Our Cursed Love Summary, Characters and Themes

Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe is a magical romance set against the vibrant backdrop of Tokyo in the last days of the year. 

The story follows Remy and Cam, two best friends on the cusp of major life changes, who must navigate lost memories, unspoken feelings, and magical curses as they count down to New Year’s Eve. Alternating perspectives reveal their inner struggles, hopes, and the fragile line between friendship and love. Through Tokyo’s enchanting streets, mysterious cafés, and shared experiences, the novel explores themes of destiny, memory, and the courage it takes to embrace one’s true heart.

Summary

As the final days of the year approach, Remy arrives in Tokyo with her closest friend, Cam. Both face personal crossroads—Remy with an important interview at Tokyo Magical University, and Cam with the uncertainty of his future after waiting on a college decision.

Yet beneath their casual friendship lies a complex emotional tension: Remy harbors deep romantic feelings for Cam, feelings she has long kept secret, fearing the risk of losing their bond.

Their journey begins on December 23, when the bustling city sets the stage for what feels like a turning point. The two reunite with family and friends, but it’s clear that something unspoken weighs heavily on both.

Cam is also battling inner demons, including strained family ties and fragments of memory erased by a mysterious magical potion. Despite his inability to recall their shared past fully, he senses an important connection with Remy.

As they explore Tokyo, the characters are introduced to a magical world hidden beneath the city’s surface. A search for the elusive Good Luck Café brings Remy a troubling fortune—she is told she has no soulmate. This revelation shakes her confidence and deepens her feeling of isolation.

Meanwhile, Cam’s encounters with Naomi, a brilliant magical alchemist, stir jealousy and insecurity in Remy, while also hinting at Cam’s own hidden feelings.

On Christmas Day, their emotional struggles come to the forefront. Remy tries to hide the truth of her fortune, but Cam senses more is wrong. Their conversations become raw and honest as Cam admits his desire to regain memories of their shared history.

Despite his gaps in memory, moments of genuine connection—like a touch or a shared laugh—bring them closer.

The following days are marked by quiet, tender moments and deliberate efforts to rebuild Cam’s past. They spend mornings walking through Tokyo’s streets, visiting magical locations, and recalling fragments of their relationship.

A trip to the Ghibli Museum and an aquarium sparks a breakthrough: a flashback to a summer camp memory filled with laughter and warmth, hinting that their bond transcends what has been lost.

Yet their efforts are not without setbacks. A trip to a lively arcade brings frustration as Cam fails to recover new memories, heightening Remy’s fear that their connection may never be fully restored.

At the same time, Remy faces her own practical challenges—a crucial university interview she may have to miss due to financial constraints. Cam’s reassurance offers hope, but also underscores the sacrifices they both face.

As New Year’s Eve draws near, the group spends a joyful day together, yet the weight of unspoken emotions lingers. Remy prioritizes Cam’s healing over her own dreams, reflecting her deep commitment and selflessness.

Finally, on the last day of the year, the pair experience moments of magic and memory that push them closer than ever before. A surprise concert triggers vivid recollections for Cam, and under Tokyo’s snowy lights, he openly confesses his love for Remy, recognizing her as his true soulmate despite the curses they believe haunt them.

Their confession culminates in a passionate kiss that promises a new beginning. The journey through Tokyo, memories, and magic has led them to embrace both their past and the uncertain future, united by a love that endures beyond forgotten moments and magical obstacles.

Characters

Remy Kobata

Remy is portrayed as a deeply sensitive and emotionally complex young woman, whose inner world is marked by a mixture of hope, anxiety, and vulnerability. From the beginning of the story, she carries a quiet but intense love for Cam, her best friend, which she struggles to confess out of fear of rejection and losing their friendship.

This unspoken love underpins much of her emotional journey. Remy is characterized by her determination and loyalty—despite her insecurities, she chooses to prioritize Cam’s healing over her own dreams, such as the costly Tokyo Magical University interview.

Her emotional resilience is paired with moments of self-doubt, particularly when confronted by Naomi, whose confident intellect and closeness with Cam ignite Remy’s feelings of jealousy and insecurity. The “curse” that Remy feels—being cursed to love Cam and suffer because of it—adds a poignant layer to her character, painting her as someone who carries the burden of love that is both a blessing and a source of pain.

Throughout the narrative, Remy embodies both the vulnerability and strength that come with loving someone deeply while navigating uncertainty about their shared future.

Cam

Cam is depicted as a young man grappling with multiple internal conflicts that complicate his emotional world. Initially, he is burdened by his unresolved tensions with family—particularly his strained relationship with his father and distance from his older brother Jack—which adds a backdrop of personal struggle that colors his interactions with others.

Cam’s character arc is significantly shaped by the effects of a potion that has caused memory loss, making his journey as much about self-discovery as about rekindling his relationship with Remy. Despite his memory gaps, Cam’s emotional responses to Remy grow stronger over time, revealing a deep, albeit partly inaccessible, bond.

His intellectual curiosity is highlighted through his connection with Naomi, but this also serves as a source of tension with Remy. Cam’s gradual awakening to his feelings for Remy culminates in an honest confession on New Year’s Eve, marking a critical turning point where he embraces the love they share—even if it is “cursed.”

His growth involves overcoming past pain, facing the cost of memory loss, and choosing to build a future with Remy, showing a maturation from confusion and loss to clarity and emotional commitment.

