I LOVED the idea of the gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling! The characters were so lovely and I really enjoyed all of the relationships--the found family was to die for. Despite following the model of the original, Curses felt very unique and I had a great time reading it.

So here’s the thing: I have had this book on my shelf for a long time now and I have not once attempted to read it. I’m so sorry for accepting the request on this and not reading it but I can only blame my baby Bookstagrammer self who was so excited to be a part of the Penguin Teen influencer list and requested all the books.

If you love fairy tale retellings, then you need to read Curses by Lish McBride. This was such a fun book to read. It was like the Bachelorette meets Beauty and the Beast.

Curses follows Merit, who was cursed to become a beast because she didn’t want to marry the man her mother picked for her. To break her curse she’ll have to agree to marry someone of her mother’s choosing, or by finding a suitor that loves her. She only has until her eighteenth birthday or she’ll be stuck as a beast forever.

Tevin Dumont is a con-artist with a heart. His mom and dad make use of their children’s fairy gifts to make their cons more successful. Tevin has the gift of charm, and when he talks he can charm people to do whatever he wants. When Tevin’s mom is caught stealing from Merit’s barony, she makes a deal for Tevin to take her place.

When Merit meets Tevin and learns about him and his family, she agrees to the trade. Tevin’s job is to help Merit avoid a suitor that is only after her for her money or title. With her eighteenth birthday fast approaching, they have to work fast to find someone that can help Merit break her curse. Tevin has to coach Merit to help her find her way in society, because as a beast she’s lost some of her social graces.

When the suitors arrive Merit leans on Tevin to help her weed out the unsuitable ones. After spending so much time together, they start to develop feelings for each other. Tevin knows he’s here for a job, and has to out his feelings aside to help Merit. Merit knows Tevin is not a suitable choice, and she’s not truly sure she trusts him. When one of the suitors has his own agenda, he puts Merit and Tevin at odds. They will have to try and overcome this treachery so they can break Merit’s curse before it’s too late.

Again, I loved this one. It was such a magical read and I loved all the other fairy tales mixed in as well. I hope the author comes back to this world in the future to tell some of the side characters stories. The world building and characters were fantastic and seemed so real. This is definitely a must read for any lovers of fairy tales, and slow burn romance.

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

I don’t have a ton to say about this book. It’s a relatively unique spin on Beauty and the Beast. I feel like I’ve read so many B&B retellings at this point but this was enjoyable nonetheless.

It did take me a while to finish because I wasn’t super engaged until about halfway through it. But after that, I finished the rest in one shot.

If you’re looking for a unique, stand alone B&B retelling, give this a try.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Curses is Beauty in the Beast retelling, but the beast is not the male character.

Merit, our main character, refused to fulfill her obligation to marry a prince, leading to a fairy godling's curse. She will be forced to live as a beast forever unless she agrees to marry a man of her mother's choosing before her eighteenth birthday. Then we have Tevin Dumont, who has always been a pawn in his family's cons. But after his mother runs afoul of the beast, she decides to trade Tevin for her own freedom. Now, Tevin and Merit have agreed that he can pay off his mother's debt by using his con artist skills to help Merit find the best match . . .

It was an interesting story, even it did not meet all my expectations. The plot is entertaining but predictable. And for me, what stood out most were the side characters.

This was interesting- i liked the concept but aside from the gender swap, nothing else grasped my interest. it was pretty slow and if it was more action packed and fast paced i might have enjoyed it more.

I was disappointed with this book. I was beyond excited when I saw it was a reverse Beauty and the Beast retelling. Reverse retellings can be pretty hit or miss, and this was an absolute miss. When you have a couple pages of the characters for reference, you know it’s going to be iffy.

Loved this story because it surprised me in many ways. There are excellent details about each character. Hopefully the author will write a sequel or better yet, turn it into a trilogy. I really felt connected with everyone so I'd love to see them again sooo I think side characters could even get their own stories because of their depth and lore.
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This book is not something i would normally pick up and read but this gender twist retelling of beauty and the beast had me very intrigued. lovely and interesting story but not my favorite. take this with a grain of salt as i am not expert in the fantasy genre. definitely pick up if you though!! 3.5 stars but rounded up!

I was unable to read this book fully because I was extremely busy, but I enjoyed the writing style from what I was able to read in the first few chapters.

I liked this book, I thought it was a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast with an interesting twist. I think that the tense the book was written in threw me off a little bit, and didn't let me connect to the characters. I also think the tense made it feel a little young, and so this could definitely be advertised for a younger high school age group. Overall cute book.

Beauty and the Beast retelling, but the princess is the beast? Sigh me up!

I was hooked from the first two chapters! The author created such a Pixar fairy mood!

