Curtsies & Consequences

What I love:
-This is a unique story - it's very creative and hilarious.
-I need chocolate now.
-Feminist plotline.
-I have already laughed out loud at least three times and I'm not even on page 40 yet.
-I have yet to see any sort of trigger. There is a family death, but it's only in reference to the past.
-The representation!!!
-The humor is everything. EVERYTHING.


What kept it from being 5 stars (I changed my score since finishing this book, a rare occurrence!!):

-Hard to keep track of the characters (this may be a personal preference as I am bad with names in real life as well). I couldn't knock the author for this as I started to get more comfortable with the characters over time. A little list of characters before the start of the book or at the end could be helpful.

-The book was slightly confusing at times as to what was happening. This can be the fault of the writer, but can also be the fault of the reader. In this case, I believe it was my fault because this writing style is different from what I am used to (books I typically read).


+++++
Ok, I just finished this book. I started it this morning. I am a fast reader, but I have been engrossed in this work of art all day long.

I will need to keep up with the series, because this was such an enjoyable read.

I am also addicted to coffee, and Robert and Kira will be living in my head rent-free for the foreseeable future.

Curtsies & Consequences is a MUST READ! This is a wonderful book which paints a retelling of a tale as old as time. The captivating story opens with Princess Kira posing as a terrifying beast and then winds through a Royal society where magic and fairies are common place. From beginning to end it held my interest with strong character development, relationships, and mystery. Chapter after chapter I found myself wondering what I would do if I was in Kira's shoes. I was completely unaware of time as I read, completely immersed in the powerful prose of Melissa Constantine's writing. The thoughts and actions of each character evoked a feeling of relatability, I cared very much if Sir Handsome Hair would connect the dots from princess to beast or if Bertie and Xav would make it through. (I NEED BOOK TWO!) , This book is the reason I read books, in hopes they are as thought provokingly happy and exciting.

I enjoyed the story.
The characters were well rounded, the different POVs were interesting.
The story concept was really intriguing!

Thank you NetGalley and Sun Valley Books for the ARC.

This book is a mismatch of random fairy tale troupes and it is amazing: some Cinderella stepmother action, Beauty & the Beast (but the beauty is the beast) and some Sleeping Beauty action thrown in for good measure. I am so glad the about the author mentions that she is working on more books in this series because I would be devastated is there wasn’t more to read in this world she created.

“When she was queen, all dresses would have pockets”.

Princess Kira is my kind of future queen with rules such as all dresses having pockets and daily chocolate. As the book goes on you learn more of her past and how it has created who she is and why she acts the way she does the more you feel for her as a person. The handsome knight is the perfect love interest because they compliment each other so well.

It is a new adult romantasy and is exactly what you expect from that genre. It is written older than a YA but still has a bit of that growing up of the main character as part of the plot. I would say if you are a parent this would be safe for your older teen to read.

Curtsies & consequences starts slow, but things quickly improve as you understand the main character more. I grew to like her a lot more than I expected to. My heart will always come around for an off-putting woman.
(Xavier though… kind of sucked. Even for a minor character. I’m not really one to mind when characters behave badly, but I felt like I was gonna go crazy seeing him described as an angel when all he really did was be rude and insensitive to his boyfriend. I would’ve taken all of their scenes and just gave them to Robert.)

<3 Robert!!! <3 Loved that sweet guy.

I’d best describe the world building as ‘Howl’s moving castle with Fairies.’ I really enjoyed these aspects and I’d like to read the sequel. Diana and Jordaan seem like a fun time.
This book was at its best when focused on the two main character’s and drawing on the fairytale similarities with the author’s unique twists. If ‘beauty & the beast, but the beast is a weird grumpy princess’ sounds appealing to you, check it out! 3.75 stars.

I really enjoyed Curtsies and Consequences. It's my favorite kind of world to escape into, a fairytale world with coziness and romance. In the same vein as Ireen Chau and Hanna Sandvig, two of my favorite authors. I just wanted to live in this world forever.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an E-ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ You Should Read “Curtsies & Consequences” by Melissa Constantine

If you like…
* Slow Burn
* Relatable Characters
* Magic & Fairies
* Laughing Out Loud
* Beauty & the Beast

HER:🩷
An angry princess pretending to be a beast

HIM:💙
A beautiful knight who is honor-bound to protect her

THEIR STORY:📖
Kira, Princess Royal of the Known Kingdoms, has a big, particularly hairy secret. That terrifying thing running through the woods around Corlea Palace? That’s her.

And she plans to keep it up, using the magic of an old cloak to be the mythical Beast of Barlow. It’s all going just fine until she receives an urgent request from her cousin Bertie to help him figure out why a group of orphans is turning into little copies of the Beast whenever they go outside. To help solve the mystery Kira is paired with Sir Robert, perhaps the most infuriatingly beautiful (and far too preceptive) knight on the continent, before a planned hunt for the Beast puts them in even more danger. All she has to do is keep her secrets close and Robert closer. Easy.