Naomi

Naomi serves as an important catalyst within the story, primarily representing the intellectual and magical world connected to Tokyo Magical University. As Ellie’s friend and a young professor specializing in magical alchemy, Naomi embodies confidence, brilliance, and a certain enigmatic allure that sparks jealousy in Remy.

Her presence complicates the relationship between Remy and Cam, not only by highlighting Cam’s intellectual side but also by threatening Remy’s self-esteem and sense of security in her place in Cam’s life. Naomi’s character is integral in raising the emotional stakes and adding a competitive tension that challenges the protagonists to confront their insecurities and desires more openly.

While she is not the central romantic figure, Naomi’s role enriches the narrative by providing a contrast to Remy and emphasizing themes of self-worth and the complexities of relationships that intertwine friendship, attraction, and magic.

Jack, Ellie, Aunt Kiyoko, and Uncle David

The supporting cast adds depth and context to the main characters’ journey. Jack, Cam’s older brother, and Ellie, Remy’s sister and Jack’s girlfriend, form a familial and emotional anchor for both protagonists, offering warmth and a sense of belonging in Tokyo.

They provide a contrast to the tension and uncertainty that Remy and Cam face, highlighting the possibility of stable, loving relationships. Aunt Kiyoko and Uncle David contribute to the magical and nurturing atmosphere that envelops Remy and Cam, especially Aunt Kiyoko’s intuitive support through her magically infused matcha brownies, symbolizing hope and emotional nourishment.

These characters serve as both emotional support and symbolic guides, gently encouraging Remy and Cam to confront their fears and heal their fractured memories and hearts.

Themes

Memory and Identity in the Wake of Magical Amnesia

Our Cursed Love talks about the intricate relationship between memory and identity, particularly how memory shapes the self and interpersonal bonds. Cam’s amnesia, caused by the soulmate elixir’s side effects, challenges the notion that love is purely a product of shared memories.

As he gradually recovers fragments of his past with Remy, the narrative probes the tension between who we are inherently and who we become through remembered experience. The book suggests that emotional connection transcends explicit memory—Cam’s body and heart seem to “remember” Remy before his mind does, indicating a deeper, almost metaphysical layer to identity.

This struggle to reclaim lost parts of oneself highlights the fragility and resilience of human identity when confronted with magical interference and personal trauma. It raises questions about how much of who we are is contingent on what we remember.

Fate, Free Will, and the Burden of Soulmate Mythology

Our Cursed Love deftly explores the paradoxical tension between destiny and autonomy, especially through the concept of soulmates and the curse attached to this bond. The characters grapple with the idea that their connection is both preordained and fraught with hardship, a “cursed” love that challenges the romantic ideal of soulmates as perfect matches.

This theme complicates the traditional soulmate narrative by suggesting that fate imposes a heavy emotional toll, demanding sacrifice and difficult choices. Remy’s internal conflict—between pursuing her own dreams and supporting Cam’s emotional healing—exemplifies the burden that soulmate mythology can place on individuals.

The story interrogates whether true love is an inescapable destiny or a path that requires conscious, sometimes painful, decisions. Ultimately, it emphasizes that love’s power lies not just in fate but in the willingness to choose each other repeatedly.

The Emotional Labor of Unspoken Vulnerabilities and the Fragile Negotiation of Friendship and Romance

Throughout the novel, there is a pervasive theme of the silent emotional labor involved in navigating the blurred boundaries between deep friendship and romantic love. Remy and Cam’s relationship is saturated with unvoiced feelings, fear of rejection, and the risk of losing a treasured friendship.

This emotional negotiation is portrayed as a delicate, often painful balancing act, where both characters must weigh vulnerability against self-protection. Their mutual hesitations, amplified by Cam’s amnesia, highlight the intricacies of communicating affection when words fall short or risk too much.

The story captures how love can both strengthen and threaten a friendship, showing that emotional honesty is not simply about confession but about the courage to accept and endure uncertainty together. This nuanced portrayal challenges simplistic narratives about love, illustrating instead the painstaking process of emotional openness and trust-building.

Magical Realism and Contemporary Urban Alienation as a Backdrop for Healing

Set against the vivid, bustling backdrop of Tokyo imbued with magical realism, Our Cursed Love uses the city not just as a setting but as a living metaphor for the protagonists’ internal journeys. The recurring motif of magical places—like the shifting Good Luck Café and enchanted apothecaries—serves as external manifestations of hope, mystery, and transformation amid the characters’ emotional turmoil.

This blending of the magical and the mundane reflects the modern urban experience of alienation, where meaningful connection can feel elusive despite the constant movement and noise. The magical elements provide moments of respite and possibility, facilitating healing and rediscovery in a world that often feels overwhelming and fragmented.

The cityscape thus mirrors the protagonists’ attempts to navigate the complexities of self and relationship, suggesting that healing in a contemporary context requires embracing both the ordinary and the extraordinary.

The Role of Sacrifice and Selflessness in the Evolution of Romantic and Personal Growth

Sacrifice emerges as a recurring and multifaceted theme that underscores the transformative power of love in the novel. Remy’s willingness to prioritize Cam’s recovery over her own academic aspirations, despite the personal cost, exemplifies the often painful but necessary selflessness that love demands.

This theme challenges the reader to consider how sacrifice is not merely about loss but can be an act of profound commitment and growth. Through this lens, the novel portrays romantic love not as effortless happiness but as a dynamic process involving compromise, resilience, and mutual care.

Both characters learn that evolving together means sometimes setting aside individual desires to nurture the bond. They redefine strength as the ability to support and uplift one another in moments of vulnerability and uncertainty.