“All my life, I have just wanted to feel like I belong somewhere. I think… I could belong here.”

I was lucky enough to work alongside Isabella in promoting her debut novel as part of her Curses of Lavender Street Team. However, this review remains entirely unbiased and reflects my honest opinion.

Synopsis 

Curses of Lavender is a Young Adult retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, inspired by French mythology and folklore. There are lots of differences between the original story and this one, but the biggest is that in this fairytale, the princess saves herself.

Inner Strength – Finding Your Power   

Curses of Lavender is a story about power and the journey of discovering that it lies within you. It’s the kind of story that, had it been released when I was younger, would’ve inspired me to embrace my more authentically sensitive self. It demonstrates that strength isn’t just physical; it’s about overcoming tests in your life and how being ‘sensitive’ can be a powerful thing. Tuning into your emotions, and being aware and caring toward the emotions of those around you, is its own form of strength. It asks an important question: if sensitivity is a defining part of who you are, “Why would you want to erase who you are?”

The overarching dilemma of Thicket is finding her power and overcoming the limiting beliefs she holds about herself. She is technically, as we come to learn, one of the more powerful beings in her world—but her real struggle lies in self-belief. Once she overcomes her anxiety, she comes to realise: “she was something—that she was worthy and capable and strong. And for the first time, she believed it.”  These quotes firmly highlight the overarching message of the novel: that inner strength and self-belief are what makes you truly powerful. 

Fantasy, Magic, Lore, Characters – Worldbuilding 

Isabella’s prose is beautiful and visually rich, vividly painting the world she creates. The way the magic systems are described and explained really draws the reader into the world, introducing some truly unique magic systems. As a fantasy novel, worldbuilding is incredibly important to the overall story—and as a debut novelist, I believe Isabella absolutely hit the mark with Curses of Lavender. Isabella explores familiar fantasy elements like animal companions and magic systems through the Aneuma and flame colours. These are both pretty unique aspects from other fantasy novels I have read, so it was very interesting to learn more about them, and how they had an impact on the world around Thicket. 

An example of Isabella’s lush writing comes when Thicket visits the Night Markets in Dymree: “Sunlight was replaced by firelight, and how it moved made the world glisten in a way the sun could never inspire.” Quotes like this are really illustrative of Isabella’s ability to invite the reader into a world that is loosely based on real-life locations, while making it feel fantastical yet tangible. Other locations are described in the same beautifully transportive language that Isabella employs throughout the book.

Thicket: Sensitivity is Strength 

As well as creating interesting lore and setting, Isabella’s characterisation is also incredibly strong, with all the characters feeling so life-like—despite existing in a fantasy world. The reader feels as if they’re on the journey alongside Thicket, which rings true for the kind of Young Adult fantasy novels I loved growing up. Thicket’s characterisation of anxiety and sensitivity was also really inspiring to see. As someone who exhibits similar traits myself, it was really nice to read a fantasy novel with a protagonist who represents someone closer to myself. 

As the dedication reads: “For all the girls who may not feel like confident bad asses all the time… You can still be the hero of your own story.” That representation really matters, because most female protagonists tend to fall into either the badass stereotype or the clutzy-dopey “girlie girl”—roles often steeped in sexism. Sometimes these character types can work, and sometimes there’s space for them, but other times they feel tired, and readers can’t relate to the seventeenth fantasy novel about a wisecracking assassin. Thicket proves that sensitive characters can be strong—and Isabella’s novel embraces this. 

Final Thoughts

Curses of Lavender was one of those books where I didn’t want it to end—but I needed to keep reading to find out what happened next. Ultimately, it was a comforting read, capturing that same feeling of escapism that made me fall in love with fantasy in the first place. It’s a nostalgic reminder of the child who longed to be a princess or a pirate (or both, as Elizabeth Swann demonstrated). I know that if this book had come out when I was younger, it would’ve become a hyperfixation of mine—and I would’ve shaped my personality around it.

I would’ve owned being sensitive. I would’ve been like Thicket. It’s a story about friendship, and the quiet power of having people who lift you up when you feel down—showing how, with their support, you can overcome anything. So with this, I can firmly give it the strong five stars that this debut novel deserves!

If you’d like to read more about Isabella and her work, check out the Author Interview I did with her!