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The Cursed Girl #1
The Cursed Girl
Sixteen-year-old Eva is a witch who lived in Spain, in the year 1230. She met a boy named Jonathan who would become her whole world. Everything was normal until she was faced with challenges that will change her life forever.
As a healer, her job is to help people, but there are forces that will try to prevent that. There is a war coming and Eva and her friends must do everything they can to survive. Can they fight their way against the dark forces that are surrounding them?
Her wits and inner strength helped everyone who encircled her to survive but will she be able to survive herself?
Supernatural creatures, royal backstabbing and many more await you in this thrilling novel that will take your breath away.
As a healer, her job is to help people, but there are forces that will try to prevent that. There is a war coming and Eva and her friends must do everything they can to survive. Can they fight their way against the dark forces that are surrounding them?
Her wits and inner strength helped everyone who encircled her to survive but will she be able to survive herself?
Supernatural creatures, royal backstabbing and many more await you in this thrilling novel that will take your breath away.
574 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2018
3 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Maria Vermisoglou
33 books377 followersLibrarian. Reader. Author. Reviewer. Beta reader. Addicted to stripped socks and anything magical.
Maria Vermisoglou is an International Bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal with an obsession for witches. She loves throwing her heroes into impossible situations. Maria draws inspiration from books, travel, and…the ceiling. (So blame the ceiling!)
Maria started writing when the stories she read became too boring and the voices in her mind too loud.
When she's not writing, she loves a good riding on the fantasy dragon, but a book can also be exciting, along with a cup of tea.
Nowadays, you can find her in Athens, exploring the mysteries of the ancient world.
In July 2018, she was nominated as the second place winner in the First Annual Indie Awards as the Favourite New Female Author.
You can find more about her upcoming books at:
https://maraki2311.wixsite.com/creati...
"You can reach the impossible. You only have to believe it."
Maria Vermisoglou is an International Bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal with an obsession for witches. She loves throwing her heroes into impossible situations. Maria draws inspiration from books, travel, and…the ceiling. (So blame the ceiling!)
Maria started writing when the stories she read became too boring and the voices in her mind too loud.
When she's not writing, she loves a good riding on the fantasy dragon, but a book can also be exciting, along with a cup of tea.
Nowadays, you can find her in Athens, exploring the mysteries of the ancient world.
In July 2018, she was nominated as the second place winner in the First Annual Indie Awards as the Favourite New Female Author.
You can find more about her upcoming books at:
https://maraki2311.wixsite.com/creati...
"You can reach the impossible. You only have to believe it."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 13, 2018
Aaah this book!
3.5 stars ⭐️
Writing: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review- thank you to the lovely author for this! :)
So I was drawn into the book from the start- the world was beautifully written and described and I truly loved the way the author was able to create a world where it seemed real and I often had to remind myself that I was still reading the book and not actually in the world.
This book revolves around Eva, a 16-year-old witch in the year 1230. She meets Jonathan, a boy that as a reader I grew to love! However, a war begins to cause issues and the story became a rollercoaster of emotions for me.
The last chapter literally killed me- it was like someone had taken all of the emotions surrounding grief and threw them straight at me!
I’m giving this book 3 stars as although the characters were well developed, I felt like the writing needed a bit more development. Also, there was something wrong with my book format (which is not the fault of the author in any way!) so that made paragraphs split. I do want to establish that I plan to buy the book in the near future so that I can re-read it!
I would truly recommend this book- it’s the type of book that will make you cry and hold your breath throughout the entire story!
(More in depth review to hopefully come soon!)
3.5 stars ⭐️
Writing: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review- thank you to the lovely author for this! :)
So I was drawn into the book from the start- the world was beautifully written and described and I truly loved the way the author was able to create a world where it seemed real and I often had to remind myself that I was still reading the book and not actually in the world.
This book revolves around Eva, a 16-year-old witch in the year 1230. She meets Jonathan, a boy that as a reader I grew to love! However, a war begins to cause issues and the story became a rollercoaster of emotions for me.
The last chapter literally killed me- it was like someone had taken all of the emotions surrounding grief and threw them straight at me!
I’m giving this book 3 stars as although the characters were well developed, I felt like the writing needed a bit more development. Also, there was something wrong with my book format (which is not the fault of the author in any way!) so that made paragraphs split. I do want to establish that I plan to buy the book in the near future so that I can re-read it!
