect it to be high on romance. The cover is deceiving. 🤭
Copyright © 2013 Dora Machado
2013? Really?
1) This was a reread for me, I originally gave the book five stars and no review. After realizing I couldn't remember anything but a single scene - I was curious.
2) We begin with a slithery curse giver who can't rhyme but fancies herself a poet. This scene was not gripping but was only a prologue so whatever. 💁🏼♀️
3) Enter Lusielle - her plight spoke to me, the torment, the fear, the betrayal... I was hooked and pulled under by this poor girl's pain and her amazing resilience.
4) We were introduced to the world's belief system, prejudices and lack of justice in the first chapter alone. The pacing felt right, the character gripping, and the world was deliciously dark.
5) Until I got to chapter two and had to sit through some guy named Severo's point of view. 😑 But I kept going because... meh.
6) We finally meet Bren who is supposed to be the shadow to Lusielle's light, honestly though, I found him a little drab. 😮💨
7) I enjoyed Lusielle's chapters, she was brilliantly written, clever and unbreakable. Literally, the woman just could not snap under pressure, she is amazing.
8) The style of writing suited the setting, with the exception of some dialog which had a modern flare that ripped me out of the story from time to time.
9) The descriptions of herbal remedies and decoctions were a bit too detailed. Occasionally I felt as though I were reading a recipe book, but this quirk gave The Curse Giver the bitter flavor of an old epic fantasy written before publishing standards were changed.
10) I could have done without most of Hato's chapters and really didn't begin to enjoy the tale until after the half-way point.
11) The romance didn't feel believable to me, Bren and Lusielle had almost no chemistry at all and I really disliked the ending.
*spoiler ahead*
🙈
🙉
🙊
*last warning*
⚠️
⚠️
⚠️
Why was the world so fantastical and the ending so practical for the time period? Lusielle telling Bren that he should marry his betrothed (who was already married to her guard/wife) and give her his tile and power while Lusielle simply lived with Bren as a lowly shop owner was horrifically underwhelming. The fact that Bren was still cursed and they "shared the poison" (through his sperm or something... what?! 🤦🏼♀️) was not satisfactory in my eyes. The confusing conversation about Bren's duty to Laonia made it sound like he was a rapist whose "seed" killed the women he raped. (Um... is that for real?!) Then there was the fact that the Murderous curse giver who caused countless years of anguish for hundreds of victims was portrayed as a cute, sweet little water sprite who would eventually come around and be part of this big happy, family of "just friends." (Um nope... kill it.)
Idk guys... that ending fell flat to me. If it could be reworked, I would've liked the book better. It was flawed but intriguing, mysterious yet fun, dark but hopeful. It had lots of vile bad guys and crazy twists, but as a romance it just didn't feel convincing.
I recommend it for readers who enjoy books with a lot of detail. The world building is interesting, the character development was deeper than it first seemed and the peril was over the top!
Don't overlook this hidden gem, but also don't expect it to be high on romance. The cover is deceiving. 🤭
July 17, 2015
I'm torn with this book. While I was very well engaged and I absolutely respect the authors ability to hide her clues so we well (and often in plain sight where I found myself later holding my head in my hands wondering how I missed it). I felt that she threw her book away. The more I think on it, the more I find and the more disappointed I become.
I had four majors problems with this book: two were word choice and two were Deus Ex Machina. To the first...It's really sad to me to have a carefully constructed world fall apart with the intrusion of the real and actual world. To begin with, you know when someone discovers a word they really like and you hear them shoe-horning the word into as much of the conversation as possible? It seems to stick out like a sore thumb and they make it worse by not using it elegantly enough to feel like it belongs? Yea, Dora Machado loves the word "practicable". It's already an awkward word and to use it more than once, let alone the number of times she actually does. Also, "boyfriend"? Seriously, you're going to throw that anachronism into a world that isn't that informal? WOW, was the author replaced with a 13 year old girl?
Which brings me to my other issues with the book. There were lots of rich threads in this book that deserved better treatment, instead we're told about important facts as if we always should have always known. Like, Oh! By the way. Certain threads like Lusielle's parents back-story, the lands beyond the wilds, the Neverus, the curse giver herself. These tragic threads could have could have added a lovely, vivid depth to the story, instead it's thrown about like an act of Deus Ex Machina.
By far the worst instance of this was the final solution, friendship?!?!? That was an insult, again I was forced to ask myself what happened to the writer? Did her 13 year old niece get a hold of the final draft and make changes? Did she write herself into a corner and see no other solution? The tragic God figure of the curse giver was reduced to an immature brat who spies on people and pines for love? Are you kidding me?
Overall the story was great, the lack of craft and ridiculous ideas pulled out of nowhere forces me to think better of the author. Am I glad I read it? Yes, but I don't think I'll be searching out anything else the author has written.
I had four majors problems with this book: two were word choice and two were Deus Ex Machina. To the first...It's really sad to me to have a carefully constructed world fall apart with the intrusion of the real and actual world. To begin with, you know when someone discovers a word they really like and you hear them shoe-horning the word into as much of the conversation as possible? It seems to stick out like a sore thumb and they make it worse by not using it elegantly enough to feel like it belongs? Yea, Dora Machado loves the word "practicable". It's already an awkward word and to use it more than once, let alone the number of times she actually does. Also, "boyfriend"? Seriously, you're going to throw that anachronism into a world that isn't that informal? WOW, was the author replaced with a 13 year old girl?
Which brings me to my other issues with the book. There were lots of rich threads in this book that deserved better treatment, instead we're told about important facts as if we always should have always known. Like, Oh! By the way. Certain threads like Lusielle's parents back-story, the lands beyond the wilds, the Neverus, the curse giver herself. These tragic threads could have could have added a lovely, vivid depth to the story, instead it's thrown about like an act of Deus Ex Machina.
By far the worst instance of this was the final solution, friendship?!?!? That was an insult, again I was forced to ask myself what happened to the writer? Did her 13 year old niece get a hold of the final draft and make changes? Did she write herself into a corner and see no other solution? The tragic God figure of the curse giver was reduced to an immature brat who spies on people and pines for love? Are you kidding me?
Overall the story was great, the lack of craft and ridiculous ideas pulled out of nowhere forces me to think better of the author. Am I glad I read it? Yes, but I don't think I'll be searching out anything else the author has written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2016
A pretty good high fantasy novel if you're not too picky. The cover is a bit misleading and implies erotica more than fantasy. There's romance but no explicit sex scenes. As a whole the story was very enjoyable with a rich world and well developed main characters. The side characters however were somewhat flat and dull at moments. The storyline dragged at times mainly because no one was willing to explain what the hell is going on to Lusielle and that was annoying me to no end. Sure there was a good reason for all that secrecy but it still frustrated me more than once while reading. Another thing that at first I didn't notice but once I read a couple of reviews I noticed too was the mixing of archaic and modern English. It bothered some of the readers but I don't really mind. So if you like retellings of Beauty and the Beast or variations on the theme I recommend it for you.
