This is another ARC from Net Galley. I was drawn to the cover and the blurb but honestly I just couldn’t really get into it that much. There were certain aspects that made it somewhat not very believable for me. How characters make spur of the moment decisions without thinking at all, how easily they were convinced to go to the village, and how suddenly and very quickly everything happens, from feelings to plot twists. It made it hard for me to get caught up in the story. It was a light read, easy to get through, and an interesting take on a gender reversed retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Just not quite my cup of tea.

Synopsis
Aurora is a sixteen year old witch who is cursed to give up her life for the good of her coven. When she finds out there might be a way to remove the curse and save not only herself but her coven as well. She must now search for and wake a sleeping prince to try to break it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Phoenix Reign Publishing for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Cursed Beauty we follow Aurora and her friend Hazel as they venture into a forest that is forbidden for them to enter by their coven. But the reason why they head into this forest is to stop a curse that's been upon Aurora's bloodline for generations. Her way of stopping it is to wake the sleeping prince. Along the way they encounter some people that they're not sure if they can trust.

Okay, to start off this review I'm going to say that if you're looking for a fun, kind of ridiculous, happy, easy read. Then this is the book for you. It was a very quick read for me and I did enjoy it while also having fun but there were some things that threw me off or annoyed me.

First, when I went into this story I thought it'd be more upper YA since the cover was a bit dark (By the way, I love this cover!!) and I know, I know "don't judge a book my it's cover" but you know we all do it. So, when I started reading I realized the tone of this book, in my opinion, was written for the younger YA group or even MG (middle grade). Which I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, I did enjoy this book, it just surprised me. But there were some things that were mentioned in the book that threw me off. Like, the tone seems to be written for lower YA but then there would be cussing or something else that suggests an older audience. Which threw me off because, again, the tone felt more like a Middle Grade or younger YA. It just didn't fit in my opinion or sounded right.

Second, I don't know what time period this book is based off of but from what I got by the content it wasn't modern. There was a castle, (some) proper talking, and nothing advanced. So, when I started to read sentences that had more modern sayings/words it took me out of the story. Which I can get it since it does seem to be for younger readers. It just, again, took me out of the story.

Also, I thought this was very random but Zeus was mentioned one time during the book. One. Time. Like no description of how Zeus had anything to do with the story nor anything that explained what connected him to the character that said it. I mean, Zeus is the god of lighting or something... not werewolves. I don't know. It just took be aback.

Third, I couldn't get connected to the characters. I felt like there wasn't enough time to really understand them. And I think one reason for that was because the author would show that Aurora or Hazel or any of the other characters were strong or smart or scared, but then in the next sentence told us it.

Also, something I found a bit funny was how many times Sage (love interest) "closed the distance" super speedy-like to Aurora. I swear it was in every interaction. Which it didn't bother me, I just found it funny.

Though, my thoughts above may seem I didn't like this book but that's not true. I wouldn't say it's my favorite or it'll stay with me for a while after putting it down but I did enjoy and had fun reading. It kept my attention through the whole thing and I flew through this book. So if you're looking for a really easy read that's just something light, quick, and festive, this is the book for you. Especially if you like retellings.

3 stars

A cute story, with nice ideas, but the writing voice was not very engaging. It felt a little blend, sadly. The characters were too nice, with not enough turmoil to make them very interesting, or with any internal growth. But the explanations are clear, the world is built step-by-step again very neatly, even if the magic is too easy.

Cursed beauty is a sleeping beauty retelling. I love retellings so I jumped at the chance to read this. And this book did not disappoint!!!
What a joy it has been to read this book.
Throw in vampires, shapeshifters,witches, faeries and plenty other magical creatures and you have one heck of a book.
Aurora briar is turning sixteen and turning sixteen is supposed to be a special time. When a young witch turns sixteen they undergo a witching ceremony which will help them determine what kind of witch they will be. Afterwards they receive their mark.
Aurora is dreading her ceremony because she already knows the outcome. Because of a curse placed on her family generation ago. She knows what kind of mark she will receive. Everyone knows.


After her ceremony she learns that she needs to travel through the shadowlands to awaken a sleeping prince and he might help her break the curse. She's the Prince Philip of this story!


The adventure begins as soon as they enter the shadowlands It was fast paced and wrapped up pretty quickly.
Friendships and family plays alot into this book. Along the way the makes alot of friendships as well as encounter lots of mythic creatures. The Friendship between hazel and Aurora was the highlight for me.

