Cursed – Christopher Nuttall

By the time a series gets to book 17, the main question a review can answer is “Is the series still worth reading?” Here the answer is ‘yes’. If you’ve enjoyed reading the series this far, keep reading. (If you have not been reading the series, and are curious, do yourself a favor and start at the first book, “Schooled in Magic”.)

The author plays fair; both “Cursed” and the preceding book are complete on their own. Emily experiences actual growth. Frieda (who has been a bad-tempered plot device too often) also exhibits growth. Most of the characters are interesting - and many of them are likeable.

What happened immediately after Cabiria gained her magic seems unmotivated. Since it’s a critical plot element (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here; I’ll just say that we find out later in this book and it’s important), that’s unfortunate.

I look forward to the next book in this series. It’s titled “Mirror Image”, so apparently there will be a “Heart’s Eye” interlude before Emily begins her apprenticeship. Every mention of Heart’s Eye in this book and earlier books has included strong hints about its mirrors, so this should not come as a surprise. Personally, I’d have preferred to jump to the apprenticeship, since the way the author thinks about his world’s magic is one of the more-engaging elements of this series. I’d also prefer to see more of the dangling plot lines resolved.