Oh I Loved this book! You follow a blood witch, the last of her kind on an epic journey to save her people and her kingdom. She takes along her best friend, another witch from her coven and together they meet shifters (aka werewolves), a vampire prince and lots of other mystical creatures along the way. This retelling of sleeping beauty was incredible and I enjoyed every page and the world building was really nice too.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The overall story was great! I loved the twist on the sleeping beauty fairy tale with some really great additional paranormal aspects. That being said, the story as a whole felt a bit rushed. Aurora was practically running through the whole story and I felt a little bad for her. A lot of times I think of how much I wish more authors would write stand-alone books, but I think this is an example of why so many authors choose to go the series route. There just wasn't enough time to feel like I was fully getting to know Aurora, Hazel, Sage, Rune, and all the others. I also felt like I was only getting half the details on the curse and the sleeping prince. Overall, I did very much like this story, I just felt like it really went too fast!

This book got it all friends.

A twisted version of sleeping beauty? Check. Witches and bloodmagic? Check. Vampires and werewolves? Check.

The characters are lovable and the banter enjoyable.

Hazel and Auroras relationship stands out the most to me. A friendship that stands out, and will stand the testimony of time.

I’d love to read more of this story and the world.

It's all about the cover this time! I just adore that cover and seeing that its a twist on Sleeping Beauty where the girl does the 'rescuing' definitely got me to read this novella. There were a few other twists as well which I liked but won't delve too much into to avoid spoilers.

I really liked the premise of "Princess Aurora" being the one to come to the rescue of a sleeping Prince. I didn't quite like this witchy Aurora as she can be quite annoying in here tendency to act without too much thought. She'd really land herself in hot water, if her bff, Hazel, did not come to the rescue. I loved Hazel - always ready, always smiling, and overall just the stronger character of the two. In saying that, Aurora has her own strength which allows her to grab her fate into her own hands and twist it. The romance is also kinda cute though it's totally not what I'd expect!

Cursed Beauty is a brilliant twist to the very well-known fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. It features gender swap and other spins which really make me wish this was a full novel. I just feel that it is a little bit undeveloped as a novella but definitely with a potential for a novel.

My thanks to Phoenix Reign Publising & Xpresso Tours for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

Unfortunately, I struggled to really settle into this book. I think that’s due to the fact that it’s in first person narration. I’ve read a lot of books with this kind of voice and unless it’s written really well, I just find that I don’t connect with the story as much.

The concept was interesting. I liked the idea of the reverse retelling but I also think that this book is really suited to a young demographic of people who are just starting out reading again

This is a sleeping beauty role reversal retelling with supernatural elements. I lobe that Aurora is a witch instead of a princess.

I thought the plot was fast paced and loved the twists. I liked the characters, especially the Aurora/Hazel dynamic. I would have enjoyed more world building.

While I did enjoy aspects of this book, I have to say it wasn't my favorite overall. Love the idea - sleeping beauty but with supernatural creatures and it's the prince asleep instead of a princess... but it missed it's mark a bit in my opinion.

So I liked Aurora as a character, she seemed relatable and didn't make things all about her even though she was in a terrible situation as the next blood witch. But when she meets the wolf pack leader's son, Sage, there's very little interaction between the two yet all of a sudden they are supposed to be madly in love with each other? I actually swiped back through my kindle because I thought maybe I had missed a chapter or something. I found it very abrupt, and wasn't really invested in the relationship.

I loved that this was a fairytale re-telling with a supernatural twist (witches, werewolves, vampires), and it was definitely enjoyable - just a bit rushed. Everything was explicitly stated rather than shown, I thought maybe there was going to be a bit more to the Shadowlands, the way it was spoken about at the beginning. But overall, I enjoyed the book for a quick read with a fairytale edge to it. I may give another book by this author a try to see if this was a one-off.

This is an interesting story I enjoyed the parallels to sleeping beauty and thought it expanded beyond that initial inspiration well. There are multiple magic elements and it was interesting to see the different magical societies as well as their misconceptions about each other. The writing skews a bit toward the younger end of YA which may annoy some readers but overall the pacing and plot were well done. The characters were good and I enjoyed their journey; though the short period of time for the story did cut into the character development. I do wish the story had been a bit longer to fully flesh that out, particularly with Aurora. She goes through a lot of self acceptance and figuring out what she truly wants so it would have been nice to see more of her fully secure in herself and her powers. I really wanted to see more of the magical clans interacting as well. Overall though its still a great journey and story.

