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A review by ruth24
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon
3.0
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love Sandhya Menon. She's one of my favourite YA authors, if not my #1. But while it was an entertaining read, this is my least favourite of her books so far.
[b:Of Curses and Kisses|43985469|Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta's Academy, #1)|Sandhya Menon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564596749l/43985469._SY75_.jpg|68384060] is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a revenge plot-turned-romance between Indian princess Jaya Rao and Grey Emerson, the male heir of the family the Raos have been feuding with for centuries. What I liked about the book was the relationship between Jaya and her sister Isha and the push and pull between duty and freedom of choice. This is a common theme in Menon's books (remember Dimple and Rishi?) and I enjoyed seeing it explored in this similar, but different, way.
What I didn't enjoy was the privileged boarding school setting and the fairy tale aspect of the curse. I found these elements kept me from being fully immersed in the story as I wasn't fully convinced of them. I also didn't feel the relationship between Grey and Jaya as strongly as I typically feel the relationships in Menon's books - there was none of the butterflies and warm fuzzy feelings I felt over Dimple & Rishi, Sweetie & Ashish. I felt like there was maybe too much inner monologue and not enough action to show how they felt about each other.
Overall, it was an entertaining read and an interesting modern take on a classic fairy tale, but I'd recommend one of Menon's other books before this one.
I love Sandhya Menon. She's one of my favourite YA authors, if not my #1. But while it was an entertaining read, this is my least favourite of her books so far.
[b:Of Curses and Kisses|43985469|Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta's Academy, #1)|Sandhya Menon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564596749l/43985469._SY75_.jpg|68384060] is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a revenge plot-turned-romance between Indian princess Jaya Rao and Grey Emerson, the male heir of the family the Raos have been feuding with for centuries. What I liked about the book was the relationship between Jaya and her sister Isha and the push and pull between duty and freedom of choice. This is a common theme in Menon's books (remember Dimple and Rishi?) and I enjoyed seeing it explored in this similar, but different, way.
What I didn't enjoy was the privileged boarding school setting and the fairy tale aspect of the curse. I found these elements kept me from being fully immersed in the story as I wasn't fully convinced of them. I also didn't feel the relationship between Grey and Jaya as strongly as I typically feel the relationships in Menon's books - there was none of the butterflies and warm fuzzy feelings I felt over Dimple & Rishi, Sweetie & Ashish. I felt like there was maybe too much inner monologue and not enough action to show how they felt about each other.
Overall, it was an entertaining read and an interesting modern take on a classic fairy tale, but I'd recommend one of Menon's other books before this one.