A review by sophieissapphhic
Curses by Lish McBride

adventurous funny medium-paced

2.75

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes included in this review are from an unfinished copy of the book.

Content Warnings: confinement, alcohol consumption, drug use, violence, emotional abuse (parental), body horror, deception, blood

Overall Rating: 2.75 / 5
Characters: 3.5 / 5 
Writing: 3 / 5
Setting: 2.25 / 5
Plot: 2 / 5
Romance: 3.25 / 5

After invoking the wrath of a Godling, Merit is cursed to become a beast forever unless she marries someone of her mother’s choosing before her eighteenth birthday. Enter Tevin, a swindler. After Tevin’s mother trades him to the beast in exchange for her own freedom, they strike a deal: Tevin will help Merit choose the best match and prevent her from being deceived 

When I heard Curses was a genderbent Beauty and the Beast retelling, I knew I had to read it. While Curses provides a unique twist, the story was executed somewhat messily and didn’t live up to its potential.
Overall, the writing style didn’t stand out, but I enjoyed the humorous moments sprinkled throughout the book. McBride also crafts notable characters with distinct personalities, and I didn’t have any trouble distinguishing between important side characters. I particularly enjoyed reading about Tevin and his cousin. It also was a pleasant surprise that at least one side character is sapphic and another uses they/them pronouns. 
One other aspect I enjoyed was the discussion around Godling’s curses sometimes being gifts in disguise. 
But ultimately, Curses didn’t live up to my expectations. Some areas of the story that were largely explored in the story didn’t amount to much- such as Tevin teaching Merit how to detect when other people were lying. There were other instances in which something felt like foreshadowing, but never came into play. In some chapters, POV changes were choppy and didn’t flow. Another character’s point of view I would’ve preferred to have been taken out of the story entirely. If hints had been dropped, this POV could have been dropped while keeping the plot the same, and I think the story wouldn’t have dragged as much. 
I also wanted more from Merit- I wanted there to be a moment or opportunity for her to save herself. Instead, her curse required her fate to be dependent on someone else, and this was a source of frustration for me throughout the entire book. I really struggled with the way Merit was often portrayed as a damsel in distress and needed to be saved. 
I have mixed feelings about the world-building of the book. I really enjoyed the concept of magic meeting technology. It set a steampunk kind of vibe, but I’m not sure it was suited for this story. While intriguing, it felt off-center because it didn’t fit the story. There were other aspects that were interesting as well, for example, flying badgers. 

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