This book has such an interesting plot. The reader immediately dives into the thick of the plot and the main character is off on her quest quickly after. It makes for a quick, exciting read with some surprising twists. I enjoyed the twists on the Sleeping Beauty story to make this book unique while keeping it in line with the original fairy tale.

Since the plot does get started so quickly, there is very little time for the author to introduce the main character before she has a major life-changing event. As such, I didn’t feel like I really understood Aurora or felt connected to her throughout the story. I did enjoy her best friend, Hazel, and the other side characters. I wasn’t convinced by the chemistry between Aurora and her love interests, however.

The world of this book was so engaging. I enjoyed learning about the magic system, the different kinds of witches in this world, and the rules. The reader has the ability to discover the world alongside the characters, who are adventuring out of their home for the first time. It made for appealing world-building.

Cursed Beauty is a standalone gender-swapped retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with an enjoyable magic system. The story is fun and engaging, making for a quick read. However, the fast-paced plot makes it harder to connect with the main character, Aurora, or her relationships with her love interests.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book. My opinions are my own.

I love fairytale retellings, and when I saw this beautiful cover I felt really excited to read this book. Especially since it's a sleeping beauty retelling where it's the prince who is asleep.

The story begins with Aurora finding out she's a blood witch. She's the only one in her coven able to save the cursed land they live in. The only way to break the curse is by waking the prince, who is cursed by a sleeping spell.

This story felt rather flat to me. I'm a big fan of show, don't tell, and this author does the opposite. There's no character development and there are no elements to this story that we haven't seen before. Also the whole insta-love trope: not for me. It's not a bad plot or anything, but none of it felt fresh or original.

I feel like this book might be a good start into YA fantasy for younger readers. I'd place it somewhere between middle grade and early YA. It wasn't for me unfortunately, but I do hope others will enjoy it better!

Thank you so much Phoenix Reign publishing for providing me with a copy of Cursed Beauty in exchange for an honest review. Please keep in mind this post contains spoilers for the book.

This book started out with a compelling first inciting incident. I was encapsulated into Aurora's world and coven within the first few chapters. Even though I knew what to expect because of the story's synopsis, I still found myself in shock and awe when everything happened.
But after the first 5 or so chapters, I didn't find myself really enjoying the book. After the first inciting incident, nothing else really popped to me as the reader as an inciting incident. Everything happened way to fast and wasn't explained well enough. Hazel and Aurora barely spent anytime in the forest and then when they meet the shapeshifters, nothing happens in a natural flow. Instant love is not my favorite thing as I find it extremely unrealistic, especially in Aurora and Sage's case. They barely have a conversation before they kiss, and then Sage betrays Aurora, then decides to fight his father for Alpha position. It was back and forth in those specific chapters and it was difficult to understand Sage's character. Not to mention, at the end of the novel, when Aurora and Sage have still barely known each other, Sage announces they're mates. This particularly made me enjoy the novel less.

Besides the instant love, the plot weakens throughout the book and I found myself barely clinging to anything. Everything just felt thrown in and it was frustrating to attempt to follow along.

Overall, this book was quite the dud for me. The plot definitely had potential and it was strong in the beginning, but the instant love weakened the plot and the writing's quality degraded as the book finished.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cursed Beauty will give you a different take on Sleeping Beauty. In it, you will meet Aurora and she's a 16 year old witch. Yes, you read that right - witch, not princess. She's about to find out what kind of magic she will have but she has always had an inkling to what it will be. Mostly because of her family curse. So right now.. she's just waiting for it to be known by everyone within the coven.

The moment her mother realizes that she has blood magic is the day that Aurora needs to figure out a way to save not only the coven but herself from being sacrificed. She wont be alone on this little adventure because her best friend, Hazel, is ready to ditch her loony mother. After meeting Hazel and Aurora, I absolutely loved their friendship. They really were the best of friends and it just felt like they would take over the world - if they could.

Plus I really dislike Hazel's mom so I was definitely excited for them to go on this journey together.

Along the way, they run into some shapeshifters and the insta-feelings were born. Even though I'm not a huge fan of insta-whatever, I actually kind of liked the romance in this. Mostly because the drama was just really awkward and absurd for me to even follow.

Other than that, she saves the vampire prince and her land. The ending was pretty cute and I'm glad that there were no love shapes happening between her, the prince, and the alpha. Definitely devoured the heck out of this book and look forward to my next retelling!

I loved how unique this retelling is. I really thought the world building in this book was excellent. Whitches, werewolves, vampires, shape shifters, does it get better? I thought the story was well laid out and that there was a lot to keep me interested. The only thing I was disappointed in was that I really wish this was at least a duology. I feel like with this wonderful world and this budding romance that the story felt rushed in places. I know stand alone books have their own appeal but I would have loved to have a little bit more of this one.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really excited to receive the opportunity to read Cursed Beauty knowing that it's a sleeping beauty gender-swap retelling.