BUT speaking of Pixar this book should have been described as a Shrek retelling not a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I mean . . . the beast can take an elixir to turn human for a few hours? Sounds like Fiona to me. Then the male “Belle” gets to bring his brother and cousin with him to the castle? What kind of punishment is that? I think Shrek was more annoyed with bringing Donkey on his quest.

Last, we have the spoiled Prince Latimer and his wicked mother who reminded me so much of Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2.

Tevin was my favorite character. He has the gift of charm, and he reminded me so much of Flynn Ryder from Tangled. I loved the build up of romance between Tevin and Merit

What I didn’t like about the book was probably that because it was character driven, there ended up being too many characters so at times the plot got lost while trying to memorize a ton of minor characters. The book was about 50-100 pages long too. Some of the dating scenes were dragged out so I lost interest. Also, the author problem could have skipped over the scene of how Tevin broke into Latmer’s castle. At that point I was ready for the story to be wrapped up with a nice bow.

I finally finished this one after a few months and at the end of the day it wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t get into the characters and story and really had to push myself to get it done.

Overall, this definitely has a reader out there, it just wasn’t for me!

A Beauty and the Beast retelling where the Beast is the girl? Give it to me! Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairytales and when I heard that Curses is a retelling of it WITH A TWIST, I had to read it. The cover also caught my eye, so it's a big plus from me.

I really enjoyed the book and I found it very easy to read, I laughed along with the characters and I cried when emotional things happened, even though I knew (or at least I suspected) how this was going to end, it still warmed my heart so much.

The story of Merit and Tevin, the Beast of Cravan and the Beauty, a handsome boy, is perfect for fans of heartwarming stories, fairytale retellings with a twist and great side characters. There's also a non-binary character in this book, which I really appreciated. We rarely get to see non-binary characters in fantasy books.

I love a good retelling so I was super excited to read this arc. I definitely did a great job of putting a spin on the classic and although I am not a particular fan of the forced proximity trope, I still enjoyed this book.

That being said, I did think the book dragged on a bit, and it took a while to finish. As well as this, you are immediately thrown into the world without a lot of world building which makes the book a bit confusing. Overall, though, this book was a rather enjoyable read and anyone who likes retellings and is into the fantasy genre should pick it up!

This book took me by surprise in the best possible way. It was funny, fresh, and a completely unique retelling of a story I've heard many different ways.

Right off the bat, I was hit with excellent world-building. Everything felt fresh and unique. It was a great mix of modern ideas with old technology added with a bit of magic. Plus, it was pretty easy to get a grasp on this world. It wasn't high fantasy, but still had enough magical bits and pieces to be intriguing.

As well, the humor was top-notch in this book. McBride had a lot of sarcastic characters that made a lot of jokes, many of them dry and she effortlessly translated that on paper. It's hard to explain exactly how she did it (because the dialogue usually didn't end with "Tevin said sarcastically"), but it was done well. It made me really love the characters and the world even when things got a bit serious.

Tevin. I know Tevin was supposed to be charming (like that was his whole thing), but he was so charming! I don't know why that surprised me, but I really liked him. He wasn't completely swoony in my opinion, but very charming and likeable.

One thing I felt like I missed from this book was some romantic build up. By that, I mean I didn't feel like there was quite enough romantic tension between Tevin and Merit. By the end of the book, I didn't feel like I had earned a happy ending. I wanted more pain and suffering before the good stuff. It sounds weird writing it down, but it's true.

Overall, I loved this book so much! I wish McBride would write more books in this world, but I believe this was a stand-alone. That just means I'll have to read this again soon!

I loved the gender-bending retelling of Beauty and the Beast -- it's not so straight-lined to the plot in retelling means but I thought it was a great goofy take on a classic.

4.5 stars. Thank you to Penguin Teen for the eARC of this gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling! As with all the ARCs I review, this one came out months and months ago. So let's not delay any more than I already have, shall we?

Look, we all know I love an epic fantasy trilogy with dozens of characters and chapters of world-building. But sometimes what you really need is a quirky, standalone retelling with tons of fairy tale references that make you chuckle! Merit is not your typical beast, since her mom still expects her to live as a lady. She's required to attend society parties, find fashionable clothes that will cover her tail, and handle delicate teacups with her large claws. It was really fun watching Tevin and Merit navigate these picnics and balls while looking for her ideal suitor, and of course, falling for each other along the way.

I also loved Tevin's siblings and how their magical gifts made them perfectly suited for scams and con jobs. Oh, and I can't forget that there's a talking ostrich and a support group for the cursed, where we meet several familiar fairy tale heroes. As it turns out, fairies are always ready for more mischief, and the difference between a blessing and a curse is a mere matter of opinion. I almost gave this one a full 5 stars, but the ending was too rushed and convenient for my taste (pros and cons of a standalone). Still, if this book sounds like it'd be up your alley, you won't be disappointed!