A Curse for True Love

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Hodder & Stoughton, hb, £16.99

Reviewed by Mikaela Silk

With the last year of her life vanished from her memories, Evangeline has no choice but to trust that Prince Apollo is telling her the truth that:

1. they’re married
2. he’s just come back from the dead
3. it was Lord Jacks who poisoned him

As astonishing as it all sounds, she does believe him. What concerns her is what he isn’t telling her. As much as she wants to allow herself to be swept up into this new fairy-tale life, there is a little voice in her head saying that something isn’t quite right. Could it have anything to do with the mysterious Archer who keeps rescuing her?

Despite her lack of memories, Evangeline seems more in control than she did in the previous books. No longer a puppet, she knows there is something wrong and won’t let anyone stop her from finding out the truth. Prince Apollo definitely has more control in this book, too, which showcases his true nature more than any of the previous books had the chance to. At first, I felt a lot of sympathy for the trials he had been through. Whilst his methods were questionable, he did seem to be at least attempting to do what he thought was the right thing. This made it all the more interesting to see him slowly grow into his role as the villain of the book.

 In contrast, Jacks seemed to have completely lost control. Where the previous two books were guided by his deft manipulations and cunning plans, his role in this one was of someone scrambling to keep up. There is an edge of desperation to his character that makes him seem more human and definitely encouraged me to root for him as Evangeline’s love interest.

Compared to the previous two books, this one has a lot more magic swirling around in it. As well as the usual curses we now have magic cuffs and trees, as well as potions and illusions. The stakes involved are also a lot clearer and a lot more deadly.

Overall this finale answered enough of my questions to leave me satisfied whilst at the same time maintaining a lasting mystery. There are some happy endings, and some not-so-happy endings, and some that seem a little open-ended still.