I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was another cute ya story. I enjoy this author's work

3.5 stars

I am a happy girl if you give me an academy setting and a beauty and the beast retelling. This book hit the mark, and was so effortlessly enjoyable. There was some plot drags at times, but I just felt it was a great and enjoyable YA read. This is a perfect book for bookish lovers, and especially high school students.

I never finished reading this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters of with the story. I might try again later on, but right now I’m not finishing it.
I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. So I will try again in the future.

4 stars (I received an e-arc from NetGallery in exchange for an honest review)

Enjoyed the reading experience, the writing pulls you in and is a very CW drama esque vibes. Jaya and Grey’s chemistry is very palpable, however the side characters suffer a bit. They don’t get as much development and fall into over dramatic and stereotypical tropes. This almost reminds me of an early 2010’s YA very over the top with drama and teenagers being angsty. This book was way less fantastical than expected and the ending was definitely odd. Still I would recommend this book for good escape into a different world.

St Rosetta International Academy is discreetly located in the beautiful mountains near Aspen. It is renowned as a boarding school for the children of the wealthy and elite. It is also know as the place they are sent when they need to be out of the limelight. Jaya and Isha are royalty – send to St Rosetta after a scandal involving her sister has made it impossible for them to stay in India with their family. Soon after arriving Jaya is introduced to the heir of her families rival the Emersons. With the plan to engage and break his heart Jaya sets her sights on Grey but it seems he is not who she thought he would be. Torn between family responsibilities, honour and and age old curse Jaya and Grey must find a way to overcome the expectations of others and find their own happiness.

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty”

This story is an interesting retelling of the age old Beauty and the Beast. I loved how the author incorporated different aspects of the fairy tale without overloading it. We have the beautiful smart princess who is sent away to a far away castle, we have the brooding heir with no hopes for the future believed to be cursed by a ruby to never find love. The two are forced together by circumstance and together they find their way through.

I really enjoyed this story – I am excited to read the others in the series and I did find the other characters interesting. I think if you are a fan of contemporary retellings, like Geekeralla, you will like this book.

This was a highly enjoyable, high stakes, glamourous Beauty and the Beast retelling that I didn't know I needed in my life. They dynamics between the characters, the reveals, and the luscious scenery had me hooked.

I will read anything that Sandhya Menon writes. When I heard she was releasing beauty and the beast retelling set at a boarding school I was so excited. Upon having read it I feel let down because I hyped myself up for it too much. I liked Jaya and Grey. The plot was okay but the pacing was slow with a lot of backstory and inner monologue. There are a lot of secondary characters that felt very 2 dimensional. Isha was great and I hope we get more of her. The idea of the curse sounded really interesting. Overall, this was an okay read. It had great potential but the execution wasn't the best. Even though this book didn't work for me I will still read anything that Sandhya Menon writes in the future.

It's a good read. There's nothing overly exciting about it but there's also nothing really bad about it. I adore retellings and I had high hopes for this one. I did like seeing the Beauty and the Beast theme throughout the story.

I did like that we got both Jaya and Grey's POVs. I actually preferred Grey's though he could be a bit too brooding for me. Jaya frustrated me at times but I enjoyed her as well. I wish there was more of the school and schoolwork. The ending kind of fizzled for me.

Overall it was just ok for me but I can see how it would be a hit with others.

I love beauty and the beasts retelling so when I saw this, I had to read it. So once I started reading it I found myself confused because this book read nothing like the fairytale. I love the authors writing style and the pacing of the book but the plot wasn’t what I was expecting and the story just felt off.

Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

REVIEW ☆☆☆
Admittedly, I was not a fan of When Dimple Met Rishdi, but I decided to try Of Curses And Kisses anyway because I love retellings. Beauty and the Beast is an all time favorite of mine, so I might have higher expectations. What looked like a good premise at first, however, just didn't work out in the end for me. It was the characters that I couldn't agree with because they were too much teen. Does that make sense? It was more teen than I could take, so I didn't love this one. Young adult readers will like it, I think, as it's ideal for their age and behavioral skills overall.

A very interesting take on the beauty and the beast story. I do find, in books like this, myself screaming at the pages for the characters to just use their words for heavens sake! But I remember being a teen and feeling like I couldn’t communicate. It was hard to wrap my head around the rubies, because that was an expensive necklace to keep losing stones and keep wearing. I lose one stone on a cheap necklace and never wear it again. All in all, good adaptation and I look forward to reading more in this series

Ever have a book that seemed, on paper at least, to be exactly everything you love in a book only to read it and not be as into it as you expected to be? That is, sadly, exactly what happened when I read Of Curses and Kisses.