August 11, 2013
This novel is extremely well written. Machado has an intricately crafted plot and a world for it to take place in. This world is one that you find yourself completely immersed in. The similes and metaphors that Machado sprinkles throughout the novel create the illusion that you’re living this journey right alongside the characters. It is also a captivating and fast paced novel that doesn’t rely on death and destruction to propel you forward. I was quickly caught up in the plot and found myself hoping against hope that the ending I was anticipating wasn’t the ending that I was expecting. With all of the twist and turns, Machado definitely kept me guessing and hoping throughout.
In a stroke of sheer brilliance Machado manages to give all sides of this amazing story without falling prey to the tactic of literally switching perspective back and forth between characters. She employs many much more subtle techniques to show you what is happening on all fronts. It really moves the story along and keeps you intrigued.
Machado creates an entirely new structure of deities for her characters to worship and fall prey to. They, their relationships to one another and to humans is all clearly laid out for the readers. She does so without having you feel like she’s inserting excerpts from a bible or a history into the story. Everything, even mythology lessons, are worked right into the body of the story.
The cast that is set forth in this novel is well developed and intriguing. I got to know them so well that I was anticipating their every move. I also found myself identifying with the heroine and falling in love with the unlikely hero right alongside her. I quite appreciated the atypical nature of the characters’ personalities while still remaining completely human. The supporting cast was also very well developed and were individuals that you’d like to meet and have on your side.
Overall, this was a brilliantly atypical fantasy novel that I enjoyed throughout. Anyone who enjoys a bit of fantasy should pick it up.
Please note that I received this novel free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.
In a stroke of sheer brilliance Machado manages to give all sides of this amazing story without falling prey to the tactic of literally switching perspective back and forth between characters. She employs many much more subtle techniques to show you what is happening on all fronts. It really moves the story along and keeps you intrigued.
Machado creates an entirely new structure of deities for her characters to worship and fall prey to. They, their relationships to one another and to humans is all clearly laid out for the readers. She does so without having you feel like she’s inserting excerpts from a bible or a history into the story. Everything, even mythology lessons, are worked right into the body of the story.
The cast that is set forth in this novel is well developed and intriguing. I got to know them so well that I was anticipating their every move. I also found myself identifying with the heroine and falling in love with the unlikely hero right alongside her. I quite appreciated the atypical nature of the characters’ personalities while still remaining completely human. The supporting cast was also very well developed and were individuals that you’d like to meet and have on your side.
Overall, this was a brilliantly atypical fantasy novel that I enjoyed throughout. Anyone who enjoys a bit of fantasy should pick it up.
Please note that I received this novel free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2018
I liked it! It's actually quite a hidden gem in the Fantasy genre. There are too much politics and almost no character plot but the romance was subtle and there were even some good moments.
August 17, 2013
I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book . . . and how much sleep deprivation I endured as a result. I warn you now, this may be my lengthiest review yet!
The first thing you need to know about The Curse Giver is that Machado will keep you guessing. She is a genius at providing tantalizing hints. I always try to figure things out when I’m reading a novel. If I discern the ending before the author reveals it, then I feel pretty darn smug – although nipping at the heels of that comes a slight disappointment that the author hadn’t been more cryptic. I never have that issue with Machado’s novels. Similar to her Stonewiser series, she continually surprised and delighted me as she revealed more and more about the characters and the world of this story. (Btw, if you have not read her Stonewiser series, then you must, I repeat MUST, read them!)
Machado also continues her streak in being a murderous tease when it comes to crafting the romance between her two leading characters – Bren & Lucielle. She excels at writing relationships! Again, if you’ve read the Stonewiser series, then prepare for more of that hot, juicy, enthralling romance in The Curse Giver.
Another talent I’ve noticed is Machado’s formidable skill in writing competent, self-sufficient, relatable female characters. Lucielle’s character evolves from a docile, subservient girl into a strong, willful, and extraordinary woman. She sheds the emotional shackles of her terrible past and, refusing to be beholden to anyone ever again, becomes the master of her own destiny. It doesn’t take long before her wit and stubbornness aid in diffusing the tumultuous wall around the Lord of Laonia. What am I getting at? Well, to put it bluntly, Lucielle constantly busts Bren’s balls leaving him gape-mouthed like a suffocating fish out of water! And. It. Is. Hysterical!
Bren. Oh dear Bren. What to say about him? What is it in me that loves an angst-ridden male? Well, aside from being cursed and thereby tortured and haunted by the heinous acts he has committed in his efforts to break the curse, and his volatile mood swings, he has brief, shining moments when he shows his hopeless romantic, could-she-ever-truly-love-me, side. He’s just my kind of complicated, messed-up, dude-in-distress yumminess!
Other characters I really loved were (just to name a few): Severo (a brash and quirky member of Bren’s Twenty that I liked instantly), Hato (who took awhile to grow on me, but redeemed himself later on), Khalia (who completely surprised me), and Elfu & Carfu (the little monkey men I found curious but obstinantely loyal and therefore likeable). A myriad of additional characters go hand in hand with an abundance of intrigue. I couldn’t figure out who supported who and who was going to double cross who next.
And of course, true to form, the world Machado has created is beautiful and dangerous. The Dismal Bog for example is home to a gruesome tree-like creatures whose tentacles snatch unsuspecting prey and trap them beneath the surface where it drains the victim’s life. The Dismal Bog also gives passage to Golden Monarchs – beautiful butterflies who fly in a place of vile darkness and, when startled, escape in a puff of golden dust. Whereas, the city of Teos, where the Chosen and lords of the land meet to pay tribute, boasts stunning architecture, gorgeous shrines, and more.
Now, time to talk about Machado’s magic system. Obviously, as one could deduce from the title of the novel, there is the magic of the curse that was set upon the Lord of Laonia. There are also gods and goddesses, including those who fell from grace. The Chosen have their own nifty power over the airs. However, the one that was most striking was the power Lucielle wielded. Machado takes a simple thing like mixing herbs and remedies and turns it into a system so complex that it has to be magic to work! For me, this – Lucielle’s gift of creating remedies – above all else was the crème de la crème of The Curse Giver.
I hope Machado isn’t finished with the characters of The Curse Giver . . . for while Bren & Lucielle’s tale could extend into a sequel, the final pages allude to designs on another legend – a being who becomes cursed at the end – and that is a tale of which we perceive only at its infancy.
***I received a free copy of The Curse Giver from Dora Machado in exchange for an honest review.***
The first thing you need to know about The Curse Giver is that Machado will keep you guessing. She is a genius at providing tantalizing hints. I always try to figure things out when I’m reading a novel. If I discern the ending before the author reveals it, then I feel pretty darn smug – although nipping at the heels of that comes a slight disappointment that the author hadn’t been more cryptic. I never have that issue with Machado’s novels. Similar to her Stonewiser series, she continually surprised and delighted me as she revealed more and more about the characters and the world of this story. (Btw, if you have not read her Stonewiser series, then you must, I repeat MUST, read them!)
