#abcurse

Abcurse brothers: Who’s idiot dweller is that?

*realizes it's Willa*

      Trickery was co-written by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington and is the first installment of their new Curse of the Gods series. The storyline features one female protagonist, Willa Knight, who was selected by her village to serve the sols, higher beings, in their main city of Blesswood. Upon arriving, she has the misfortune of being assigned to tend to the Abcurse brothers, an infamous group of rabble-rousers at school in Blesswood. The five boys each possess a different gift from the gods and they are divided into two sets; the twins, Coen and Rome, have powers over pain and strength and then the triplets, Aros, Yael, and Siret, have gifts of seduction, persuasion, and trickery, respectively. They use their gifts to get each other and Willa in, and out, of all sorts of shenanigans including stealing from the gods. During their adventures Willa is struck by a god bolt which shatters her soul and sends it to pieces which then connect with the five brothers. This unexpected connection gives Willa a few secret abilities but also physically binds her to the brothers so that she cannot be more than a certain distance away from them at any given time. The supernatural connection that she has with the boys, in addition to her tenacity, vivacity, and never-say-die attitude, bring them close together and the brothers adopt her into their unusual family. Together the six of them cause trouble at school, protect their world from chaos, and above all look after each other. I honestly didn’t think that I would like this book very much before starting, the hearts on the chapter headings and the premise of a poor girl catering to five men definitely didn’t appeal to me; however, I was pleasantly surprised by the intelligence and humor in the book and ended up absolutely loving it.

      To be honest, I was initially put-off by the dynamic between Willa and the Abcurse brothers. For example, Willa works as the boys’ servant and they take advantage of her lower status and often  goad her to get her trouble, though they never let her get in too deep before bailing her out. They also tend to manhandle her, picking her up and pulling her around. I understand that the rationale behind their behavior is that she is typically too clumsy to walk on her own, but it sill seemed a little condescending and manipulative to me. There were a couple of encouraging behaviors that made up for the other negative ones. Although the brothers tend to pick on Willa and jostle her around they also take really great care of her and protect her from the negative treatment usually given those with her position. Even more importantly, despite the Abcurses strong influence over her life, Willa is still able to be a strong, independent individual. Once the boy’s get her into Topia she is the one who has the ingenuity and wherewithal to steal from the gods. And at one point when Willa is kidnaped and unable to reach the brothers for help she uses her creativity and intelligence to escape from a cell that was magically sealed. Honestly, all of the main characters are very well written and have their own strengths and personalities that make them endearing and identifiable as individuals, which is difficult in a book with so many characters, especially when five of them are brothers.

      That being said there was one other aspect of Willa’s relationship with the Abcurse brothers that did bother me more. Willa has a strong connection with all of the brothers but isn’t connected with any of them romantically. That doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t romantic or sexual moments between them. Willa kisses or is kissed by a few of the boys throughout the book and is she is naked or practically naked in several scenes. Considering the fact that one of the brothers’ power is seduction, the intermittent sexual and moments throughout the book are certainly not surprising. The frustrating part is that nothing substantial ever happened and that Willa never forms feelings for one brother over the others. It seemed like there was lot of sexual tension and nowhere for it to go, it was exhausting. By the end of the book, the boys make a pact that none of them would become romantically or sexually involved with Willa which, while respectable, did nothing to encourage me that there might be a more fulfilling romance in the future books.

      There was really only one critique that I have for the book and that would be regarding the publishing. The font was unusual and the type size was very small which made the book difficult to read, especially at night, even with wearing my contacts or glasses. I noticed that Eve and Washington are self-publishing this series which is highly commendable but I think might be affecting their choices stylistically. In addition, they are intending to list all five books this year, which is amazing and makes me so grateful as an eager reader; however the second book was supposed to be released in April but as of today, April 12th, they have still not listed a release date. I am a huge fan of self-publishing and being one’s own advocate but I am sensing that it might be causing some problems for Eve and Washington that may have been eased if they were working with a publishing house.