Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger. With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
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The Curse of Time
M.J. Mallon
As soon as I started reading Mallon had captured my attention with her writing style. It was eloquent and matched the magical theme in the book so well. This continued throughout the book, although I did also have some issues with the editing in some places and the dialogue wasn’t quite up to scratch.
Throughout the books there seemed to be mistakes that an editor should have picked out, such as missing speech marks. I also found that some things were repeated in a future chapter, which for such a small book wasn’t needed. I think we were introduced to Shadow, Amelina’s cat twice. This pulled me out of the otherwise enchanting writing.
The dialogue also felt stilted in places. Mallon can write descriptions and plot well but the speech often left me wanting more. Or it left me feeling very confused. This book has been written to be in the modern day but the teenagers in this book speak more like the kids in an Enid Blyton novel.
I was however intrigued about Esme who is trapped in the mirrors of Amelina’s home. She’s clearly gone through a traumatic experience, which isn’t really talked about as she’s forced to be cryptic towards Amelina. The same goes for Shadow, you kind of want to know more about the backstory there as he reminds me a lot of Salem in Sabrina The Teenage Witch (except he doesn’t talk).
In this series magic equals mischief which is similar to many of the books I read during childhood. Amelina’s mother warns her to stay away from magic and Amelina is often on the fence about whether to ignore it or not. The nostalgic feel did make me enjoy the magic a lot more, even though there was so little shown on the page.
I also felt like the book was quite small and could have had a lot more depth. As this is a series it was a good ending to lead into the next book, but I wanted a bit more bulk to the scenes. Especially the early chapters which could have included more information and shown different relationships. We’re told that Amelina doesn’t get on with her mum, and that she has a best friend but could we have seen more interactions to prove this?
Overall I really enjoyed the book and the premise, but I did want more of it within one book. As Mallon is a debut author I was really impressed with her writing and her story to tell.
POSITIVES
+ Writing style captures attention
+ Magic = mischief
NEGATIVES
– Some stilted dialogue – especially for how teenagers talk
– Could have been longer and had more depth
– Poor editing in places
I received by The Curse of Time from the author via Neverland Book Tours. This is an unbiased and honest review.
I was also lucky enough to be able to ask M.J. Mallon some questions after I finished reading the book.
What made you want to become an author?
A black cat muse popped by one day and cast a spell on me. After his unexpected but welcome visit I wrote and wrote and wrote. I’ve never been the same since and doubt I ever will. He demanded to be included in my novel so Shadow the black cat arrived!
Can you sum up The Curse of Time in 3 words?
Unique, imaginative, magical.
What are your favourite books/authors? And did these inspire you for The Curse of Time?
I love fantasy books: authors such as Garth Nix, Victoria Schwab, Brandon Sanderson… Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was a huge inspiration particularly with regard to art coming alive.
Did you use any real life influences when writing your characters?
To a degree, yes, but I don’t think I was aware that personal real life influences had shaped the development of my characters in the way that they did. It’s shocking to realise how much of your own life experience seeps into your writing.
Did you do a lot of research for The Curse of Time? How did you go about this research?
I did a fair amount of research mainly about the Corpus Christi Clock and the properties of crystals. I engaged in background research about King Arthur and the Gods and Goddesses of Greek legends. Most of my research involved internet searches, but, I also picked up a variety of books which I thought might be helpful, a couple of which gave me ideas to incorporate in the novel. One such book was entitled Cambridge Ghosts!
The Curse of Time is inspired by the Corpus Christi Chronopage clock but there wasn’t a heavy emphasis on it in the first book. Does this become a bigger part as the series progresses?
Oh, yes, most definitely! The clock plays a bigger part in the second book and readers will get whisked away by a most intriguing fellow – the Grasshopper of The Corpus Christi Clock and get to meet the Mythological Fly There are three Chronopage clocks in total, The Corpus Christi Chronopage, with its Grasshopper, The Midsummer Chronopage with its Mythological Fly and The Dragon Chronopage. I hope to incorporate all three chronopage clocks and their creatures into the series.
As this is your debut, what was the writing process like? Did you find it fast or slow, and has this changed going into the second book?
The writing process has been slow. I’m a writing butterfly who’s easily distracted and prone to procrastination! I’ve been known to juggle various writing projects but now I’m becoming more disciplined and focussing on one writing project at a time. I’m proud to say that I’m curling my butterly wings around – the Curse of Time and working on developing Book Two.
Do you have any ideas/ongoing projects outside of The Curse of Time Series?
Yes loads!
I’ve partially written a middle grade fantasy set in Edinburgh. It’s an amusing tale about a Chinese girl and a dragon set at Chinese New Year.
I would love to explore the possibility of publishing my poetry–Tanka and haiku, and flash fiction in a collection.
Also I would love to develop my dad’s travel memoir which is set in the Far East, Pacific and Middle East.
What books are on your reading list at the moment?
I’m currently reading Sacha Black’s YA Fantasy Keepers (The Eden East #1) and a non-fiction book – In Order to Live – A North Korean’s Girls Journey to Freedom, written by Yeonmi Park. Prior to this I finished Nevernight by Jay Kristoff and absolutely loved it. I would love to read Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2.) I’m excited to read Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman, and I’m curious about How To Stop Time by Matt Haig. I’m always looking for book recommendations. I love to read widely in all genres. I really enjoyed reading two amazing thrillers by Clare Mackintosh–I Let you Go, I See you, and I’m looking forward to reading Let Me Lie.