Machado also continues her streak in being a murderous tease when it comes to crafting the romance between her two leading characters – Bren & Lucielle. She excels at writing relationships! Again, if you’ve read the Stonewiser series, then prepare for more of that hot, juicy, enthralling romance in The Curse Giver.
Another talent I’ve noticed is Machado’s formidable skill in writing competent, self-sufficient, relatable female characters. Lucielle’s character evolves from a docile, subservient girl into a strong, willful, and extraordinary woman. She sheds the emotional shackles of her terrible past and, refusing to be beholden to anyone ever again, becomes the master of her own destiny. It doesn’t take long before her wit and stubbornness aid in diffusing the tumultuous wall around the Lord of Laonia. What am I getting at? Well, to put it bluntly, Lucielle constantly busts Bren’s balls leaving him gape-mouthed like a suffocating fish out of water! And. It. Is. Hysterical!
Bren. Oh dear Bren. What to say about him? What is it in me that loves an angst-ridden male? Well, aside from being cursed and thereby tortured and haunted by the heinous acts he has committed in his efforts to break the curse, and his volatile mood swings, he has brief, shining moments when he shows his hopeless romantic, could-she-ever-truly-love-me, side. He’s just my kind of complicated, messed-up, dude-in-distress yumminess!
Other characters I really loved were (just to name a few): Severo (a brash and quirky member of Bren’s Twenty that I liked instantly), Hato (who took awhile to grow on me, but redeemed himself later on), Khalia (who completely surprised me), and Elfu & Carfu (the little monkey men I found curious but obstinantely loyal and therefore likeable). A myriad of additional characters go hand in hand with an abundance of intrigue. I couldn’t figure out who supported who and who was going to double cross who next.
And of course, true to form, the world Machado has created is beautiful and dangerous. The Dismal Bog for example is home to a gruesome tree-like creatures whose tentacles snatch unsuspecting prey and trap them beneath the surface where it drains the victim’s life. The Dismal Bog also gives passage to Golden Monarchs – beautiful butterflies who fly in a place of vile darkness and, when startled, escape in a puff of golden dust. Whereas, the city of Teos, where the Chosen and lords of the land meet to pay tribute, boasts stunning architecture, gorgeous shrines, and more.
Now, time to talk about Machado’s magic system. Obviously, as one could deduce from the title of the novel, there is the magic of the curse that was set upon the Lord of Laonia. There are also gods and goddesses, including those who fell from grace. The Chosen have their own nifty power over the airs. However, the one that was most striking was the power Lucielle wielded. Machado takes a simple thing like mixing herbs and remedies and turns it into a system so complex that it has to be magic to work! For me, this – Lucielle’s gift of creating remedies – above all else was the crème de la crème of The Curse Giver.
I hope Machado isn’t finished with the characters of The Curse Giver . . . for while Bren & Lucielle’s tale could extend into a sequel, the final pages allude to designs on another legend – a being who becomes cursed at the end – and that is a tale of which we perceive only at its infancy.
***I received a free copy of The Curse Giver from Dora Machado in exchange for an honest review.***
October 18, 2014
I really enjoyed the story, but multiple (unnecessary) character POVs made this book drag on- I had to push through to finish this one.
Also, the conversational and other use of "'cause" in lieu of "because": I swear every character used it at least twice. 'Cause I got tired of it real quick. 'Cause not everyone should use 'cause instead of because. To make the story a little more sensible, 'cause should have been used by a select group (perhaps the Twenty?) and it would have been excusable (or understandable) that they would all have the same turn of phrase (due to being with each other, a dialect maybe).
17 noted instances of 'cause when I started noting them.
Another thing that bugged me, that may not bug anyone else: the use of analogies in speech (luckily, this was only used by the heroine). Remember those things you learned in grade school and had to fill out (or at least I did?):
_____ is to _____ as _____ is to _____?
"Fast is to slow what the measure is to the whole." (from 56% of the kindle edition)
I have never met anyone who speaks like that, save my fourth grade teacher telling us how to decode analogies and make our own.
"The rest happened very quickly." (4% of kindle edition)
Show me the things happening very quickly- I can probably notice the speed of what's happening. Short sentences make things go quickly.
"Several things happened at once." (95% of kindle edition)
Don't tell me several things happened at once and then list them, show me several things happening at once.
Overall, this book had an interesting story, but once my inner editor starts noticing the above things, it becomes difficult for me to enjoy the remainder of the book.
Also, the conversational and other use of "'cause" in lieu of "because": I swear every character used it at least twice. 'Cause I got tired of it real quick. 'Cause not everyone should use 'cause instead of because. To make the story a little more sensible, 'cause should have been used by a select group (perhaps the Twenty?) and it would have been excusable (or understandable) that they would all have the same turn of phrase (due to being with each other, a dialect maybe).
17 noted instances of 'cause when I started noting them.
Another thing that bugged me, that may not bug anyone else: the use of analogies in speech (luckily, this was only used by the heroine). Remember those things you learned in grade school and had to fill out (or at least I did?):
_____ is to _____ as _____ is to _____?
"Fast is to slow what the measure is to the whole." (from 56% of the kindle edition)
I have never met anyone who speaks like that, save my fourth grade teacher telling us how to decode analogies and make our own.
"The rest happened very quickly." (4% of kindle edition)
Show me the things happening very quickly- I can probably notice the speed of what's happening. Short sentences make things go quickly.
"Several things happened at once." (95% of kindle edition)
Don't tell me several things happened at once and then list them, show me several things happening at once.
Overall, this book had an interesting story, but once my inner editor starts noticing the above things, it becomes difficult for me to enjoy the remainder of the book.
November 24, 2014
Creative storyline but does have some really slow parts
This was definitely a unique read and I appreciate that. It had an exciting plot but at times it just seemed to be too much. I found myself losing interest a couple of times but I'm glad I stuck it out.
This was definitely a unique read and I appreciate that. It had an exciting plot but at times it just seemed to be too much. I found myself losing interest a couple of times but I'm glad I stuck it out.
September 25, 2013
It’s been a while since I’ve read any real fantasy. I mean, yes, I’m slowly working my way through George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, but that world is reasonably similar to our own medieval history, with only a few ‘fantastic’ elements. I was in the mood for escapist reading this summer, however, so when the nice folks and Pump Up Your Book offered me the chance to read an epic fantasy novel, I jumped at the chance.
The problem with epic fantasy is that very often the fictional world feels as flat as a movie set, with no real depth or history. Dora Machado’s The Curse Giver, on the other hand, plunges us into a world so rich, and so well constructed, it feels almost as if we could step sideways into it. One of the early sections, particularly, when Lousielle and Bren are crossing the bog, had me squirming as much as if I was actually there with them avoiding creepy crawlies.