I would truly recommend this book- it’s the type of book that will make you cry and hold your breath throughout the entire story!
(More in depth review to hopefully come soon!)
July 24, 2018
The cursed girl by Maria Vermisoglou is a adventure/fantasy book with a witch and a prince teaming up to fight evil and try to save the world, deffinetly worth the read.I enjoyed this book it was funny and entertaining. There were some great adventures the group went on and some interesting challenges they had to face. I liked the bond between the three main charecters, the friendship, trust and reliance that was between them was nice to see. I also like the main charecter Eva she was determined, kind and added a feel kick to the story. This is a very long book so just beware of that for younger people they might find it hard to stick with, I would say It is suitable for ages 11-16. But if you are looking for a book with an interesting story to immerse yourself in then this book would be for you.
April 2, 2019
Eva has been faced with figuring how she will handle change, love and how to save herself and her friends. The Cursed Girl has it all and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what can possibly happen next. I know I'm needing more already. Maria Vermisoglou did this perfectly.
November 20, 2018
The Cursed Girl is awesome. She’s a quirky, loving and special girl and in this book we follow her on her adventures.
The characters in this book made my heart melt, the puppy love, the loyalty.. the cute and somewhat annoying ways..
world building and ways of transportation were on point, there’s no other way to say it.
I have absolutely no idea how I’d make a review that does justice for this book, it’s awesomeness definitely doesn’t shine through in my review
The characters in this book made my heart melt, the puppy love, the loyalty.. the cute and somewhat annoying ways..
world building and ways of transportation were on point, there’s no other way to say it.
I have absolutely no idea how I’d make a review that does justice for this book, it’s awesomeness definitely doesn’t shine through in my review
February 20, 2019
Review:
I received this book from the author for review.
I feel conflicted, on one hand, I was asked very kindly to review this book, but on the other, I didn't really like it.
The book has promise but needs refinement. The formatting issues aside, which is nothing wrong with the book, the file just didn't transfer well and put odd spaces between paragraphs and sentences. The characters and some of the dialog didn't really match up to 13th-century Spain.
The pacing was really slow for much of the book, and there were some redundancies that slowed things down. I also struggled to connect with the characters, some of their actions and reactions didn't seem, to me, the way people would or should react to things. But that might be more of a preference than anything else.
With some more refinement and some more editing, this could be a great book.
I received this book from the author for review.
I feel conflicted, on one hand, I was asked very kindly to review this book, but on the other, I didn't really like it.
The book has promise but needs refinement. The formatting issues aside, which is nothing wrong with the book, the file just didn't transfer well and put odd spaces between paragraphs and sentences. The characters and some of the dialog didn't really match up to 13th-century Spain.
The pacing was really slow for much of the book, and there were some redundancies that slowed things down. I also struggled to connect with the characters, some of their actions and reactions didn't seem, to me, the way people would or should react to things. But that might be more of a preference than anything else.
With some more refinement and some more editing, this could be a great book.
December 27, 2018
The cursed girl
Volume 1
Maria Vermisoglou
This was a wonderful story. Eva was a great heroine. She is a teenage witch who fights for good yet still makes a few mistakes. I loved her in this story. There was a great adventure that she partook in that she must survive.
Volume 1
Maria Vermisoglou
This was a wonderful story. Eva was a great heroine. She is a teenage witch who fights for good yet still makes a few mistakes. I loved her in this story. There was a great adventure that she partook in that she must survive.
January 17, 2019
The Cursed Girl by Maria Vermisoglou is a wonderful story to read. This is a wonderful story writen by a brand new author I never read before this story. I loved reading this story can not wait to see what the author will write next and I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about witches.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 8, 2018
This book was given to me as a free copy to read and review from a Goodreads Book Club. My review is my honest opinion about the book.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but to be honest I was a little bit disappointed with it. Like stated above I was given a free copy of the book to review that was sent to my kindle. I am not sure if something went wrong when I downloaded the book, but there was a lot of formatting issues. For example there was weird spacing in paragraphs and dialog which made it difficult for me to get into the story. Another issue that I had was with the book was the verbiage issued that did not match the century that the book was based in. A combination of these things made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story.
