lauren_michelle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
michellesantiago's review against another edition
3.0
I had very high expectations going into this Of Curses and Kisses. I enjoyed Sandhya Menon's debut novel When Dimple Met Rishi and I absolutely LOVED There's Something About Sweetie (one of my favorites of 2019). So, when I heard of Of Curses and Kisses, I was excited--a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in a boarding school featuring an Indian princess? Yes please!
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of the novel from its publisher, but I waited to read it until the novel officially released out so I can listen to the audiobook. This ended up being a good decision because if I was reading it on my own I might've ended up not finishing it. But, the audiobook was excellently narrated by Shiromi Arserio and Jason Carpenter. If you're going to pick up this book, I highly recommend reading it via audiobook.
Anyway, Of Curses and Kisses ended up disappointing me. I didn't hate it completely, but I was expecting it to be a four- or five-star read. I ended up giving it three (maybe even 2.5) stars.
Let's start with what I liked--
I really enjoy Sandhya Menon's writing and her voice and this was also true in Of Curses and Kisses. Her writing is very readable. I also liked how she took the Beauty and the Beast tale and put her own modern twist into it. There were also some cute nods to the Disney version of the story throughout the novel that made me smile.
I liked the sister relationship between Jaya and Isha. They both loved and cared for each other. Jaya... she... I'll get to her later, but I really liked Isha. She's the fun, carefree little sister but very smart.
I liked Grey. He doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone and kind of built a forcefield around himself to keep people away, but with the curse hanging over his head and his daddy issues I get why he was the way he was.
The friendship group that formed between Grey, Jaya, Rahul, Leo, and Daphne.
The twist on Caterina's character. I really liked the girls supporting other girls theme.
Now for the things I didn't like--
Jaya. I did not like her and she never grew on me, which was unfortunate because she's half the book! Her plan was to make Grey fall in love with her so she could break his heart as revenge because she believed he leaked the pictures to the media that caused Isha's public humiliation. When it became evident early on that Grey couldn't have leaked the photos to the gossip rags both to Jaya and us the readers, she kept going with her plan anyway. And then there was the fact that she didn't want her sister to do science and engineering because it's unladylike. What?!
And because I didn't like Jaya, I couldn't really get behind the romance. I thought Grey deserved better. Actually, I didn't know why he was so into her in the first place--why she was able to penetrate his forcefield with her awkward "flirting" when Rahul, Leo, and Daphne have been trying to bring him into their friendship cirle for years. If anything, she was kinda hot and cold with him. I didn't feel there was enough chemistry between them and I feel like their romance fell flat.
The drama between Daphne and Caterina and Alaric. Like I said, I did like the twist on Caterina's character and girls supporting other girls theme aspect of this secondary plot, but I didn't care for that whole drama. It slowed down the main plot (actually, it kind of took over the main plot) and I was bored with it.
In conclusion--
I didn't completely dislike Of Curses and Kisses, but it did ultimately disappoint me. If you like reading modern retellings of fairy tales and a dash of magic in your contemporary YA romances, you might still want to give Of Curses and Kisses a try. I do highly suggest reading it via the audiobook, which is excellent. I am still very much looking forward to Sandhya Menon next release, though, which is a follow-up to Dimple and Sweetie.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of the novel from its publisher, but I waited to read it until the novel officially released out so I can listen to the audiobook. This ended up being a good decision because if I was reading it on my own I might've ended up not finishing it. But, the audiobook was excellently narrated by Shiromi Arserio and Jason Carpenter. If you're going to pick up this book, I highly recommend reading it via audiobook.
Anyway, Of Curses and Kisses ended up disappointing me. I didn't hate it completely, but I was expecting it to be a four- or five-star read. I ended up giving it three (maybe even 2.5) stars.
Let's start with what I liked--
I really enjoy Sandhya Menon's writing and her voice and this was also true in Of Curses and Kisses. Her writing is very readable. I also liked how she took the Beauty and the Beast tale and put her own modern twist into it. There were also some cute nods to the Disney version of the story throughout the novel that made me smile.
I liked the sister relationship between Jaya and Isha. They both loved and cared for each other. Jaya... she... I'll get to her later, but I really liked Isha. She's the fun, carefree little sister but very smart.
I liked Grey. He doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone and kind of built a forcefield around himself to keep people away, but with the curse hanging over his head and his daddy issues I get why he was the way he was.
The friendship group that formed between Grey, Jaya, Rahul, Leo, and Daphne.
The twist on Caterina's character. I really liked the girls supporting other girls theme.