Her main characters are three dimensional, and Lousielle especially, was so smart and spunky that I wanted to be her best friend. Herb lore is something I’ve always been quietly interested in (witness the collection of herbals in my Word Lounge), so her affinity for plants and potions really drew me in.
Likewise, while Bren could have been Generic Quasi-medieval Noble #17, Machado made him complex and interesting (and gave him a great body, which we appreciate vicariously through Lousielle).
The other characters, good and evil alike, were, similarly, sketched with fine lines, not the broad strokes of generic fantasy.
I’ve read that Ms. Machado is bilingual, having grown up in the Dominican Republic, and I think some of the charm of The Curse Giver comes from her – probably unconscious – Spanish-influenced rhythms. It’s nothing you could point your finger to and say, “Look, that’s not typical English phrasing,” but a quiet undercurrent that makes the writing really SING.
(I am not bilingual, but I grew up in a New Jersey Neapolitan family where an Italian-English hybrid was the norm. As well, I’m a natural mimic, and my parents retired to Baja Sur, Mexico, about a decade ago, so those Latin-tinged rhythms are familiar to me.)
Overall, I thought The Curse Giver was a delicious read, and it’s compelled me to seek out more of Machado’s work. I think it’s an especially good choice for women who like epic fantasy, but have gotten out of the habit of reading it.
Goes well with… a mug of steaming chai and sharp cheddar melted on toasted rustic wheat bread.
The problem with epic fantasy is that very often the fictional world feels as flat as a movie set, with no real depth or history. Dora Machado’s The Curse Giver, on the other hand, plunges us into a world so rich, and so well constructed, it feels almost as if we could step sideways into it. One of the early sections, particularly, when Lousielle and Bren are crossing the bog, had me squirming as much as if I was actually there with them avoiding creepy crawlies.
Her main characters are three dimensional, and Lousielle especially, was so smart and spunky that I wanted to be her best friend. Herb lore is something I’ve always been quietly interested in (witness the collection of herbals in my Word Lounge), so her affinity for plants and potions really drew me in.
Likewise, while Bren could have been Generic Quasi-medieval Noble #17, Machado made him complex and interesting (and gave him a great body, which we appreciate vicariously through Lousielle).
The other characters, good and evil alike, were, similarly, sketched with fine lines, not the broad strokes of generic fantasy.
I’ve read that Ms. Machado is bilingual, having grown up in the Dominican Republic, and I think some of the charm of The Curse Giver comes from her – probably unconscious – Spanish-influenced rhythms. It’s nothing you could point your finger to and say, “Look, that’s not typical English phrasing,” but a quiet undercurrent that makes the writing really SING.
(I am not bilingual, but I grew up in a New Jersey Neapolitan family where an Italian-English hybrid was the norm. As well, I’m a natural mimic, and my parents retired to Baja Sur, Mexico, about a decade ago, so those Latin-tinged rhythms are familiar to me.)
Overall, I thought The Curse Giver was a delicious read, and it’s compelled me to seek out more of Machado’s work. I think it’s an especially good choice for women who like epic fantasy, but have gotten out of the habit of reading it.
Goes well with… a mug of steaming chai and sharp cheddar melted on toasted rustic wheat bread.
October 29, 2014
This was a fairly enjoyable novel marred by some uneven pacing. There were some things I really wanted to know more about (for most of the novel I wanted to know what the hell the trials and birthmark were about) and there were other things that I thought were pretty trivial and yet went on for pages and pages.
Apart from the pacing and some oddly missing words here and there I found this a pretty okay read. It had some interesting ideas and I generally liked the characters. I think that I could recommend this to others, but I don't think it's worth clearing your schedule for.
Apart from the pacing and some oddly missing words here and there I found this a pretty okay read. It had some interesting ideas and I generally liked the characters. I think that I could recommend this to others, but I don't think it's worth clearing your schedule for.
June 28, 2014
I didn't like the multiple POVs and the constant switching especially in the beginning of the book. It got better later on though. I feel like I wanted to like this book more than I actually did since fantasy with strong romance elements is probably my favorite book genre. It did suck me into the story eventually but it took a while for me to get there. This review is a bit all over the place. Basically despite some flaws I enjoyed the book and would read more by the author.
May 24, 2015
Interesting storyline but at times I did feel like I was in over my head. The author doesn't so much guide you through the story as cannon ball it at you. Overall the emotional impact of the book was obscured by my desperate pedalling for air. There's a lot of interesting things in here but the storyline ignores the mundane but relevant storyline for the wildly unbelievable but fantastical one. There are a lot of clever twists and turns and I did like the adventure storyline component but the main female protagonist is a bit bland. The male protagonist and his band of merry men are also completely two dimensional. The moral struggles and dilemma they face is presented apathetically, even parts of the storyline needing to be emotionally charged were weak because the character disappeared and was replaced by a more disengaged narrative voice.
The story itself was good - adventure, it had minor villains, big villains and supernatural villains. It did however feel rushed in places and we, as the reader, do lack several key points of information about the world itself. While this doesn't blind side us - it does sometimes make the reader feel like they've got a book of biblical messages conveyed in a cryptic formatting. Regardless of it's flaws it was still interesting to read. The only thing is that I feel like this is part of a greater story, there are many more stories that the world set up in this book as to tell. The most important is 'what will happen to the kingdoms now?' and 'what of the odd ones?'.
With a little more care, love and explanation - this could be an interesting and vibrant world for story telling. It will be interesting if the author decides to take up that mantle (core). What I would suggest? Spend more time with the characters in your head. Don't force actions onto them for the sake of the story. Let the characters write the story and it will be much more interesting. Secondly, the world and story exists inside your head. You need to put it on the paper otherwise the reader feels like they're just being hit again and again by convenient excuses and lazy writing. Don't keep the reader out of the loop, make sure they can understand how things work too.
The story itself was good - adventure, it had minor villains, big villains and supernatural villains. It did however feel rushed in places and we, as the reader, do lack several key points of information about the world itself. While this doesn't blind side us - it does sometimes make the reader feel like they've got a book of biblical messages conveyed in a cryptic formatting. Regardless of it's flaws it was still interesting to read. The only thing is that I feel like this is part of a greater story, there are many more stories that the world set up in this book as to tell. The most important is 'what will happen to the kingdoms now?' and 'what of the odd ones?'.
With a little more care, love and explanation - this could be an interesting and vibrant world for story telling. It will be interesting if the author decides to take up that mantle (core). What I would suggest? Spend more time with the characters in your head. Don't force actions onto them for the sake of the story. Let the characters write the story and it will be much more interesting. Secondly, the world and story exists inside your head. You need to put it on the paper otherwise the reader feels like they're just being hit again and again by convenient excuses and lazy writing. Don't keep the reader out of the loop, make sure they can understand how things work too.