Overall I would recommend this book for a younger audience. The young side of YA. It's fasted pace, keeps you entertained and has that magical element everyone loves. I will check check out other books from this author.

The story was unique, magical, and enjoyable to read. The characters are charming. I like the solid friendships between the characters. The story is still captivating even though it is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The story was well-written and had a good pace. The world-building was underdeveloped. Some backstories of the supporting characters would have been great. The romance for me was more of an infatuation rather than a serious relationship. I do love the twists and revelations in the end.

The story follows Aurora Briar, a sixteen-year-old blood witch who needs to save her land and coven from dying. Together with her friend Hazel, Aurora traversed the Shadowlands to search the Kingdom of Rosamond, where a sleeping prince would help her break the curse.

Overall, this was a good read for me though I felt that it ended sooner. I want to know more about the other supernaturals like the fae and the vampires. I want to know if Aurora would be able to return to her coven.

This story was my first read by the author. I would certainly check out her other works because of her imaginative ideas. I highly recommend this to a younger audience.

I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I was intrigued in the beginning. I liked the idea of the witch factions and that the MC was going to get the curse, even if I didn’t know what the curse was at the time. The story was progressing fast, so I would have liked more descriptions and world building. Unfortunately, it just got worse from there. The instant love trope is never something I liked. Also, it went from witches, to nymphs and fae, to werewolves, to vampires—too much in my opinion. I thought it was just about witches and magic; I really don’t care for the other stuff. The interactions made me roll my eyes repeatedly. It was a quick read, so at least it was over fast. It read almost Mg, so definitely young YA.

I have to admit I found this book a little underwhelming. It's marketed as a gender-bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it's a retelling in the loosest sense, where only the important and recognisable details of the fairy tale are included.

The book had a lot of promise, but in the end I felt it lacked a little 'decoration'. I would've liked to have seen more of Aurora's internal dialogue. She just went headfirst into everything without considering the consequenses and while that adds to the story, it would have been a little better if we could have seen what went on in her head.

Besides that I would've liked to see a little more description. The plot is fast-paced and there's a lot of dialogue, but after reading all I can tell you is that the castle is white and that Aurora had to row over a lake to get to her house. With a forest called Shadowwood, it would have been nice to have seen more description of the place.

However, I did like the writing style and the idea very much. The writing was very comfortable to read and I think it felt as a very fast book because of all the dialogue. Yes, it did feel as though the story was crammed in a small amount of pages, but it didn't bother me all that much while reading. Like I said, I think the story would've benefited from a little more 'decoration & desciption', but overall it was quite an entertaining book and I would definitely recommend it to people looking for a retelling to read.

Another big thanks to Netgalley for this copy of Cursed Beauty. I'm a softie for a good retelling- lots arent a hit, and rather a miss. Cursed Beauty is, thankfully, a hit for me! A different take as there are more paranormal elements, and the big difference is the roles are reversed. Not only is Aurora moreso the "prince phillip" of this tale, but she's actively searching for the prince while battling out her own curse. A true YA version, this was a nice change of pace. Friendships and found family are within this retelling which is always a beautiful sort of trope? I guess i can say. I loved this, and I hope this gets a decent hype and following as I believe it deserves it! Great job, Stacey O'Neale.

3 stars

Fairy tale retellings are a wonderful staple of YA literature, especially ones that flip the script.

In this Sleeping Beauty retelling, we have a blood witch who must go on a journey to awaken the sleeping prince in order to save her coven and the land that she loves. Having the female character save the day is certainly not new, but I always welcome it in the books I read because I think it is incredibly important to demonstrate that we are not all damsels in distress.

As a whole, I thought this book was good. I am a sucker for a witch main character and Aurora is no exception, especially when you get all sorts of other magical creatures surrounding her. I just wish that the tension had been a little more pressing. Every obstacle that Aurora faced was pretty easily solved and I never felt like she actually had to fight that hard to beat this curse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Phoenix Reign Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Phoenix Reign Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review!

CURSED BEAUTY is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with Sabrina the Teenage Witch vibes and a twist. The genders have been swapped and we have Aurora Briar as a young witch turning sixteen. 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. Aurora is dreading her ceremony as she knows she will be cursed just like her grandmother before. Aurora finds out she is a blood witch: a witch who is to protect and serve the land and sacrifice themselves for the good of the coven. After the ceremony she finds out from her grandmother through spirit form that Aurora will need to travel far through the Shadowlands to Rosamond to wake a sleeping prince. Once she wakes the prince she will either help break the curse or there will be death to all.

