Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe: Book Review

Our Cursed Love is the latest release from Julie Abe. Released December 12, 2023, by Wednesday Books, Our Cursed Love is a Young Adult romance novel about fate and how our choices can alter our path. Remy is in love with Cam, her best friend, and has been all her life. Yet she’s never told him this. What could go wrong with a stop at a magical tea shop for a fortune telling? 

I want to thank Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Our Cursed Love. All opinions presented here are my own.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Six days to remember.
Love or lose him forever.

Remy Kobata has always wished she was destined to be with her best friend, Cam Yasuda. All the way from being neighbors from birth to mixing up magical prank potions together to their “just friends” homecoming date during their senior year in high school, nothing’s a secret between Remy and Cam―except for how much she is in love with him.

Remy is trying to work up the courage to confess her feelings during their winter break trip to Japan, when she gets selected for a mystical tea leaves reading and it reveals that they’re not meant to be together. After they stumble upon a secret magical apothecary in the back alleys of Tokyo, Remy and Cam are offered an ancient soulmate elixir, created before all love potions were banned by the magical government. They each have their reasons for wanting to take it, but what could go wrong with finding your soulmate a little earlier?

Except, after they drink up, their senior year trip flips into the worst vacation Cam has forgotten who Remy is. If she can’t help Cam remember her by midnight New Year’s Eve, they’ll both be cursed to forget each other. To unravel their past and rewrite the future, Remy and Cam must travel through Tokyo to rediscover Cam’s memories and make new ones―and maybe even fall in love all over again.

My Opinions

Our Curse Love is an excellent look at what happens if we always worry about what the future holds instead of living in the here and now, as no one knows what the future holds. Remy has known Cam her entire life; they were born on the same day in the same hospital, only a few doors apart. She has loved him just as long. As they’ve gotten older, Remy has struggled with her feelings for Cam because she’s afraid to lose him as her best friend if he doesn’t feel the same towards her. Looking for guidance and hope, Remy gets a tea leaves reading done. When she doesn’t get the answer she’s hoping for, she turns to a magical apothecary for help. What happens next is the loss of what she’s always loved. 

Like many romances, YA or adult, if Cam and Remy had told each other the truth about their feelings before their trip to Tokyo, none of this would have happened. But if characters were to be open and honest about their feelings, there wouldn’t be a book to write. Besides, how many times have you had strong feelings for someone special in your life, and you refused to tell them because you didn’t want to lose the relationship you had? Especially when you were in high school? 

I also enjoyed seeing Japan during Christmas, as the book is set December 23-January 1. Our Curse Love is a holiday read because of when the story is set. But the holidays are not the focus of the story. Nor are they a significant player in the story.

I’m unsure if I would consider this a companion to The Charmed List, which introduces readers to the characters. You could read this as a standalone, as there is minimal overlap between the two stories. In The Charmed List, you are introduced to Remy and Cam, but the focus of that story is Ellie and Jack. 

If you are looking for a quick, magical read about our choices and how they impact our lives, give Our Cursed Love a read.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.