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starrywonder's review against another edition
4.0
Curses be damned
So stinking adorable.
I want more Jaya and Grey.
I want all the warm squishy feelings going forward. I hope they are in the next book of the series.
So stinking adorable.
I want more Jaya and Grey.
I want all the warm squishy feelings going forward. I hope they are in the next book of the series.
bookishjosh's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you, Simon & Schuster, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
She couldn't make this boy fall in love with her. She couldn't break his heart. Because if she did, it was her, not him, who was the beast.
I'm frustrated that my first review of 2020 will be a bit of a rant. I requested this book from the publisher because I hadn't read a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The boarding school setup was also appealing, so I had high expectations. Sadly, my interest dwindled at the end of each chapter to the point that I wanted to give up. Still, I persevered because I didn't have the nerve to DNF an ARC. xD
Of Curses and Kisses is about Princess Jaya Rao, an heiress to an Indian dynasty. When their nemesis, the British Emerson clan, create a scandal to ruin their family. Jaya and her baby sister named Isha seek refuge at St. Rosetta's Academy. There, Jaya resolves to exact revenge on Lord Grey Emerson, who strangely believes that he's cursed to die on his 18th birthday. However, when she learns about his struggles and starts to feel seen in return, her determination vanishes. Will Jaya and Grey finally end the conflict between their families?Heck no!
For me, this novel has too many cliches. For instance, why does the younger sister always have to be the flirty one? I've seen this trope in popular titles such as Caraval and Wintersong. Second is the male lead who hates his dad. Oh, and let's not forget the rich girl who bullies others just to hide her soft heart! I've lost count of how many times I've encountered these formulas. Tropes aren't necessarily bad, but they do become harder to tolerate when you use several of them in one book.
Besides that, I couldn't handle the cheesy conversations between the protagonists. Yes, the romance wasn't too quick to be believable, but some of the lines made my stomach churn. Here's an exchange that scarred me for eternity:
Grey's cocky way of confronting Jaya turned me off. It didn't help that the author often used adjectives like "feral" and "lupine" to describe his looks and personality. It was as if Sandhya Menon wanted to force the beast metaphor even though Grey's so-called "curse" had already made it obvious.
Finally, the twist at the end wasn't surprising. Figuring out the real villain required minimal effort. And when Jaya caught them, they gave up so quickly, resulting in a very convenient conclusion. A heartfelt kiss and a series of video calls solved every problem and assured me of a happily ever after.
But I was anything but happy.
I want to end this rant on a positive note. Of Curses and Kisses doesn't merit 1 star. Regardless of my displeasure, I think that other readers will find the story delightful, especially those who love hate-to-love romance. Perhaps I'm just jaded because I've read much better retellings of the beloved fairy tale. :3
She couldn't make this boy fall in love with her. She couldn't break his heart. Because if she did, it was her, not him, who was the beast.
I'm frustrated that my first review of 2020 will be a bit of a rant. I requested this book from the publisher because I hadn't read a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The boarding school setup was also appealing, so I had high expectations. Sadly, my interest dwindled at the end of each chapter to the point that I wanted to give up. Still, I persevered because I didn't have the nerve to DNF an ARC. xD
Of Curses and Kisses is about Princess Jaya Rao, an heiress to an Indian dynasty. When their nemesis, the British Emerson clan, create a scandal to ruin their family. Jaya and her baby sister named Isha seek refuge at St. Rosetta's Academy. There, Jaya resolves to exact revenge on Lord Grey Emerson, who strangely believes that he's cursed to die on his 18th birthday. However, when she learns about his struggles and starts to feel seen in return, her determination vanishes. Will Jaya and Grey finally end the conflict between their families?
For me, this novel has too many cliches. For instance, why does the younger sister always have to be the flirty one? I've seen this trope in popular titles such as Caraval and Wintersong. Second is the male lead who hates his dad. Oh, and let's not forget the rich girl who bullies others just to hide her soft heart! I've lost count of how many times I've encountered these formulas. Tropes aren't necessarily bad, but they do become harder to tolerate when you use several of them in one book.
Besides that, I couldn't handle the cheesy conversations between the protagonists. Yes, the romance wasn't too quick to be believable, but some of the lines made my stomach churn. Here's an exchange that scarred me for eternity:
"Two weeks ago, you were kissing me, Jaya. And from what I could tell, you were really into it."
"She flushed and cupped her neck with a small hand, looking away.
"Well, weren't you?" he pressed when she didn't respond.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes, I was."
Grey's cocky way of confronting Jaya turned me off. It didn't help that the author often used adjectives like "feral" and "lupine" to describe his looks and personality. It was as if Sandhya Menon wanted to force the beast metaphor even though Grey's so-called "curse" had already made it obvious.