I liked the premise and the plot and with some work I believe that it would become a great book.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but to be honest I was a little bit disappointed with it. Like stated above I was given a free copy of the book to review that was sent to my kindle. I am not sure if something went wrong when I downloaded the book, but there was a lot of formatting issues. For example there was weird spacing in paragraphs and dialog which made it difficult for me to get into the story. Another issue that I had was with the book was the verbiage issued that did not match the century that the book was based in. A combination of these things made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story.
I liked the premise and the plot and with some work I believe that it would become a great book.
April 25, 2018
The Cursed Girl is a fantastic story, set in a well-crafted magical reality. It is a love story of a man (a prince) and a witch (appeared to be a peasant girl). Protagonist Eva lives in spain, unaware of her special power discovered her true love in the human world and almost at the sametime discovered that a strong negative force is trying to engulf the entire realm. Only the true heir of White Land (Witches' land) can save the world from NOTHING (the dark force). It is Eva's journey to find out the secrets of her own land as well as the power she possess. Eventually, she dies many times and resurrects, she sacrifices her love many times and gets it back again. The story is woven carefully with love, conspiracy, revenge, hatred and friendship.
The author has studied well, European folktales and basic history. I learned many things regarding Spain and Portugal.
I absolutely enjoyed the story. It is one of the few good stories, which has the ability of drawing readers inside. Characters are well developed, you'll love or hate them. It is a story, which can be reread many times. My most favourite character is Midnight, the sweet little kitty, reminds my own pet.
Not only the author, the editor and graphic designer have done a miracle. I love its cover photo. Its colour combination (blue shade) has added a magic.
I think it is the first part of a series and more are expected to come. It has all potentiality of being a best seller in near future.
Hope to see more such books from the author
The author has studied well, European folktales and basic history. I learned many things regarding Spain and Portugal.
I absolutely enjoyed the story. It is one of the few good stories, which has the ability of drawing readers inside. Characters are well developed, you'll love or hate them. It is a story, which can be reread many times. My most favourite character is Midnight, the sweet little kitty, reminds my own pet.
Not only the author, the editor and graphic designer have done a miracle. I love its cover photo. Its colour combination (blue shade) has added a magic.
I think it is the first part of a series and more are expected to come. It has all potentiality of being a best seller in near future.
Hope to see more such books from the author
November 11, 2018
Eva is a teenager witch who lives in Spain during the 13th century. Hiding her true identity she poses as a healer and makes friends with the future king and his cousin. War will arise and she will have to protect those she loves with all her will. People plotting to kill her friends, underground trips and a lot of fighting will be part of the story. Demons will try to harm her and she will have to prove time and time again how strong she is.
I like the main plot, I think it's quite solid and the author did a good job creating a believable world where magic is real. The characters are sweet and act according to the time they live in, you can see how they evolve and mature and how their relationships grow.
My only complaint and the most important one is the length of the book. It's too long and you start to get tired of reading. Despite the good writing and the appealing of the story, you keep turning pages and the end is nowhere near. I get that the author had a lot to tell and the characters have a lot of potentials but it still feels like too much. And when you get to the end... boom! you have to wait for the sequel!!!
*** I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
I like the main plot, I think it's quite solid and the author did a good job creating a believable world where magic is real. The characters are sweet and act according to the time they live in, you can see how they evolve and mature and how their relationships grow.
My only complaint and the most important one is the length of the book. It's too long and you start to get tired of reading. Despite the good writing and the appealing of the story, you keep turning pages and the end is nowhere near. I get that the author had a lot to tell and the characters have a lot of potentials but it still feels like too much. And when you get to the end... boom! you have to wait for the sequel!!!
*** I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
April 26, 2018
Good reading and the name itself makes the novel a top academic story.
July 14, 2019
Absolutely loved this book and the characters that are all the way through the book. The travels these characters took and the people they met along the way the way the author wrote this made you feel like you were there all the way. When you start reading this you won't want to put it seat and I know the emotional connection with these characters are amazing and I know I'm going to hope that the next book will be just as good of not better...
July 4, 2018
An intreging fairytale about a witch named Eva and her travels, love, fights and wins.
August 29, 2018
Quite an interesting take on a fantasy/adventure. This story is mixed with fantasy and a bit of realism thrown in. I enjoyed reading this and it was quite funny in places. I loved the world building in particular. A very strong heroine and an inspiration for people reading this book.
October 3, 2018
Received an arc from netgalley. This is a great paranormal book about a heroine who learns a ton about herself and her abilities. Definitely recommend it!!