I thought the story was pretty well paced but definitely needed a few tweaks. The journey through the Shadowlands in the beginning was fun and exciting. I really enjoyed Aurora's friendship with Hazel and the sisterly bonds they have. I did like the romance and all the little twists to the story of Sleeping Beauty. It was a well thought-out retelling but there wasn't a lot of world-building. The story came across at the younger side of YA which is totally fine. I think anyone between 13-17 would really enjoy the book and appreciate the journey Aurora takes throughout the story. The character development is a little lacking but not enough for me to not enjoy the characters.

4 stars

EDIT:
For some reason my review will not post on my Goodreads account through NetGalley, it said something about a wrong ISBN or couldn't find it on Goodreads. I have manually entered the review on my Goodreads account so it is definitely on there!

This story had a reasonably unique concept for a fairytale retelling, but suffered from rough execution. I could tell the writing was geared towards a younger YA reader but, even for that range, it needed a bit more polish.

I will keep an eye on the author though, as she has cool ideas.

4/ 5 stars
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?

Aurora is a strong, and fearless character who will do anything or go anywhere to save her family and in turn herself. Aurora takes her best friend on a journey through the shadowlands and meet some interestering characters. I love the chemistry between Sage and Aurora, and how strong their bond is. This novel is a quick read, i read it in a day and just couldnt put it down. I would definitely recommend this one for anywho who loves supernatural books or a quick interesting read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Cursed Beauty is a gender-bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty. In this story, Aurora receives her witch mark and discovers she is a bearer of her family's curse. She is the only one who can save her coven and their lands - but the price will be her life. Her only hope is to break the curse. To do this, she must travel through the enchanted Shadowlands to find the sleeping prince, the only one with the power to save her.

I requested this as soon as I saw the cover - it's beautiful. This was a super quick read, yet enjoyable. This is definitely a looser retelling than some, but I absolutely prefer that, as it leaves the story open for surprises.

The adventure begins almost right away so I was invested right from the first page. Having said that, everything happens very quickly and easily. This felt like a younger YA than I usually read, and I felt there was a lot more 'tell' than 'show' going on which I struggled with a little.

I did like some of the twists with the supernatural creatures involved, and the friendship between Aurora and Hazel was one of the highlights for me. They complemented each other's strengths and weaknesses and I felt they had the strongest connection of all the characters in the book.

Overall a fast-paced, entertaining read set against the backdrop of an enchanted forest, I would recommend Cursed Beauty for a younger YA audience.

While the plot was promising, and I enjoyed the book's theme of female friendship, the book didn't really do it for me overall. There was no attempt at all at worldbuilding. Rather than feeling I was in another place and time, I felt like I was watching a couple of modern American teenagers pretending to live in a fairy tale land.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

Although this story was marketed as a gender-bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, it is a very loose retelling. This was a fun book and I read it within the span of a few hours. The feminist tones of book through female friendship was the highlight of the story for me, even though I found parts of it lacking.

I loved the interweaving of witches and vampires in the story as the motivation for Aurora to find the sleeping prince; it brought something new to the fairytale. I was hooked in the beginning with the start of Aurora's journey, but partway through lost interest due to the story slowing down once we meet her love interest. I'm still not sure what he adds to the story, and I didn't find their relationship to be believable. Though there were elements from Sleeping Beauty told throughout the story, this felt like it was heavily inspired rather than was a retelling. I think a portion of that came from Aurora being the hero of the story, but most of the book had the action happening to her when she should have been the motivator. Hers was supposed to be a story of sacrifice, but the stakes never felt high enough due to her insistence that it was always meant to happen.

Overall, I think that the story may benefit if it were to be expanded into a series. The ending felt too rushed and wrapped up far too quickly. Getting to explore the world in the aftermath would be interesting in addition to allowing the characters to be more dimensional.

Thank you NetGalley and Stacey O'Neale for allowing me to read this ARC!
This book was a fun, fast-paced retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I have not read many tales on this classic, so I was super excited when I came across this one.
The story following a 16-year-old witch named Aurora who must find the courage in herself and her power to save her coven from a curse killing the land and, eventually, them.
On her journey, Aurora encounters all sorts of magical creatures, including shapeshifters and fey, which was a really unique addition that added a fun twist to the tale.
There isn't much in the way of world-building or info dumping. Rather, this is quick from the beginning, with the adventure beginning pretty much from the start.
It is definitely a younger YA book. Perfect for fans of JLA's Lux series.
You can find my review here, Goodreads, and my Instagram @samwisereads!