3.5 stars
If you loved the authors previous contemporary reads you will love her take on the Beauty and The Beast retellings. Now I could be bias because I am sucker for anything Beauty and the Beast. Even contemporary ones which I am sure everyone knows is not one of my go to genres, but I do have my favourites. I loved how the author spun the original tale around and had an Indian Princess as our heroine. And has a diverse set of characters which helps since she placed the setting of the book in a boarding school. Kudos to modernizing a classic. Our beast Grey is still beastly, and like her other books Of Curses and Kisses is full on swoon worthy romance, while keeping the enemies to lover’s trope that is in every Beauty and the Beast. I don’t know what more to say without giving away the plot, but it still follows all B&B retellings. Overall a nice addition to the Beauty and the Beast retelling and I look forward to the sequel.

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.

Of Curses and Kisses 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 really expected to enjoy this book more, especially since I'm constantly raving about all of Menon's books. I will always love her stories though, especially since they always feature main characters from Indian descent. But I'm longing for a Menon book featuring a non-binary and/or non-straight MC. So anyways, for this review, I will base my Beauty and the Beast knowledge on the Disney movie, since I have never read the original story 😅

There is something utterly magical about a snowy, fancy, boarding school somewhere in the mountains. There are quite a few elements that resemble the Beauty and the Beast story, and I enjoyed how you can recognize them, without being too similar either. For example, I liked the boarding school twist to the usual Beauty and the Beast castle. The author kept the beautiful, enormous library and I loved that part. Because let's face it, it's one of the best things about Beauty and the Beast 😂 Also, the rose was represented by a rose shaped jewel, encrusted with rubies. Like the rose petals in the Beauty and the Beast Disney movie, the rubies fall one by one. However, the curse recites that once the last ruby has fallen, so does the Emerson lineage end. So yes, btw, Grey Emerson portrays the Beast (I love how the author describes him! So dark and broody) and princess Jaya Rao as Beauty.

If you've read the synopsis, you'll know that the Rao and Emerson families have been feuding for centuries. I loved the following quote, because it means so much in SO many contexts. It really reflects on the messages this society sends out, especially to young children (like about what is acceptable for a boy vs a girl) : "The problem's the messages we're given, starting before we can fully understand them."

So about Jaya. She is very protective of her family, always placing their needs before hers. Being the eldest, she is the heiress of her family's legacy. However, she seriously got on my nerves and I found sometimes she was a bit too agressive. I liked how towards the end she stepped up more for herself, putting her needs first, for once. Also, she apologized for assuming a girl was straight at one point and I was super happy about that 👏

I found that the beginning of the book was long, the pace only picking up around 60% through. The ending felt a bit rushed and quite a few plot twists were predictable. 3⭐

3.5 stars!
Even though the beginning was weak, after a couple chapters the characters and the storyline grabbed me.
It's a beautiful retelling and certainly I will recommend it to my close ones!!

Of Curses & Kisses is one of the most wonderful, heart warming stories I've read. The light-hearted Beauty & The Beast retelling is a fantastic read for anyone looking to beat their reading slump. The characters, world building, plot and writing stick with readers well after the last page is turned. Truly a gem of a book.

Sandhya Menon does it again! Menon's stories have a natural flow and progression, making it very enjoyable to read. I loved watching Grey and Jaya's romance progress, while finding all of the "Beauty and the Beast" connections. All of the moments and scenes felt natural, like the characters were real people going through real life. While it followed the usual YA romance arc of getting together, breaking up, and reconciling, Of Curses and Kisses was written in a way that gave this generic plotline a creative twist. I normally don't enjoy re-tellings very much, but this was one of my favourites ever. I can't wait to see what's in store for this series, and will be sure to be the first in line for the next book!

arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review

DNF @ 9%

This had a lot of potential and maybe I’ll pick it up at some other point in time, but right now, this just isn’t the book for me. I just can’t get behind the plot of Jaya getting revenge on someone who had nothing to do with what happened. I also hate that her ‘revenge’ was getting this innocent boy to fall in love with her just so she could break his heart. It was just not a plot device I like and it’s just too immature for me.

If you like royalty, a boarding school setting and a beauty and the beast retelling with a contemporary twist, give this a try!

A new twist on Beauty and the Beast, Of Curses and Kisses tells the story of Jaya - a princess from India- and her friendship with Grey - a British nobleman - set in a fancy private school in Colorado. When the paparazzi defame her little sister, Jaya and Isha Rao transfer to an exclusive private school for the noble and wealthy. At school Jaya will meet Grey Emerson, heir to a family with which the Rao's have been feuding for centuries. Thinking that Grey is the person speaking to the press, Jaya resolves to have her revenge and restore the family honor. The best way to do that - make him fall in love with her then break his heart. But Grey has troubles of his own and as the two become friends, revenge becomes the farthest thing from Jaya's mind.

This was a fun teen romance with a bit of a slow start. Grey is suitably broody and Jaya at times plays both roles - that of Belle and the Beast. The cursed ruby made into a rose pendant added a fair nod to the fairytale as well.

Captivating from the first chapter. Forbidden romance and ancestral curse serving up romantic spiciness in all the right ways. I loved this novel it was so sweet and the angst portrayed from Grey was perfect.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Pulse and Sandhya Menon for providing the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

3.5 stars

Of Curses and Kisses, by Sandhya Menon, is a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast . The story pits Jaya, an Indian princess, against Grey Emerson, the heir apparent of her family’s sworn enemy. Jaya and her sister Isha are sent to boarding school after a scandal. It seems like fate that Grey—the very man Jaya believes to be responsible for the scandal—also attends the boarding school, unbeknownst to Jaya’s parents. Her plan is to make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. Only the task proves more difficult than she expects. He’s very closed off and keeps everyone at arm’s length. But Jaya is determined to get past Grey’s defenses. The more they get to know one another, the more they both realize that the other is not who they thought he/she was. Life’s about to get incredibly complicated.

Menon’s writing is wonderful, as always, but for me the pacing was off. The first 50% of the book moved very slowly. The world had to be built, and the couple had to move from enemies to friends, but I still wish it could have been done in a slightly more concise way. The strength of this story is Grey, in my opinion. Menon did an AMAZING job painting him as a “beast.” Even still, it was impossible not to feel for him knowing how he’d been treated by his father. At times, I struggled with Jaya’s character. She was wonderfully thoughtful and kind, traits ingrained into her from a young age and a royal upbringing, but she could also be very formal. It made her hard to relate to. I much preferred seeing her as just Jaya, not the princess, and seeing her faults and fears and struggles. I loved how much she adored Isha, and Menon made you feel how oppressed she was by her family’s expectations.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast. Just hang on past the world building and setup. The story came together beautifully in the end, with both Grey and Jaya showing great character growth, and a really unique twist on the curse.