January 12, 2019
If you're a fan of epic fantasy, you'll love "The Cursed Girl". A bit on the long side, but that wasn't a problem for me. Wonderfully written, with well fleshed-out characters, amazing descriptions and great world-building. I'll definitely read more of this author!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 2, 2018
The Cursed Girl packs in much to enjoy for readers of this genre, young adult and older readers alike. The story is as stirring and magical as its polished cover promises.
January 12, 2019
This was an enjoyable read with a unique setting and characters. I really enjoyed reading this as I loved the idea of supernatural creatures and everyone backstabbing themselves.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 23, 2019
This is fairy tale fantasy that turns fairy tale clichés on their heads. The female protagonist is no damsel in distress, but a witch in disguise who is happy to rescue her prince but not that interested in romance or marriage. Although set in 13th century Europe, the first-person conversational narration gives it the feel of a contemporary teen rom com with a healthy dose of girl-power wish fulfillment.
Eva is a young witch from the White Land, where witches are tasked with battling demons that threaten Earth and humans. I wanted to read some of this action, but most of the story takes place on Earth. Eva chooses to live (with her wonderful cat Midnight) among mortals at a time when it would be dangerous to reveal her powers. (It's said to be medieval Spain, but it's really "long ago and far away," a fairy-tale setting of a small village walking distance from a royal palace and a spooky forest, home to magical healing flowers. No other place seems to be more than 3 days away, no matter how they travel.) She makes a living as an herbalist and healer, later as an artist, and practices casting in secret (something else I wanted to see fleshed out. Do they ever almost get caught?) She's not interested in romance or marriage, but somehow catches the attention of Jonathan, prince and heir to the throne. She sees no future with a human who will age and die centuries before her, but their paths keep crossing and her skills keep saving the lives of him and his friend. Her insistence that she doesn't love him quickly becomes repetitious and wearing, but she is trying to maintain her independence and keep both of them out of danger. Meanwhile, she has mysteries to solve and a destiny of her own that she's not sure she wants to claim.
The book was much longer than I expected when I started reading on my Kindle. There are enough events and subplots that I could imagine them being developed into at least three books: fairy-tale prologue, action-adventure war story, quirky romance. As it is, the story is episodic, with little opportunity for tension to develop as Eva always knows what to do and how to do it and never fails at anything, ever, except understanding human relationships. She is equal parts entertaining and exasperating. Everything does eventually connect, right up to a sudden shock of an ending. The conversational narration lets in some anachronistic language that doesn't fit the setting, such as people "hanging out," and don’t expect strict historical or geographical accuracy. I’m not sure whether the fashions are period accurate, but would love to behold the various ball gowns and wedding dresses. Eva claims not to care about fashion, but she describes them beautifully. And I want her blue boots.
Eva is a young witch from the White Land, where witches are tasked with battling demons that threaten Earth and humans. I wanted to read some of this action, but most of the story takes place on Earth. Eva chooses to live (with her wonderful cat Midnight) among mortals at a time when it would be dangerous to reveal her powers. (It's said to be medieval Spain, but it's really "long ago and far away," a fairy-tale setting of a small village walking distance from a royal palace and a spooky forest, home to magical healing flowers. No other place seems to be more than 3 days away, no matter how they travel.) She makes a living as an herbalist and healer, later as an artist, and practices casting in secret (something else I wanted to see fleshed out. Do they ever almost get caught?) She's not interested in romance or marriage, but somehow catches the attention of Jonathan, prince and heir to the throne. She sees no future with a human who will age and die centuries before her, but their paths keep crossing and her skills keep saving the lives of him and his friend. Her insistence that she doesn't love him quickly becomes repetitious and wearing, but she is trying to maintain her independence and keep both of them out of danger. Meanwhile, she has mysteries to solve and a destiny of her own that she's not sure she wants to claim.
The book was much longer than I expected when I started reading on my Kindle. There are enough events and subplots that I could imagine them being developed into at least three books: fairy-tale prologue, action-adventure war story, quirky romance. As it is, the story is episodic, with little opportunity for tension to develop as Eva always knows what to do and how to do it and never fails at anything, ever, except understanding human relationships. She is equal parts entertaining and exasperating. Everything does eventually connect, right up to a sudden shock of an ending. The conversational narration lets in some anachronistic language that doesn't fit the setting, such as people "hanging out," and don’t expect strict historical or geographical accuracy. I’m not sure whether the fashions are period accurate, but would love to behold the various ball gowns and wedding dresses. Eva claims not to care about fashion, but she describes them beautifully. And I want her blue boots.