September 21, 2013
Lusielle is sentenced to die unjustly. Yet, when she is saved by a mystery man, her troubles are only just beginning. Lord Brennus is fighting for his people and living under the dire predictions of an evil curse. One that suggests he destroy those with the mark. A mark Lusielle has.
But as he tries to discover answers, his affection for Lusielle grows. A strong woman, Lusielle is beyond what Bren ever expected. Their journey leads to a change in fate--Lusielle will fight to save Bren from his curse. But first she has to uncover the secrets of her past. Can they beat the odds and break the curse?
An epic fantasy, thrilling from page one. It's an edge-of-your-seat ride to an unknown conclusion. Both Bren and Lusielle are strong characters that keep the reader engaged, because both refuse to simply bow down and give in. Every time I thought I had figured out what would happen, the story veered off in an exciting new direction.
My only complaint is that the details unraveled so slowly. I wanted, no needed, to know and understand the curse and the role both Bren and Lusielle played. Although there was a gratifying payoff, I had a few moments of frustration trying to get there. Still, I never felt bored or disinterested, just impatient (the book is 510 pages). And huge props to the author for her vivid imagination, and her ability to convey that through her words. I'd love to see this book brought to life on the big screen.
And a note: all too often the epilogue wraps things up in a cheesy way, but this one left me wanting more and completely intrigued. Another book, perhaps?
I highly recommend The Curse Giver to readers who love fantasy, adventure, and captivating characters. Oh, and there's romance to boot.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed; the opinions expressed are my own.
But as he tries to discover answers, his affection for Lusielle grows. A strong woman, Lusielle is beyond what Bren ever expected. Their journey leads to a change in fate--Lusielle will fight to save Bren from his curse. But first she has to uncover the secrets of her past. Can they beat the odds and break the curse?
An epic fantasy, thrilling from page one. It's an edge-of-your-seat ride to an unknown conclusion. Both Bren and Lusielle are strong characters that keep the reader engaged, because both refuse to simply bow down and give in. Every time I thought I had figured out what would happen, the story veered off in an exciting new direction.
My only complaint is that the details unraveled so slowly. I wanted, no needed, to know and understand the curse and the role both Bren and Lusielle played. Although there was a gratifying payoff, I had a few moments of frustration trying to get there. Still, I never felt bored or disinterested, just impatient (the book is 510 pages). And huge props to the author for her vivid imagination, and her ability to convey that through her words. I'd love to see this book brought to life on the big screen.
And a note: all too often the epilogue wraps things up in a cheesy way, but this one left me wanting more and completely intrigued. Another book, perhaps?
I highly recommend The Curse Giver to readers who love fantasy, adventure, and captivating characters. Oh, and there's romance to boot.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed; the opinions expressed are my own.
July 24, 2013
Intrigue, romance and adventure await you in Dora Machado’s latest fast-paced, plot-twisting fantasy, The Curse Giver, just released by Twilight Times Books.
The story begins with our innocent healer heroine, Lusielle, as she is about to be burned on the pyre after she’s sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit. But just as the flames are about to engulf her, a mysterious stranger on a horse storms through the crowd and rescues her.
Brennus, Lord of Laonia, is tormented by the curse that has destroyed his people. To undo it, he must kill Lusielle in the most vicious of ways, for she is the one who bears the mysterious birthmark.
However, destiny plays a trick on them. Now together, amidst a world teetering on the brink of war, predator and prey grow too close for their own good. Passion flares as in a twist of fate, together, they try to defeat the terrifying curse and destroy the Curse Giver…
Lovers of dark romantic fantasy will relish The Curse Giver. This was a wonderfully entertaining, absorbing read. The stakes are high, the conflict compelling, and the sympathetic hero and heroine will make you fall in love with them. But the best thing about the novel is the writing itself. Lyric at times, Machado’s prose flows beautifully throughout the pages, bringing to life her fictional world in full, vivid detail.
The Curse Giver is a memorable adventure for fans of fantasy and one I can certainly recommend.
The story begins with our innocent healer heroine, Lusielle, as she is about to be burned on the pyre after she’s sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit. But just as the flames are about to engulf her, a mysterious stranger on a horse storms through the crowd and rescues her.
Brennus, Lord of Laonia, is tormented by the curse that has destroyed his people. To undo it, he must kill Lusielle in the most vicious of ways, for she is the one who bears the mysterious birthmark.
However, destiny plays a trick on them. Now together, amidst a world teetering on the brink of war, predator and prey grow too close for their own good. Passion flares as in a twist of fate, together, they try to defeat the terrifying curse and destroy the Curse Giver…
Lovers of dark romantic fantasy will relish The Curse Giver. This was a wonderfully entertaining, absorbing read. The stakes are high, the conflict compelling, and the sympathetic hero and heroine will make you fall in love with them. But the best thing about the novel is the writing itself. Lyric at times, Machado’s prose flows beautifully throughout the pages, bringing to life her fictional world in full, vivid detail.
The Curse Giver is a memorable adventure for fans of fantasy and one I can certainly recommend.
November 4, 2013
It’s been a while since I’ve read any real fantasy.Machado creates an entirely new structure of deities for her characters to worship and fall prey to. The Curse Giver is a magnificent story that carries the reader into a world of curses, myths, gods and goddesses, and magic. I am not normally a fan of Fantasy. I like them with watching usually. this is because there are so many point of views, so many characters that you have to keep track of, it just is confusing.The realism and attention to detail is beyond anything I have every read. There is a whole new religion full of god and goddesses that is explained, and again I usually run screaming…but it was not to much or boring. I actually enjoyed a lot of aspects of their religion.
This book is not short, and despite what you want to do, you cannot read it in one night. I mean you could try, but 500 pages is a lot. Even with the length you just do not want to put this book down!
Overall, this was a brilliantly atypical fantasy novel that I enjoyed throughout. Anyone who enjoys a bit of fantasy should pick it up.
December 5, 2014
just can't seem to figure out the flow of this book. The author mixes a classic high fantasy setting with modern language and switches between several different POVs almost every chapter which ends up being a bit confusing to read. There also seems to be a lot of unnecessary and distracting detail. I'm interested in the premise, but not the delivery. Maybe I'll come back it later, but it's a DNF for now.
****Update***
Ended up forcing myself to finish this. Really shouldn't have. I didn't think it was possible, but it just got worse and worse. The mismatch between language and setting became more pronounced as the book went on. The best example I can think of is to imagine the characters and setting of Lord of the Rings, but with the dialogue from Clueless (the Alicia Sylverstone movie). The resolution for the curse was also trite and absolutely ridiculous. I feel like an idiot for not following my instincts and DNFing.
****Update***
Ended up forcing myself to finish this. Really shouldn't have. I didn't think it was possible, but it just got worse and worse. The mismatch between language and setting became more pronounced as the book went on. The best example I can think of is to imagine the characters and setting of Lord of the Rings, but with the dialogue from Clueless (the Alicia Sylverstone movie). The resolution for the curse was also trite and absolutely ridiculous. I feel like an idiot for not following my instincts and DNFing.
