Cursed Ever After
Andy C. Naranjo
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 30, 2026
About Cursed Ever After
Cursed Ever After is a dazzling romantic fantasy debut brimming with snark, humor, and banter-filled romance perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and Once Upon a Broken Heart.
Love is not for cursed girls. Risa is better off without it.
Risa Porto is a Bad Thing born on a Bad Day and cursed with Bad Luck. After years of taking the blame for every calamity, mishap, and minor inconvenience that befalls the townspeople of Barrow, she longs for escape. And on her seventeenth birthday, her wish is granted.
Sort of.
Risa owes a (very annoying) witch a favor, and it comes in the form of a quest: escort Prince Javi―the youngest, handsomest, and least significant prince―through the dark (and deadly) Bosque to his wedding. This measly errand quickly spirals into a struggle against greedy assassins, a murderous cult, a vicious tyrant―and Risa’s own curse.
Most unfortunate of all…
She is not immune to Javi’s charms and has a highly irritating urge to kiss the prince. Though, surviving the darkest corners of the Bosque is only the beginning. If Risa is to hold up her end of a witch’s bargain, she’ll need a lot more than luck on her side to untangle the web of lies threatening the kingdom. Is Risa willing to pay the price of happily ever after? What if the only person she’s meant to save is herself?
Don’t miss this action-packed, Latinx subverted fairytale!
My Review
I had so much fun reading this book. While it might be a stretch to compare the story to The Princess Bride, I absolutely see the comparison to Once Upon a Broken Heart. It’s got more humor and lightness than Once Upon a Broken Heart, but the characters carry the same sense of approaching doom throughout the story.
While some of the revelations in the story didn’t come as a surprise to me, I had a great time reading the story start to finish. The narrative is a bit playful, gently poking fun at fairytale tropes. Risa and Javi banter back and forth almost constantly, which never got old to me. I loved her pragmatic personality and his starry-eyed dreaminess.
If you’re looking for a lighthearted, engaging romp through a fantasy story world, definitely grab this book. I suspect this one will be on my list of favorites for the year.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 13 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent use of profanity.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.
Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic and cast or undo curses.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. Attempted kidnapping. One scene shows guards murdered by assassins.
Drug Content
One character is given an intoxicating substance.
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