I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I’m honestly struggling with how exactly to review this, because I loved it and yet it seems so incomparable to other books I’ve read and loved. There is just something extremely unique about this book that I can’t really explain, but it just felt very fresh.

At its core, Cursebreakers is a blend of dark academia and fantasy, with a strong focus on mental health. It takes place in a society that both covets magic and the progress it can bring, while also cowering from it. There are three main branches of power in society, one of which is focused on expanding magic, while the other two are focused on controlling it. I think a lot of this book’s uniqueness comes from this precarious balance the society seems balanced on. Magic is not outlawed or shackled entirely, but it is also far from free. Magicians are taught to fear the Vigil and witch hunters, but yet still have power of their own. It means that magicians, such as our main character Adrien, spend their lives walking a tight rope between learning about and using their magic, and being thrown in jail for it. This potential danger seems to be the driving force for most of the plot of this book, and yet it’s never actually as simple as that either. There’s always more going on than we originally think, and it leads to some interesting dilemmas as the story unfolds further and further. There are unlikely allies on all sides, and so much scheming and politicking that it makes for an extremely captivating read.

However, even though the plot was enthralling, it actually wasn’t my favorite part of the book. I found the characters, and their specific struggles, even more interesting. Adrien especially grew on me rather quickly, and I ended up really enjoying the way he saw the world and spoke with others. I also loved watching him grow as the story went on, even as he struggled with his mental health (bipolar disorder). His internal struggle and story blended extremely well with the overall plot, and I loved watching him work through his confidence and guilt about his past while trying to stop all these terrible things from happening again. His partnership with Gennady, one of the Vigil that is always supposed to be his enemy, was specifically my favorite part of this book. Their conversations (and arguments) were always so fascinating, and I enjoyed reading them go back and forth. Their personalities are also very distinct from each other, so it made for interesting scenes and conversations as the story went on as well. There was also a quality to the characters that I really only find in a few stories, like Natasha Pulley’s, though Adrien and Gennady are still very much their own people. It’s hard to explain, but it’s just a combination of depth and humanity that the characters seem to have, a feeling of realness that’s often hard to accomplish.

Overall, I thought every part of this book was extremely well-done. I was surprised this book was only actually 280 pages, as it felt like such a deeper story than that page count usually allows. Everything that was introduced is explored well, from complex family relationships and friendships to struggles with mental health. It felt like everything was handled with care as well, and finding books that manage to both introduce difficult topics and explore them sufficiently is often quite hard!

Cursebreakers is definitely worth the read, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more books by Madeleine Nakamura in the future!