April 25, 2018
I just finished reading the book today and it left me speechless...about this book I don't know what to say! Should I say incredibly amazing or amazingly incredible? For answering my question you need to read the book... A witch tale or should I say I just felt my imaginations... Reading this book was like believing in our childhood imaginations relating to witches and fairies... by the way,the book taught me that witches can also be categorized into good and bad! So my suggestion is Don't read it but feel it too!!!
August 17, 2018
Its an enchanting read. Maria in her debut novel has persevered and succeeded in presenting a magical treat. Looking forward to reading more stories from her.
April 11, 2018
Wow I absolutely loved this book.
Eva is a witch who lives in the human world. She falls in love with a Prince who eventually becomes a king but she is a peasant.
She has to save the the king and his friend when war broke out. She saves there life's numerous times and go into hiding as Jonathan's
Uncle is wanting all the power.
Jonathan's the Prince who becomes king after the death of his , but because he is to young to become king his uncle is to take over till
He is old enough. When he is old enough and becomes king his uncle wants him dead so causes a war that's when Eva help bind him and his friend.
Alec is like a brother to Jonathan and eventually becomes king because Jonathan quite because he wants to be a peasant.
I really did enjoy this book I couldn't out it down and I can't wait for the second.
Well done Maria.
Eva is a witch who lives in the human world. She falls in love with a Prince who eventually becomes a king but she is a peasant.
She has to save the the king and his friend when war broke out. She saves there life's numerous times and go into hiding as Jonathan's
Uncle is wanting all the power.
Jonathan's the Prince who becomes king after the death of his , but because he is to young to become king his uncle is to take over till
He is old enough. When he is old enough and becomes king his uncle wants him dead so causes a war that's when Eva help bind him and his friend.
Alec is like a brother to Jonathan and eventually becomes king because Jonathan quite because he wants to be a peasant.
I really did enjoy this book I couldn't out it down and I can't wait for the second.
Well done Maria.
July 30, 2018
A long story with many ups and downs. The author does a great job of visually describing people, places, and events. I fell in love with Eva, Jonathan, and Alec is their many travels and tribulations. I loved the whit and Wimsey in the first part of the book and cried lots at the end. This was a different type of book than I normally read and it had some unique twists to the magic that made this interesting.
July 2, 2018
2.5 stars. Review will be on my blog this week
June 28, 2018
[Detailed book review is available at: http://thinkerviews.com/books/english... ]
Though, there is a lot of stuff written about magic before and after it, the Harry Potter book series has played an important role in making it popular, and there are no two thoughts on the same.
Maria Vermisoglou is a young and aspiring author from Greece who came up with a book on witches where the story is setup in Spain and time is of around World Wars. Contrary to the popular myths about witches, where they are represented as unhygienic and ugly characters who use brooms to fly; this book represents them in a different perspective.
The Plot:
Eva is a young girl who belongs to the world of witches and possess some superpowers. She lives with her mother and a cat. She has a friend in Ritta. Witches worked really hard to keep the earth safe and secure from many dark forces. They actually remain hidden from normal people, at least, in terms of their true appearance and abilities.
Eva considered the wealthy and royal people quite arrogant and ignorant towards the actual problem faces by common people. She meets Jonathan and Alexander and she immediately was on the loggerheads with Jonathan. She however developed a genuine friendship with Alexander.
There comes conspiracy for gaining power, wars after wars and the things are getting uglier. Will Eva come out from hideout and play an important role in the course of events? And, will she be able to help the mankind? Well, you should read this book to get the answers.
Views and Reviews:
The EBook is provided by the author, but it doesn't leave any influence on this review. All our reviews are unbiased and genuine as s always.
The book is a fantasy fiction and in that terms it remains true to its genre. While some readers may find the pace of the book quite slower, if you consider its target readers are kids and children, it is quite okay.
The most admiring attribute of the book is the strong, genuine and no-nonsense characters. The characters in this book grows along with the story, and the layers of their attributes are opened one by one.
The innocence in the prime characters is something you will love to red.