Until she wakes up as the Beast she’s been pretending to be.

Pre-order now (out 10/3/24):
https://amzn.to/4gsPj4t

If you like funny with your fantasy, you’re gonna love this!

Thank you to @sunvalleybooks and #NetGalley for letting me enjoy an advanced copy of Curtsies & Consequences.

❤️
♥️
♥️

#CurtsiesConsequences #newadult #romance #sciencefiction #fantasy #bookaddict #bookaddiction #bookreview #bookreviewer #newbookalert #newrelease #tbrlist #booktok #nextread #reading #readingtime #bookratings #readersgonnaread #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #read #fantasybooks #romancebooks #scifibooks #fairies #magic #beautyandthebeast #slowburn #laughoutloud

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Curtsies and Consequences by Melissa Constantine is a hilarious no-spice regency fantasy romance, à la My Lady Jane.

Meet Kira, the future queen of the Known Kingdoms, as she will tell you one hundred times in this book. But for now, her crown is held by her stepmother, which she deeply resents. So to take her revenge, she robs the Lords of the country by being the Beast of Barlow, a mythical creature, using an enchanted fur pelt. But one day, she meets the knight Robbie, and the magic starts running havoc. The pair has to solve a mystery raised by Kira’s cousin: kids from an orphanage suddenly became small versions of the Beast of Barlow… But this doesn’t have any link with Kira, does it?

I absolutely loved this story! It was original and a breath of fresh air from all the regency or contemporary romances I usually read. And did I say it was hilarious? The humor went from sharp and witty banter to comical situations, and I found myself laughing out loud at times.

The narration has multiple POV, between the two MCs and their friends, which is a bit weird at first, but I quickly realized that there’s not just one love story, but three!

The characters were so damn-well written, I actually regret not to have a bit more to read on them. I would have loved a bit more insight on all the characters, because the comical of the situations removed a bit of the dramatics. One example: when Kira and Robbie find themselves again at one point, the focus is not on them but on magical objects that appear out of thin air.

I have to admit I did not like Kira at first: I found her obnoxious and rude to her stepmother, but as I delved into the story, she really grew out on me - especially when I learned why she hates her Stepmother so much. You know when you read something and you have to go back to a sentence at the beginning of the book and you realize you completely misunderstood it. Yeah. Like that.

The world-building was deep and novel, and I wished it was more introduced at the beginning of the book. I felt a bit of frustration at knowing new things about the world at the very end of the book - how could I have guessed what the mystery of the book was without knowing anything about the world I’m reading about?

That being said, it was a very, very good story that went way deeper than I expected, and it will probably stay with me for a while.

*Small note* I had the pleasure of reading this as an ARC, but there were a lot of missed words or errors in construction of sentences, especially at the end. I hope this is resolved when the book is out.

This story is so good and so cute! Omg!!! I loved to read this book. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

This was such a fun read. Enjoyed it immensely! The characters were likable and interesting. Hooked me from the beginning. Thank you for allowing me to read it early!

This book was very different than what I was expecting - not in a bad way, just a different way. For the most part, I enjoyed the story. It was fun, funny at times, and interesting, but something about the story seemed to jump around. I don't know if that's the right way to describe it, but when I think back to the storyline it seems disjointed. That's where it lost points for me. Characters were interesting, but sometimes their storylines were a part of the disjointed feeling. Maybe it was the writing style and I'm just not used to it. *Shrug*

I enjoyed Kira's character - pretty straight forward and you can empathize with her.
Robert - sweet character, but I wish we would have gotten to know him better.
Bertie - will be interesting to see where his story goes
Diana - seemed like a strong character and it will be interesting to see where her story goes
Xavier - petulant brat. Not really a fan
Caris - interesting character. I want her and her partner's story

Okay, so, Curties & Consequences... I'm feeling a bit conflicted about this one.

I liked the idea of a story set in a world with magic, fairies, and court intrigue. And the forced proximity trope is always fun! But honestly, the first 20% was really slow.

The FMC, Kira, was a bit of a brat at times, which made it hard to root for her. But thankfully, she does get a character arc that redeemed her a little.

I think this book might be better suited for YA readers than New Adult. It felt a bit too young for me.

Overall, it's not a bad read, but it's definitely not my favorite.

This story was very unique! I have not read anything else like this & it was quite refreshing.
It’s also nice not to have so many triggers/ trigger warnings! I like a dark read and I think in a way trigger warnings can kind of intrigue you to read more and see how dark something really is? But this had such a good unique story line & not one trigger warning that I could think of at the top of my head apart from a family death that they talk about in past tense.

The humour had me literally LOL.
I did find it a little hard to keep up with the characters as they all more or less get introduced at the beginning and you have to try and follow along but that could just be my downfall to be honest.
It did confuse me slightly but again, this could be down to me! But everything made sense in the end if you kept following right through ( worth it, keep going…).

Robert & Kira live in my mind & I can’t wait to follow the rest of the series! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this incredible arc 💗