Finally, the twist at the end wasn't surprising. Figuring out the real villain required minimal effort. And when Jaya caught them, they gave up so quickly, resulting in a very convenient conclusion. A heartfelt kiss and a series of video calls solved every problem and assured me of a happily ever after.
But I was anything but happy.
eggjen's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun premise. I'm a sucker for a good retelling and this loose take on beauty and the beast was a lot of fun. Menon has created a great cast of characters and I spent several nights staying up too late to finish it.
roseday's review against another edition
4.0
The character were fun to read about. The beginning was way over done and their characteristics were over played. Everything was spelled out to you and there was very little mystery in the book and it was very predictable. All of the being said it was still a fun book to read. Don't go in thinking it's going to be the best book ever it's not but for getting out of a reading slump or just a good comfort read it does the job quite well.
laurenc26's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
issianne's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 I think... This read like a CW show; everything was melodramatic throughout and cheesy at the end.
jenhurst's review against another edition
2.0
This is a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast with an Indian lead, at a boarding school. Grey is cursed and hates human society, until he meets Jada. A princess and the two are drawn to each other.
*e-ARC provided by Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley*
This book is hard for me to rate, since I didn't enjoy it, but I can see why a lot of people will like it. The writing and the story felt on the young end of YA to me. More targeted at 13/14 year olds, and I typically gravitate towards older YA. That was one issue that i had with it. I also don't typically like contemporary novels, unless they are hard hitting and deal with complex issues. This is my bad, because I should've researched it better, so that I would know what to expect. I didn't really connect with the characters either, they felt a little shallow to me. To be fair, this could have to do with the demographic its targeted for. I really wanted to enjoy it because of the diverse romance and a fairy tale retelling, but it just didn't work for me. Weirdly enough, I also struggle with books that are very much supposed to be fiction and then they have some random element of magic thrown in (aka magical realism), and this book felt that way to me. I prefer it to either be firmly grounded in fantasy or firmly grounded in realty. A lot of people will like the magical realism and the simplistic story i'm sure and the author I can tell is a good writer. I'd be interested in picking up another book from her (that's maybe strictly in the contemporary category).
2.5/5
I'd recommend this to younger readers of YA, and fans of magical realism. I think a lot of people will like this, especially fans of Beauty and the Beast but alas, it just wasn't for me.
*e-ARC provided by Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley*
This book is hard for me to rate, since I didn't enjoy it, but I can see why a lot of people will like it. The writing and the story felt on the young end of YA to me. More targeted at 13/14 year olds, and I typically gravitate towards older YA. That was one issue that i had with it. I also don't typically like contemporary novels, unless they are hard hitting and deal with complex issues. This is my bad, because I should've researched it better, so that I would know what to expect. I didn't really connect with the characters either, they felt a little shallow to me. To be fair, this could have to do with the demographic its targeted for. I really wanted to enjoy it because of the diverse romance and a fairy tale retelling, but it just didn't work for me. Weirdly enough, I also struggle with books that are very much supposed to be fiction and then they have some random element of magic thrown in (aka magical realism), and this book felt that way to me. I prefer it to either be firmly grounded in fantasy or firmly grounded in realty. A lot of people will like the magical realism and the simplistic story i'm sure and the author I can tell is a good writer. I'd be interested in picking up another book from her (that's maybe strictly in the contemporary category).
2.5/5
I'd recommend this to younger readers of YA, and fans of magical realism. I think a lot of people will like this, especially fans of Beauty and the Beast but alas, it just wasn't for me.
mels_reading_rook's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
A fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I would recommend this to people who want a lighthearted romance with a touch of fantasy to it. One of the only things I didn't like was the formatting: the passages in the chapters were sometimes broken up in odd places and it would break the flow of how I was reading. Also, I found it odd that there could be so many breaks within one chapter, which made me wonder why they weren't all just separate chapters.
A fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I would recommend this to people who want a lighthearted romance with a touch of fantasy to it. One of the only things I didn't like was the formatting: the passages in the chapters were sometimes broken up in odd places and it would break the flow of how I was reading. Also, I found it odd that there could be so many breaks within one chapter, which made me wonder why they weren't all just separate chapters.
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
What a disappointment.
It has super low vibes with Beauty and Best but biggest problem for me was main characters.
I didn't care about Yaya, she was super judgemental and Grey was boring...period.
Isha her sister was great and that's about it.
What a disappointment.
It has super low vibes with Beauty and Best but biggest problem for me was main characters.
I didn't care about Yaya, she was super judgemental and Grey was boring...period.
Isha her sister was great and that's about it.