The author is good at writing scenes and creating a fantasy world. While one can take a remarkable amount of references for any real world scene, but for the fantasy world, one has to rely on his/her imagination. Though, this book is not a masterpiece, it certainly nailed down some of the literary attributes quite well. Also, the author's lover for nature is evident in her writing.
The young audience may find this book a little lengthy also.
Summary:
Overall, a nice book in the fantasy world which comes with some fresh and imaginative writing. A little slower in pace, this book is written primarily for children. If there is a book promotion running you should not miss it.
We would love to give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Though, there is a lot of stuff written about magic before and after it, the Harry Potter book series has played an important role in making it popular, and there are no two thoughts on the same.
Maria Vermisoglou is a young and aspiring author from Greece who came up with a book on witches where the story is setup in Spain and time is of around World Wars. Contrary to the popular myths about witches, where they are represented as unhygienic and ugly characters who use brooms to fly; this book represents them in a different perspective.
The Plot:
Eva is a young girl who belongs to the world of witches and possess some superpowers. She lives with her mother and a cat. She has a friend in Ritta. Witches worked really hard to keep the earth safe and secure from many dark forces. They actually remain hidden from normal people, at least, in terms of their true appearance and abilities.
Eva considered the wealthy and royal people quite arrogant and ignorant towards the actual problem faces by common people. She meets Jonathan and Alexander and she immediately was on the loggerheads with Jonathan. She however developed a genuine friendship with Alexander.
There comes conspiracy for gaining power, wars after wars and the things are getting uglier. Will Eva come out from hideout and play an important role in the course of events? And, will she be able to help the mankind? Well, you should read this book to get the answers.
Views and Reviews:
The EBook is provided by the author, but it doesn't leave any influence on this review. All our reviews are unbiased and genuine as s always.
The book is a fantasy fiction and in that terms it remains true to its genre. While some readers may find the pace of the book quite slower, if you consider its target readers are kids and children, it is quite okay.
The most admiring attribute of the book is the strong, genuine and no-nonsense characters. The characters in this book grows along with the story, and the layers of their attributes are opened one by one.
The innocence in the prime characters is something you will love to red.
The author is good at writing scenes and creating a fantasy world. While one can take a remarkable amount of references for any real world scene, but for the fantasy world, one has to rely on his/her imagination. Though, this book is not a masterpiece, it certainly nailed down some of the literary attributes quite well. Also, the author's lover for nature is evident in her writing.
The young audience may find this book a little lengthy also.
Summary:
Overall, a nice book in the fantasy world which comes with some fresh and imaginative writing. A little slower in pace, this book is written primarily for children. If there is a book promotion running you should not miss it.
We would love to give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
November 2, 2018
This is a story about a teenage witch that gets many things right and just a few things wrong. First, I really enjoyed the plot; it was a bit cliché with the gutsy main character falling for the prince and teaming up to take on evil, BUT it was entertaining and kept me reading for over 100k words!
All that said, I found Eva to be a great protagonist and I really admired her fire, drive, and personality. The romance was not so heavy, though I don’t think I would have minded if it had been! Fantasy romance is always something that gets me, I’m a sucker for a human/supernatural cross-over love! But Eva and Jonathan are more than starry teens in love, they are partners on equal ground which is something I really appreciated. Eva was not a damsel in distress nor was she overly enthusiastic to jump headfirst into battle. In fact, I found every character to be well balanced and helpful in carrying the story along.
Now, some of the things I didn’t like about this book: for a fantasy, the length was understandable but with the target audience being teenagers and the pace being somewhat slow, I think this book could have easily been chopped in half. OR some of the rambling on Eva’s end or random descriptions of outfits and food and everything else that does nothing to progress the story could have been cut out. As much as I enjoyed Eva as a character, I feel like reading from a first-person perspective for the entirety of this incredibly long book grew tiresome at times. This is really a matter of personal preference, however, as I tend to lean toward third-person narration when it comes to fantasy.
My last, and strongest, complaint is about the writing itself. While there were no egregious errors in terms of grammar and punctuation, I feel like the writing was not as strong as it could have been. Vermisoglou is definitely a creative artist with an interesting story to tell, but I think spending just a bit more time with other books and maybe reading more fantasy novels would help strengthen her writing to take this wonderful novel to the next level. It WAS enjoyable, but I feel it was weaker than it should have been. This is just a case where the story, the characters, and the world-building is all very excellent but the writing that brings it together is not.