This was the story of a young witch who must break a curse upon her family by waking up a sleeping prince. What makes this story super interesting, is the aspect of vampires, wolf shifters, and faeries.

After finishing the book I was a little disappointed at how quickly the problems were solved, it made the book seem shallow at times instead of diving into a complex solution.

I really enjoyed the different characters and their overall personalities. Hazel and Sage were my favorites.

While it's not my favorite retelling, I did enjoy this rendition of Sleeping Beauty.

Stacey O'Neale's Cursed Beauty is the authors retelling of Sleeping Beauty but with a gender twist. The day has come for sixteen-year-old Aurora Briar to receive her witch mark like everyone else in her family and coven. Every witch who turns sixteen goes through a witching ceremony to determine what kind of witch they will be and what mark will be permanently placed on them. Her mother is an earth witch, her eldest sister is an lunar witch.

She should be thrilled. But unlike the rest of her coven, she knows that a centuries-old family curse has already decided her fate since it skipped her mother and sister. So, what happens? Aurora ends up being a blood witch which means that in order to save her coven and her family, she will be sacrificed and her blood used to heal the land. After the ceremony, her grandmother Daphne offers her hope: Aurora can save herself and prevent her coven from dying by awakening a sleeping prince with the power to break her curse.

Unfortunately, she must travel through the forbidden Shadowlands to reach him. Aurora, however, doesn't go alone. Her best friend Hazel, an earth witch, has had enough of her mother's interference in her life, and wants something more for her own future that doesn't ride on whether or not her mother thinks it's a good idea or not. The enchanted forest is filled with magical creatures—friends and foes—including the mysterious son of a powerful wolf pack leader, Sage Fernandez and his friend Rune Garcia who crushes hard on Hazel.

The shifters have reason to not allow Aurora to complete her mission. They have an absolute hatred for vampires, and if the prince is awakened, things are likely to go back to hard times for the shifters. This, of course, makes things really difficult for Aurora and Hazel since the shifters would rather see them fail in their mission. With a little help from Sage and Rune, the girls travel to the castle and witness a stunning scene. Can she find the prince in time, and if she succeeds, will he choose to help despite having been placed under the sleeping spell?

With regrets, I only rated this as 3.5 as the ending leaves a glaring cliffhanger ending. I don't mind cliffhanger endings if I know there will be another book in the series. I do not like the fact that we are supposed to make up our own endings for what is going to happen next to Aurora, Hazel, Safe, Rune, and the Vampire Prince, Derrick. I liked the relationship between Hazel and Aurora as well as Hazel and Rune. They make the perfect couple and she has a great chance at becoming something amazing with her magical abilities. I would have liked this book to be a bit longer with more worldbuilding since all we see in parts and parcel of the world including Aurora's home and parts of the Shadowland.

☆☆☆,75 /5
(english review below)

C'est une réécriture plutôt intéressante que j'ai beaucoup apprécié par ce qui a été créé autour du conte connu, bien que j'aurais voulu qu'on s'en éloigne plus.
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Le jour est venu pour Aurora, seize ans, de recevoir sa marque de sorcière. Elle devrait être ravie. Mais contrairement au reste de son clan, une malédiction familiale vieille de plusieurs siècles a déjà décidé de son destin ; le prix de son nouveau pouvoir est sa vie.
Après la cérémonie, sa grand-mère offre un espoir : Aurora peut se sauver et empêcher son clan de mourir en réveillant un prince endormi avec le pouvoir de briser sa malédiction. Malheureusement, elle doit traverser les Shadowlands interdits pour l'atteindre.
La forêt enchantée est remplie de créatures magiques, amis et ennemis, dont le mystérieux fils d'un puissant chef de meute de loups. Pourra-t-elle trouver le prince à temps, et si elle réussit, choisira-t-il d'aider malgré le fait d'avoir été placé sous le charme du sommeil ?
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Globalement, j'ai apprécié cette lecture dont les premières pages nous plongent directement dans l'intrigue. Par de la contextualisation, l'autrice nous introduit rapidement les différents types de sorciers qui existent dans l'univers et la malédiction qui pèse sur la famille d'Aurora. C'était intéressant de mêler la sorcellerie à l'histoire original du conte de La Belle Au Bois Dormant. Ça ajoutait une petite touche sombre et qui promettait de l'aventure au récit.
Et l'aventure d'Aurora m'a faite voyager. C'est un personnage qui m'a plu. Désespérée et démunie, elle n'a que pour solution de se lancer dans ce voyage qui n'est pas sans danger. C'est un voyage qui va lui permettre d'en apprendre plus sur elle-même et ce qu'elle connaît et d'évoluer. Les Shadowlands m'ont fait frissonner et l'autrice a su ajouter à cet environnement une ambiance lourde et suffoquante.
Cela dit, si j'ai bien aimé tout ce qu'a créé l'autrice dans son univers, j'aurais voulu qu'on s'éloigne plus du conte. J'ai eu l'impression que l'autrice a simplement pris le conte en lui-même et a brodé des choses autour pour donner de l'intérêt au lecteur... sans seulement s'inspirer du conte et créer sa propre histoire.

