Jaime Questell

This was such a fast pace read. I really liked the characters alot and the duel POV for both emma and ben. I thought that for stand alone the world building was solid and easy to follow. I thought the story had such a big extended cast and sometimes confused names and jobs but I overly loved the setting and the various characters we met. It was a super fast pace read the kept me invested and I did not want to put the book down. I just wanted more from the characters and for me to feel more invested in them. But it was a super fun read! If you like books lithe mortal instrument series, you may like this one as well!… (more)

This was such a fast pace read. I really liked the characters alot and the duel POV for both emma and ben. I thought that for stand alone the world building was solid and easy to follow. I thought the story had such a big extended cast and sometimes confused names and jobs but I overly loved the setting and the various characters we met. It was a super fast pace read the kept me invested and I did not want to put the book down. I just wanted more from the characters and for me to feel more invested in them. But it was a super fun read! If you like books lithe mortal instrument series, you may like this one as well!… (more)

Traveling carnivals and a life balanced by good and bad, plus a beautiful cover, were all the reasons I picked up By A Charm and A Curse by Jaime Questell. Something about the transience of carnival life that is both sad and romantic absolutely piques my interest. This idea of something that is meant to bring joy and happiness and novelty to others being the complete opposite of what those involved in the making experience and that the author thought to couple that feeling with the idea of a curse and a charm being placed, absolutely made this story work. I really, really enjoyed it, and I think if I were a younger person, it would have been a quick and easy favorite.

The story starts as many YA romancey books do, young girl is miserable in a new town. People may hate on this, call it cliche, call it the Bella Swan syndrome, but honestly? Those people need to grow up and maybe develop greater insight into life in general. If you’re going to hate female protagonists for hating their town/being miserable in their town, then don’t you dare go and listen to anything pop punk because that is a genre of music made of boys hating their towns and wanting out to the point where it’s a giant meme. So yeah, let Emmaline King hate the fact that she’s a young teen and being suddenly uprooted to a new town because of her mom’s career. You’re allowed to be angry about it – having to start over during your crucial years. That said, an old friend invites her to a carnival and she sees a cute boy. One thing leads to another and boom, he’s passing a curse onto her. Not your typical teen hookup to the say the least.

What Questell does extremely well is demonstrate how mundane carnival life is. They have to unpack, repack, set up, take down, think about where to place things where they can get the most money, how to rig the games, how to pass time between shows, how insular the community can be. She takes this extraordinary setting and tones it down which showcases just how extraordinary the feats they accomplish are, how terrible the weight of the curse can be. Everything is just this beautiful balance of the good and the bad, the extraordinary and the ordinary, true love and true youth.

And with that, true love and true youth, comes my one big fault of the book that knocked it down from 4-5 stars to 3 ½. Emmaline and Ben juxtaposed with Sidney and the love of his life – “true love” versus “true youth.” Emmaline and Ben are both young and they’ve only known each other for the duration of Emmaline’s tenure with the carnival. What, a handful of months? But, they are in True Love. Not even 18 or 21 or 25 but in True Love. And while I don’t doubt that can happen, I do dislike that it’s pushed through so thoroughly. On the other hand, we have True Youth with Sidney and [spoiler]’s relationship when they were younger and that’s one I absolutely loved. Sidney and [spoiler] have the relationship that impacts so much stronger than Emmaline and Ben because it’s so bittersweet. It’s the relationship of True Youth, of being in love and being young and with all of the brash reactions and decisions youth brings. It’s a love that some can idealize to their own detriment, it’s a love that can’t truly be forgotten with hurts that go too deep thanks to the lack of controlled forethought present in still developing brains. This is the love I loved. This was the ending that stuck with me.

By A Charm and A Curse by Jaime Questell is a solid young adult book that holds true to its title in weaving together both the bitter and the sweet in every aspect. Definitely looking forward to picking up future books by the author!

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. //… (more)