In the end, despite the writing and the length, I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to readers of all ages. Anyone who loves magic, dark fantasy, and female protagonists will certainly want a copy.
All that said, I found Eva to be a great protagonist and I really admired her fire, drive, and personality. The romance was not so heavy, though I don’t think I would have minded if it had been! Fantasy romance is always something that gets me, I’m a sucker for a human/supernatural cross-over love! But Eva and Jonathan are more than starry teens in love, they are partners on equal ground which is something I really appreciated. Eva was not a damsel in distress nor was she overly enthusiastic to jump headfirst into battle. In fact, I found every character to be well balanced and helpful in carrying the story along.
Now, some of the things I didn’t like about this book: for a fantasy, the length was understandable but with the target audience being teenagers and the pace being somewhat slow, I think this book could have easily been chopped in half. OR some of the rambling on Eva’s end or random descriptions of outfits and food and everything else that does nothing to progress the story could have been cut out. As much as I enjoyed Eva as a character, I feel like reading from a first-person perspective for the entirety of this incredibly long book grew tiresome at times. This is really a matter of personal preference, however, as I tend to lean toward third-person narration when it comes to fantasy.
My last, and strongest, complaint is about the writing itself. While there were no egregious errors in terms of grammar and punctuation, I feel like the writing was not as strong as it could have been. Vermisoglou is definitely a creative artist with an interesting story to tell, but I think spending just a bit more time with other books and maybe reading more fantasy novels would help strengthen her writing to take this wonderful novel to the next level. It WAS enjoyable, but I feel it was weaker than it should have been. This is just a case where the story, the characters, and the world-building is all very excellent but the writing that brings it together is not.
In the end, despite the writing and the length, I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to readers of all ages. Anyone who loves magic, dark fantasy, and female protagonists will certainly want a copy.
February 14, 2019
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I have given The Cursed Girl by Maria Vermisoglou three out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Cursed Girl is about a sixteen year old witch called Eva, who befriends a prince, called Jonathan, and his cousin called Alec. There is a war coming and they must do everything they can to stop it from destroying their country.
Eva was a very strong character which I admired especially as she never gave up, with anything! She preservers throughout the entire book and I really liked that about her. I thought the relationship between Eva, Jonathan and Alec was strong and unbreakable, they made a great trio especially when they faced a lot of difficult challenges together. The relationship between Eva and Jonathan was cute and very slow burning at the beginning, but as the pages kept turning I found it started to become difficult to connect with them, especially as I was getting annoyed when reading over Eva's thoughts about what Jonathan kept doing or saying. Anything that he did was shunned upon by Eva and it started to become an eye-roll when reading across her italic thoughts.
I would have liked to have learnt more about White Land which is where Eva is from, as there were only snippets that you get to read over when they briefly visit White Land.
The book started becoming quite repetitive with descriptions which could have been cut down to a minimum as I felt it started to make the story long winded. The length of this book itself is a lot bigger than I expected, the author definitely had a lot of topics she wanted to cover in this book but that made scenes shorter and felt less important and hard to focus on main events which occurred as there were so many things happening throughout.
The ending of the book really threw me off as I would like to know what happens in the sequel now! Cliffhangers are great yet unbearable whether you're up-to-date with a book or TV series, nothing is worse when you want to carry on reading more about the characters and world you have learnt so much about.
I really enjoyed the author's descriptive writing used in this book and the plot concept was very enticing and thrilling, which I think a lot of people would enjoy reading.
July 1, 2018
Eva is a 17 year old witch living in Spain in the 13th century. She has decided to live in the human world rather than the witches' White Land, as she enjoys helping and healing humans. After rejecting every marriage proposal she was given, she decides to open a healing shop and continue to live with her mother and best friend/fellow witch Ritta. At the market one day Eva catches the eye of Jonathan, the young prince of Spain. He is intrigued by her and they begin a quasi friendship though she is but a peasant. She does become good friends with Alec, the prince's cousin and best friend. Soon enough war comes to Spain and it's up to Eva to help hide Jonathan and Alec from many evil forces, all the while concealing her true witch identity.