December 28, 2018
I haven't read anything in quite some time and this is the book I finally picked up. I have to say that, while there were inconsistencies and things that annoyed me about the writing overall I did enjoy this book. I agree with the the comments/ reviews that mention the word "'cause" and the use of "boyfriend"???! And the fact that there seems to be poor connections or poor timing in revealing some of the facts throughout the story. Other than that I loved Bren and I loved Lusielle .... I should also mention that I wish the sex had been more 😜
July 24, 2015
3.5 *
Annyi kencét, tinktúrát és főzetet kavart a hősnő a történet alatt, hogy az összes királyságot kigyógyíthatta volna, én pedig annyit értettem egy mondatból, hogy valamit összekevert valamivel. Ami igazán zavart, hogy a hősök állandóan az ellenség kezére kerültek, hol ez árulta el őket, hol az, hol csak nem volt szerencséjük, de egy idő után már idegesítő volt ez az állandó küszködés.
Annyi kencét, tinktúrát és főzetet kavart a hősnő a történet alatt, hogy az összes királyságot kigyógyíthatta volna, én pedig annyit értettem egy mondatból, hogy valamit összekevert valamivel. Ami igazán zavart, hogy a hősök állandóan az ellenség kezére kerültek, hol ez árulta el őket, hol az, hol csak nem volt szerencséjük, de egy idő után már idegesítő volt ez az állandó küszködés.
August 4, 2016
Starts out strong, then falters a third of the way and slogs haphazardly to the end. The Curse Giver's interesting storyline and world building is hampered by too many characters with frequent and repetitive expositions.
I really liked Lucielle the heroine but disappointingly turns into a Mary Sue. This book needed a good editor before it was published.
I really liked Lucielle the heroine but disappointingly turns into a Mary Sue. This book needed a good editor before it was published.
July 20, 2013
Machado once again shows why she consistently wins national awards. The Curse Giver is a well thought out, believable fantasy set in a fantastic world that has been intricately developed. If you are looking for an out of the ordinary fantasy that will keep you up all night - this is it!
May 19, 2016
Definitely going with 3 stars because the way of speaking fluctuated from medieval to modern and didn't stay true to the time period. But if you can overlook that, it was a great read! My first book in a while that wasn't part of a series, I definitely enjoyed it!
Want to read
September 12, 2016Recommended by Cristina. Good reviews. Sounds like a dark high fantasy with romance.
October 24, 2015
DNF at 77%. Bored with the story and annoyed with the heroine so much I can't really be bothered to finish it.
June 16, 2022
TLDR:
•Repetitive word choices and a slightly confusing ending hold back 5 stars.
•This is not a fluff romance in a fantasy setting.
•Extensive world building make for a continuously moving Epic Fantasy with Romance.
I bought this audio years ago but somehow never actually started listening because of the length; that is sad. Overall the quality of the narration was good. Melissa Reizian Frank uses a number of different voices to differentiate between characters. Her male voices are obviously male, her female voices female. If there is anything to nitpick it is that occasionally the cadence of the sentences feels wrong, as though she cuts a sentence in half and more than once I thought a sentence had one meaning before it continued and inferred something different.
As for the story itself, it is long but all epic-style tales generally end up being long. Dora Machado does an interesting job of splitting the narrative among five characters. The novel is bookended with a prologue and epilogue told by The Curse Giver. The main story bounces between Lusielle, Brennus, Harlow, Severow (unsure if that's how his name is spelled). Each scene moves the story along with none giving a retelling of a scene from other eyes.
The plotting was continuously well paced in my opinion. Some epic "journey" novels get stuck on details and or have side characters and plots that aren't very important but this one was very pared down. Each character and event leads to the next in a helpful way and each development happens in a different scenery so it doesn't get stale. I also personally loved the detail to world building. I'm sure some would roll their eyes at the amount if detail going in to some of the politics and religious beliefs but I found it grouded the book in a way that allowed the suspension of disbelief to take root.
Now what held it back from being perfect? Honestly a major factor was repetitive word choice. The same word or phrase would be used continuously one sentence after another. At one point I laughed out loud and had my husband listen to a small part of narration where Dora Machado wrote "he said", "she said" after each short snippet of dialog four times in a row. It essentially sounded like this example:
"I am going to say something," Harlow said.
"I am also going to say something," Neera said.
"But I don't want to be left out," Lusielle said.
"Fine, say what you want and let's go," Harlow said.
I am honestly not exaggerating in that example. The book could be almost 5 stars with just a decent editor to help fix repetitive word choices.
The final little bit to help push it over to a full 5 stars would need to be a little more expansion into explaining the ending. It was very... odd. Without giving anything away, the curse isn't exactly ended but suffice it to say Brennus does not die. The Curse Giver is outwitted in a strange way that opened up a loose end which then ALSO had to be quickly tied up. Overall I was left confused on exactly WHY Brennus would no longer die due to the curse.
The ending after the curse though, where Brennus and Lusielle speak of whether they would marry, I liked that part a lot. I felt it opened up room for interesting side stories that could come from the world that was built and dealing with all the characters involved. We got a small glimpse of the group's dynamic going forward in the epilogue but I personally would have been happy if it had continued for three or four "epilogues" showing the years passing. I doesn't NEED it for the story overall, but it's something that would have been nice to have seen.
•Repetitive word choices and a slightly confusing ending hold back 5 stars.
•This is not a fluff romance in a fantasy setting.
•Extensive world building make for a continuously moving Epic Fantasy with Romance.
I bought this audio years ago but somehow never actually started listening because of the length; that is sad. Overall the quality of the narration was good. Melissa Reizian Frank uses a number of different voices to differentiate between characters. Her male voices are obviously male, her female voices female. If there is anything to nitpick it is that occasionally the cadence of the sentences feels wrong, as though she cuts a sentence in half and more than once I thought a sentence had one meaning before it continued and inferred something different.
As for the story itself, it is long but all epic-style tales generally end up being long. Dora Machado does an interesting job of splitting the narrative among five characters. The novel is bookended with a prologue and epilogue told by The Curse Giver. The main story bounces between Lusielle, Brennus, Harlow, Severow (unsure if that's how his name is spelled). Each scene moves the story along with none giving a retelling of a scene from other eyes.
The plotting was continuously well paced in my opinion. Some epic "journey" novels get stuck on details and or have side characters and plots that aren't very important but this one was very pared down. Each character and event leads to the next in a helpful way and each development happens in a different scenery so it doesn't get stale. I also personally loved the detail to world building. I'm sure some would roll their eyes at the amount if detail going in to some of the politics and religious beliefs but I found it grouded the book in a way that allowed the suspension of disbelief to take root.