Those who love Sandhya's other novels will be happy to hear that her writing style is carried over to this novel. The romance really is well done with a bunch of sweet moments woven into the story. There is also a lot of humour tossed in and some interesting side characters. I do think that those who have loved her previous novels will find a lot they like within these pages. What stumbled for me was the world building. I didn't feel like I got a full realized picture of the castle that is going to be the setting of this series, and I wish it had been more prominent.

Jaya was the strongest part of the story for me. I loved her desire to protect her family and sister. I appreciated her character growth and how she had to find her own voice and make her own path. Even though this is written in the vein of a modern version of a fairytale, the elements that worked the best in the story were those where Jaya was struggling with not disappointing her family and yet being true to what she wanted for her own life. I think that is relatable for a lot of people growing up and fit nicely into this version of the Beauty and the Beast tale.

The part of the Beast's story that I always gravitated to is that he has to learn something. He has to grow and change. There is some sort of transformation that he has to go through. I felt that was missing from Grey's story arc. He doesn't start out as the enraged jerk that we know the Beast to be. He, in fact, seems to be the opposite. He keeps people at a distance, and is a little abrasive, but he does things that would be considered a kindness. The growth his character typically goes through was missing for me. I actually felt Jaya's character goes through a lot more growth. His character didn't feel as fleshed out as I would have wanted and that left other elements lacking for me.

There are some great nods to the inspiration from the beautiful rose shaped ruby pendant that plays a pivotal role, to a sweet, snowy romantic moment that will delight fans. These nods are integral to making this story feel like a retelling and I think that part was mostly successful. I wish that some of the other elements had been included though.

I ended up feel not really strongly either way about this one. There are elements I enjoyed and others that I didn't connect with. This will undoubtedly have many others who love it so I encourage you to check out those reviews as well. I, perhaps, would have enjoyed this one more if I hadn't gone into it expecting a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I think it works better just as a charming modern fairytale with any of expectations.

I love Sandhya Menon with all my heart. I love how cute and adorable her stories are, are this one is no exception! Teenagers being teenagers, with their good and bad sides, experimenting with life... With a story held in a boarding school, thus children of powerful people with a lot of money, I knew that I'd find this interesting! Some characters are colorful, but I was pleased to see normal ones too, that I could relate to.

Many thanks to Simon and Shchuster Canada for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a fun, bubbly, fresh retelling! I read this so quickly. The plot is so different from the original Beauty and the Beast story that it did have me wondering how it was going to end.

My only beef would be I didn't always agree with Jaya's decisions, and found her frustrating sometimes, but overall, she is a good main character. My favourite thing about her was her love for her little sister. The sister relationship was so good to read.

Would definitely recommend if you're looking for a fluffy teen romance retelling! It might not completely take you by surprise, but the ride is fun, and who doesn't love a boarding school setting?!

I loved Sandhya Menon and loved the idea of an update on Beauty and the Beast, but this story fell a bit flat for me. I liked the world that Menon built but ended up being frustrated by the short sightedness of the characters.

I had such high hopes for this one based off of the great reviews for the authors previous books but I was so disappointed! The pacing was all over the place and the characters were so one dimensional and predictable and unrealistic. Maybe I am just older than the targeted audience but I felt like I had read this book 100 times already and done much better.

Sadly, I chose to DNF this book about 25% in. I wasn't a huge fan of Jaya's inner monologue, and found her comments about Grey and her position as a royal somewhat annoying.

To be honest, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more during my teen years, but as of right now it's just not my cup of tea. I would probably recommend this to anyone who is younger and is just starting to get into romance books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book!

Ok, I am an absolute sucker for fairy tale retellings. And Menon's fresh take on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was fresh, fun, and absolutely ADORABLE!

One of the aspects that makes this book so strong is its incredible characters. Not only were Jaya's journey of self-realization (she had a very strong character arc, that's for sure!) and Grey's eventual self-acceptance wonderfully played out, but the supporting cast was phenomenal, too! I LOVE DE's spunky, exuberant energy, Isha's brilliance, Rahul's adorkable-ness. I cannot WAIT to see their characters get fleshed out even further in the next two books in the series!

The prose was gorgeous, the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope was just... *chef's kiss*...; this book was a ray of sunshine, and it was such a pleasure to read!

Counting down the days till Book 2's release!

Arc provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn’t even make it to 50% in. I found the main character to be super whiny and she constantly had to mention that she was a princess. It also followed the side characters more than the main characters which I didn’t really like. I believe others would like this book if they’ve read the author’s other book, but unfortunately I did not finish nor enjoy the book.