This was a nice adventure/fantasy book that I think would appeal well to young adults. Although Eva has powers, she still has to deal with a lot of the same emotion many teens deal with. I will say that her ignorance on Jonathan's feelings became quite annoying. I think the book could be shortened some, as the battles became quite repetitive and I really got tired of reading about their meals. Another issue I came across was that some elements of this book did not seem right for the time period, including some of the language, but that didn't bother me too much. Eva is a strong character, and it was fun to see her be the hero and take on lots of bad guys one on one. I was surprised at the end, as this apparently is only the beginning of Eva's story. I rated this 3.5 out of four stars.
This was a nice adventure/fantasy book that I think would appeal well to young adults. Although Eva has powers, she still has to deal with a lot of the same emotion many teens deal with. I will say that her ignorance on Jonathan's feelings became quite annoying. I think the book could be shortened some, as the battles became quite repetitive and I really got tired of reading about their meals. Another issue I came across was that some elements of this book did not seem right for the time period, including some of the language, but that didn't bother me too much. Eva is a strong character, and it was fun to see her be the hero and take on lots of bad guys one on one. I was surprised at the end, as this apparently is only the beginning of Eva's story. I rated this 3.5 out of four stars.
September 18, 2018
**Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book (Kindle) for an honest review, which follows.**
Cursed Girl is an amazing historical fantasy about a witch changing the fate of humankind as we know it. Creative, fun, and humorous, filled with a sassy protagonist and danger, Cursed Girl will fill your fantasy needs.
Eva is a healer and a witch. Running a medicine shop long before women had freedom and during the time that witches were hanged or burned at the stake, she keeps her heritage a closely guarded secret. But she must risk it all when she becomes friend with the princes of Spain, and hides them from their power-hungry uncle.
Torn between following her heart and letting herself fall in love with the heir to the throne, or following common sense for witches and denying her true feelings, witches do live hundreds of years longer than us, she wages an inner war, and an outer war at the same time.
This book was amazing, up until the end, where it was mostly just a giant epilogue separated into chapters. There was no more excitement, and the book’s main plot, which was guarding the princes, had long since been resolved in the middle of the book. The second plot was still being resolved, but it could have easily been resolved in another book, so the for the second half of it, I was pretty bored.
Cursed Girl is an amazing historical fantasy about a witch changing the fate of humankind as we know it. Creative, fun, and humorous, filled with a sassy protagonist and danger, Cursed Girl will fill your fantasy needs.
Eva is a healer and a witch. Running a medicine shop long before women had freedom and during the time that witches were hanged or burned at the stake, she keeps her heritage a closely guarded secret. But she must risk it all when she becomes friend with the princes of Spain, and hides them from their power-hungry uncle.
Torn between following her heart and letting herself fall in love with the heir to the throne, or following common sense for witches and denying her true feelings, witches do live hundreds of years longer than us, she wages an inner war, and an outer war at the same time.
This book was amazing, up until the end, where it was mostly just a giant epilogue separated into chapters. There was no more excitement, and the book’s main plot, which was guarding the princes, had long since been resolved in the middle of the book. The second plot was still being resolved, but it could have easily been resolved in another book, so the for the second half of it, I was pretty bored.
May 4, 2019
This is a story about going on an adventure only to find home; a story about witches and princes, about saving and losing, about love and loss.
Eva finds herself inundated by suitors at her home in Spain because sixteen is the age for marriage; but Eva is a witch and will outlive humans by many generations and so she chases them all away - she won't even marry a witch; simply because she wants to live her life.
Jonathan, the current prince of Spain, suddenly finds himself in the middle of court intrigue at its worst - mother and father murdered, now he must run for his life if he has any chance of saving his beloved country.
Flung together by circumstance, kept together by friendship; can these two mismatched individuals survive war and each other?
Overall, though, The Cursed Girl is an enjoyable read if you like a slow burn romance with a smattering of fantasy wrapped in war and court intrigue.
Find my full review here.
Eva finds herself inundated by suitors at her home in Spain because sixteen is the age for marriage; but Eva is a witch and will outlive humans by many generations and so she chases them all away - she won't even marry a witch; simply because she wants to live her life.
Jonathan, the current prince of Spain, suddenly finds himself in the middle of court intrigue at its worst - mother and father murdered, now he must run for his life if he has any chance of saving his beloved country.
Flung together by circumstance, kept together by friendship; can these two mismatched individuals survive war and each other?
Overall, though, The Cursed Girl is an enjoyable read if you like a slow burn romance with a smattering of fantasy wrapped in war and court intrigue.
Find my full review here.
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