Now what held it back from being perfect? Honestly a major factor was repetitive word choice. The same word or phrase would be used continuously one sentence after another. At one point I laughed out loud and had my husband listen to a small part of narration where Dora Machado wrote "he said", "she said" after each short snippet of dialog four times in a row. It essentially sounded like this example:
"I am going to say something," Harlow said.
"I am also going to say something," Neera said.
"But I don't want to be left out," Lusielle said.
"Fine, say what you want and let's go," Harlow said.
I am honestly not exaggerating in that example. The book could be almost 5 stars with just a decent editor to help fix repetitive word choices.
The final little bit to help push it over to a full 5 stars would need to be a little more expansion into explaining the ending. It was very... odd. Without giving anything away, the curse isn't exactly ended but suffice it to say Brennus does not die. The Curse Giver is outwitted in a strange way that opened up a loose end which then ALSO had to be quickly tied up. Overall I was left confused on exactly WHY Brennus would no longer die due to the curse.
The ending after the curse though, where Brennus and Lusielle speak of whether they would marry, I liked that part a lot. I felt it opened up room for interesting side stories that could come from the world that was built and dealing with all the characters involved. We got a small glimpse of the group's dynamic going forward in the epilogue but I personally would have been happy if it had continued for three or four "epilogues" showing the years passing. I doesn't NEED it for the story overall, but it's something that would have been nice to have seen.
January 10, 2018
I've struggled to put my thoughts about this book into words.
I think Machado had some truly interesting and intriguing ideas for this book, which could have been the basis for an amazingly epic story. But COULD is the key word here. Because this book fell short of the epicness that it could have had.
At the beginning, I was hooked on Lusielle's and Brennus' story. They both promised to be complex characters; both witty, funny, and independent and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Their interactions were certainly entertaining. But already at the beginning, there was too much missing to make sense of this story. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Lusielle just accepts that Brennus will kill her at some point, without any explanation and after just one failed attempt to flee she's just okay with it all. I was frustrated beyond means, but at least the action kept the plot moving at a nice pace and I still found myself in the middle of an interesting story, so I let it slide.
But, probably around halftime, there is a drastic change. It suddenly felt like a different author had taken over the story. We go from interesting action plots centered around Brennus and Lusielle to boring and inconsequential stuff about politics and rites...
The problem with this was that the reader, in my opinion, still did not have enough information to make sense of anything. Machado's attempts to give both Brennus and Lusielle a more complex backstory backfired because without understanding any motives at all, I didn't really care about any potential complicating past. I really just wanted to know what the hell kind of curse it is and why Lusielle supposedly stops it by being killed. Simple as that. But I never really received a satisfying answer. Instead, the only thing which kept this story moving - Brennus and Lusielle - were separated and for probably about 200 pages Machado dives into one subplot after another which add no value to the main story and completely take away focus from what's important. On top of that, the language became increasingly childish and ridiculous and I found myself skipping through the rest of this book with dwindling interest.
So, all in all, I can't say the book was bad. But I believe some more editing would have been necessary here to cut out unnecessary and boring subplots and have a concise and logical motive. Because at the end, I had lost so much interest in this story, that I'm honestly still not quite sure WHAT the curse was and HOW it was stopped. I think with all this setting up of a curse which wipes out an entire family, the entire book should actually focus on that, instead of losing itself in boring political discussions and shining a focus on two-dimensional side characters instead of solving the mystery of the main characters.
I think Machado had some truly interesting and intriguing ideas for this book, which could have been the basis for an amazingly epic story. But COULD is the key word here. Because this book fell short of the epicness that it could have had.
At the beginning, I was hooked on Lusielle's and Brennus' story. They both promised to be complex characters; both witty, funny, and independent and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Their interactions were certainly entertaining. But already at the beginning, there was too much missing to make sense of this story. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Lusielle just accepts that Brennus will kill her at some point, without any explanation and after just one failed attempt to flee she's just okay with it all. I was frustrated beyond means, but at least the action kept the plot moving at a nice pace and I still found myself in the middle of an interesting story, so I let it slide.
But, probably around halftime, there is a drastic change. It suddenly felt like a different author had taken over the story. We go from interesting action plots centered around Brennus and Lusielle to boring and inconsequential stuff about politics and rites...
The problem with this was that the reader, in my opinion, still did not have enough information to make sense of anything. Machado's attempts to give both Brennus and Lusielle a more complex backstory backfired because without understanding any motives at all, I didn't really care about any potential complicating past. I really just wanted to know what the hell kind of curse it is and why Lusielle supposedly stops it by being killed. Simple as that. But I never really received a satisfying answer. Instead, the only thing which kept this story moving - Brennus and Lusielle - were separated and for probably about 200 pages Machado dives into one subplot after another which add no value to the main story and completely take away focus from what's important. On top of that, the language became increasingly childish and ridiculous and I found myself skipping through the rest of this book with dwindling interest.
So, all in all, I can't say the book was bad. But I believe some more editing would have been necessary here to cut out unnecessary and boring subplots and have a concise and logical motive. Because at the end, I had lost so much interest in this story, that I'm honestly still not quite sure WHAT the curse was and HOW it was stopped. I think with all this setting up of a curse which wipes out an entire family, the entire book should actually focus on that, instead of losing itself in boring political discussions and shining a focus on two-dimensional side characters instead of solving the mystery of the main characters.
October 11, 2013
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Curse Giver is an action-packed epic fantasy with intriguing characters and fantastic world building!
Lusielle has been falsely accused (by her husband!) of practicing the odd arts. Just before she is burned at the stake, she is rescued by a mysterious highborn stranger. However, she discovers that her life may be in just as much danger as it was before - this stranger is supposed to kill her because of the mark on her back, though no one will tell her why. So, why did he rescue her in the first place and why does she find herself trusting him even when he won't deny that he plans to kill her himself?
Lord Brennus of Laonia is cursed. The only way to stop this curse from destroying his homeland is to find and kill the woman with the mark. But when he finds her, he discovers that killing her is not so simple - and first he must save her from the evil forces that would like nothing more than for the curse to be realized.
Lusielle and Bren's situation is impossible - unless they can break the curse.
The negatives:
Took time to draw me in.
The only real complaint that I have about this book is that for some reason I wasn't completely engaged in the beginning. Honestly, I wasn't truly drawn in until I got to about 35% on my Kindle. I especially found myself frustrated when the POV switched to either Hato or Severo, two of Bren's men. I just wasn't invested enough in these characters to want to see the world through their eyes in the beginning of the book (that did change by the time I got to the second half). That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book - I just found it a bit slower reading that I would have liked and I wasn't always 100% engaged (there were definitely times that I was). Once the book hit about 35%, though, I was hooked. By this point, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next!
Mysteries of the curse are unfolded very slowly.