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ENGLISH REVIEW:

It's a rather interesting retelling that I really appreciated by what was created around the known tale, even if I would've liked to have moved away from it more.
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The day has come for sixteen-year-old Aurora to receive her witch mark. She should be thrilled. But unlike the rest of her coven, a centuries-old family curse has already decided her fate; the cost of her new power is her life.
After the ceremony, her grandmother offers her hope: Aurora can save herself and prevent her coven from dying by awakening a sleeping prince with the power to break her curse. Unfortunately, she must travel through the forbidden Shadowlands to reach him.
The enchanted forest is filled with magical creatures—friends and foes—including the mysterious son of a powerful wolf pack leader. Can she find the prince in time, and if she succeeds, will he choose to help despite having been placed under the sleeping spell?
¤
Overall, I enjoyed this reading. The first pages plunge us directly into the plot. Through contextualization, the author quickly introduces us to the different types of witches/warlocks that exist in the universe and the curse that hangs over Aurora's family. It was interesting to mix witchcraft with the original story of the Sleeping Beauty tale. It added a little dark touch that promised adventure to the story.
And Aurora's adventure made me travel. It's a character that I liked. Desperate and destitute, her only solution is to embark on this journey which isn't without danger. It's a journey that will allow her to learn more about herself and what she knows and to evolve. The Shadowlands made me shiver and the author knew how to add a heavy and suffocating atmosphere to this environment.
However, if I liked everything that the author created in the worldbuilding, I would've liked us to move away from the tale. I felt like the author just took the tale on her own and embroidered things around it to interest the reader... without just taking inspiration from the tale and creating her own story.

Definitely read more like a middle-grade as opposed to YA. Was refreshing to see a reversal on the Sleeping Beauty and have the prince as the cursed sleeping one. A short fun read.

Aurora had a cursed bloodline in her family and she knew that she was the one destined to be cursed. Even though she was cursed everyone except her family cheered her like it was a 'good news'. Elders in her coven kept on telling her it a good sacrifice for the land. We need evil and good to balance the world. Easy for them to say but as the curse holder, Aurora was not easy to accept her short future.

Despite being left out and had almost no friend in her coven, I adored so much Aurora's pure will and heart. People ignored her everyday. None of them wanted to befriend with her, parents kept their sons away from Aurora so they will not ever think of falling in love with her and they celebrated her predetermined destiny. But what Aurora wanted to return to the? Sacrifice to break their coven's curse. To be honest, if I was in her place, I will not be that nice to help someone who was a jerk to me for all of my life. Hey! You think whoever fall in love with Aurora is a big mistake? No, infact he will be the luckiest guy in the world😤

Cursed Beauty is a refreshing read. If someone need a moment of escape or take a rest from stress, heavy plot and conflict, this book is what you need! I think this book is suitable to bring along when you're going for a short vacation because of it light and enjoyable story. Oh and it suitable to read for those around 13-17 years old.

I was really excited to read this book, I had read some of the author's other work and really enjoyed it. So it's really disappointing to say that this one missed the mark. This was such a good concept, that could've been SO good if only more time had been taken to tell the story.

If you take out the part where they're locked up for who knows how long, the entire story happens in like 4 days. Including 2 intense relationships. There's not a lot of exploration into what could have been an interesting world. Any conflict that the MC faces is quickly resolved and tied into a neat little bow.

I was really excited about this book, but it just did not live up to the potential.

*Thank you to the publisher for the eARC.

I can't say this was a memorable book or even a really good book; but what I can say is it was an entertaining book, and that was enough for me to enjoy it for what it was.

Cursed Beauty overall was an easy, fast paced read; and my only real complaint was it did feel a bit rushed at times. It also felt a bit random and a bit annoying at times too, but it was fun all the same.

I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick enjoyable read.