Ahoy there mateys! I believe this was me fifth YA fantasy by this author.  I love her ideas and writing style even if I don't always enjoy the full plots.  In this one, curses are real and twisted.  How the curses work and the society built around them were the best part.  I have such a fondness for this novel's world building.  The story follows friends, Kellen and Nettle.  Nettle and her siblings were cursed into being birds by an evil step-mother.  Kellen has a unique ability to unravel curses but usually he has unintended consequences.  After Kellen helped Nettle, she follows him around while he attempts to help others.  Kellen is a little hard to like at times.  I loved Nettle.  There is also an awesome and scary Marsh horse with an equally unsettling rider.  I enjoyed many of the side characters.  The biggest problem I had was with some of the side plots and the ending in general.  I just didn't want the cursers to end up the way they did.  Glad I read it though and will be reading more of the author's work in the future. Arrrr!