This is actually directly related to my first point. I was very intrigued by the curse (and its devastating results) and definitely interested in its details. But it felt like bits of information about the curse were few and far between at first. And most of what you're given isn't really understandable until almost the very end of the book. And then, toward the end of the book, it feels like all of this information is being given to you all at once - it was almost overwhelming. Of course, I wouldn't have wanted everything to be given away early on, but I would have appreciated some more understandable pieces to the puzzle throughout so that I would have felt like I was discovering more and more about the curse (and its reasons and results) as the book went on. This is really just a personal preference, though, and might not bother other people at all!
What I LOVED:
The world building.
I thought that Machado did an excellent job of creating a fantasy world that felt real and was captivating. There were so many amazing fantasy elements that added to the story - the curse giver, an inhaler of airs (a person who uses inhaled scents and forces them into someone else's lungs to divine truth), the dismal bog, the odd arts, yearlings (tiny water-dwelling creatures that will eat you from the inside out!)... I could go on and on. I was especially intrigued by Lusielle's potion-making - Machado gives us an amazing amount of detail about the ingredients and what they tasted and smelled like, their texture, their different uses, etc. One of my favorite scenes of the book was when she extracted a giant parasite from a horse with a dangerously foul-smelling concoction (and had to stave off an attack from the creature!). The description of the poultice and Lusielle's process for making it was so vivid that I felt like I could practically smell the horrid stuff!
Lusielle.
Lusielle is an amazingly strong and intelligent heroine. She doesn't give up, no matter what the odds are against her (and the odds against her are often very high). Not only that, but she inspires others to be better - nobler, stronger. By the end of the book, there isn't a single character who hasn't been won over by her (well, with the exception of one or two "villains") and I could certainly see why. Her sense of pride, her strength and her selflessness are pretty much amazing. And yet, she somehow doesn't come off as a too-perfect character who can do no wrong - she fears, and her weakness comes out when she's faced with her husband (not that she lets that weakness win, but the fact that it's there makes her a more well-rounded character).
Bren.
Just like Lusielle, Bren shows incredible strength of character. But he is tortured by guilt and pain because of what he feels forced to do by the curse. He believes himself to be a horrible man - unredeemable - but with Lusielle he somehow starts to see the possibility of redemption. His character is incredibly complex (as are his motives for his actions), which adds an incredible richness to the story!
The action.
There is a LOT of action in this book - Lusielle and Bren are being hunted. Add to that the natural dangers that exist in the world that they live in, and Lusielle and Bren's lives are pretty much in constant danger. This makes for a lot of heart-stopping, hold-on-to-your-seat action sequences!
The Curse Giver is a wonderful example of high fantasy, written with heart and intelligence. While this story is definitely complete, the epilogue hints at a possible story for future installments? I'm intrigued and will be watching to see if Machado graces us with another book in the series! 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
The Curse Giver is an action-packed epic fantasy with intriguing characters and fantastic world building!
Lusielle has been falsely accused (by her husband!) of practicing the odd arts. Just before she is burned at the stake, she is rescued by a mysterious highborn stranger. However, she discovers that her life may be in just as much danger as it was before - this stranger is supposed to kill her because of the mark on her back, though no one will tell her why. So, why did he rescue her in the first place and why does she find herself trusting him even when he won't deny that he plans to kill her himself?
Lord Brennus of Laonia is cursed. The only way to stop this curse from destroying his homeland is to find and kill the woman with the mark. But when he finds her, he discovers that killing her is not so simple - and first he must save her from the evil forces that would like nothing more than for the curse to be realized.
Lusielle and Bren's situation is impossible - unless they can break the curse.
The negatives:
Took time to draw me in.
The only real complaint that I have about this book is that for some reason I wasn't completely engaged in the beginning. Honestly, I wasn't truly drawn in until I got to about 35% on my Kindle. I especially found myself frustrated when the POV switched to either Hato or Severo, two of Bren's men. I just wasn't invested enough in these characters to want to see the world through their eyes in the beginning of the book (that did change by the time I got to the second half). That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book - I just found it a bit slower reading that I would have liked and I wasn't always 100% engaged (there were definitely times that I was). Once the book hit about 35%, though, I was hooked. By this point, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next!
Mysteries of the curse are unfolded very slowly.
This is actually directly related to my first point. I was very intrigued by the curse (and its devastating results) and definitely interested in its details. But it felt like bits of information about the curse were few and far between at first. And most of what you're given isn't really understandable until almost the very end of the book. And then, toward the end of the book, it feels like all of this information is being given to you all at once - it was almost overwhelming. Of course, I wouldn't have wanted everything to be given away early on, but I would have appreciated some more understandable pieces to the puzzle throughout so that I would have felt like I was discovering more and more about the curse (and its reasons and results) as the book went on. This is really just a personal preference, though, and might not bother other people at all!
What I LOVED:
The world building.
I thought that Machado did an excellent job of creating a fantasy world that felt real and was captivating. There were so many amazing fantasy elements that added to the story - the curse giver, an inhaler of airs (a person who uses inhaled scents and forces them into someone else's lungs to divine truth), the dismal bog, the odd arts, yearlings (tiny water-dwelling creatures that will eat you from the inside out!)... I could go on and on. I was especially intrigued by Lusielle's potion-making - Machado gives us an amazing amount of detail about the ingredients and what they tasted and smelled like, their texture, their different uses, etc. One of my favorite scenes of the book was when she extracted a giant parasite from a horse with a dangerously foul-smelling concoction (and had to stave off an attack from the creature!). The description of the poultice and Lusielle's process for making it was so vivid that I felt like I could practically smell the horrid stuff!
Lusielle.
Lusielle is an amazingly strong and intelligent heroine. She doesn't give up, no matter what the odds are against her (and the odds against her are often very high). Not only that, but she inspires others to be better - nobler, stronger. By the end of the book, there isn't a single character who hasn't been won over by her (well, with the exception of one or two "villains") and I could certainly see why. Her sense of pride, her strength and her selflessness are pretty much amazing. And yet, she somehow doesn't come off as a too-perfect character who can do no wrong - she fears, and her weakness comes out when she's faced with her husband (not that she lets that weakness win, but the fact that it's there makes her a more well-rounded character).
Bren.
Just like Lusielle, Bren shows incredible strength of character. But he is tortured by guilt and pain because of what he feels forced to do by the curse. He believes himself to be a horrible man - unredeemable - but with Lusielle he somehow starts to see the possibility of redemption. His character is incredibly complex (as are his motives for his actions), which adds an incredible richness to the story!
The action.
There is a LOT of action in this book - Lusielle and Bren are being hunted. Add to that the natural dangers that exist in the world that they live in, and Lusielle and Bren's lives are pretty much in constant danger. This makes for a lot of heart-stopping, hold-on-to-your-seat action sequences!
The Curse Giver is a wonderful example of high fantasy, written with heart and intelligence. While this story is definitely complete, the epilogue hints at a possible story for future installments? I'm intrigued and will be watching to see if Machado graces us with another book in the series! 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
Displaying 1 - 29 of 142 reviews