Now for the things I didn't like--
Jaya. I did not like her and she never grew on me, which was unfortunate because she's half the book! Her plan was to make Grey fall in love with her so she could break his heart as revenge because she believed he leaked the pictures to the media that caused Isha's public humiliation. When it became evident early on that Grey couldn't have leaked the photos to the gossip rags both to Jaya and us the readers, she kept going with her plan anyway. And then there was the fact that she didn't want her sister to do science and engineering because it's unladylike. What?!
And because I didn't like Jaya, I couldn't really get behind the romance. I thought Grey deserved better. Actually, I didn't know why he was so into her in the first place--why she was able to penetrate his forcefield with her awkward "flirting" when Rahul, Leo, and Daphne have been trying to bring him into their friendship cirle for years. If anything, she was kinda hot and cold with him. I didn't feel there was enough chemistry between them and I feel like their romance fell flat.
The drama between Daphne and Caterina and Alaric. Like I said, I did like the twist on Caterina's character and girls supporting other girls theme aspect of this secondary plot, but I didn't care for that whole drama. It slowed down the main plot (actually, it kind of took over the main plot) and I was bored with it.
In conclusion--
I didn't completely dislike Of Curses and Kisses, but it did ultimately disappoint me. If you like reading modern retellings of fairy tales and a dash of magic in your contemporary YA romances, you might still want to give Of Curses and Kisses a try. I do highly suggest reading it via the audiobook, which is excellent. I am still very much looking forward to Sandhya Menon next release, though, which is a follow-up to Dimple and Sweetie.
misterintensity's review against another edition
3.0
After her sister Isha is scandalized, Jaya Rao vows vengeance on the one she believes is responsible for the scandal, Grey Emerson, by making him fall for her then breaking his heart. In this contemporary romance, the “beast” believes he is destined to die after turning eighteen because of a curse cast by “beauty’s” ancestor. The alleged curse is the extent of actual magic of the book. Without a fantasy element the emphasis is on romance and character relationships. The sisterly relationship between Jaya and Isla is a strong relationship, which readers wish for more Isha in the book. Readers are introduced to several characters but with the arguable exceptions of two, best friend Daphne Elizabeth and antagonist Caterina they don’t get much development. While the other relationships could have been more fleshed out, the romance between the leads is a nice slow burn. As the first book of the St. Rosetta’s Academy series, the school’s Aspen, Colorado setting comes to life. Readers might look forward to learning more about the school in subsequent books. Readers of Menon’s other novels would enjoy this one, as well as fans of Kasie West, Adi Alsaid, and Becky Albertalli.
karisa's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
I'll be honest, it gets an extra half star because the audiobook readers were incredibly talented, and handled every accent thrown their way amazingly. The story itself though was not compelling to me. Mild spoilers - Overall, there were too many elements of the story/pieces of dialogue (internal and external) that overthrew my submersion and belief in the story and characters. I did however find the side plots and characters much more interesting. I don't regret reading it, but I definitely don't want to read it again.
Spoiler
Jaya dragged on her revenge plans (which were pretty strange to begin with) for far longer than was reasonable, and Grey was a fairly flat character consisting mainly of angst.greergreer's review against another edition
2.0
Well that was one of the most blah books I have every read. This would have been better as a novella.
It felt like the author was trying to push this story into something it just refused to be. No love for this book.
It felt like the author was trying to push this story into something it just refused to be. No love for this book.
antireading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The end wraps up too quickly but this was a great read
k_winchester's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was cute, though I didn't end up loving it as much as I was hoping. I loved the concept, and there were lots of little things I enjoyed. Honestly surprised but how many mature or healthy conversations were had between many of the characters and things didn't devolve into typical chick flick/sitcom misunderstanding angst which I frequently expected when certain moments arose and I kept getting pleasantly surprised by how the characters handled many of those.
That being said, I feel like the pacing was kinda weird - a lot of Grey and Jaya's thoughts/internal narratives felt verrry repetitive, and the ending felt weirdly rushed for all the build up (and Grey's speech on the phone - without being spoilery - while good and warranted, also completely came out of nowhere. A lot if Grey's white boy brooding angst and both of thier repetitive musings could've been used to build some foundation for that speech).
As well, given that Jaya's entire focus/drive is supposed to be her sister, Isha is baaaarely in the book. I get the focus of this story is supposed to be Grey and Jaya, but aside from basically chapter 1 and the very last chapter, the sister relationship which is supposed to be SO important (to the point that Jaya is molding her life around protecting/avenging/steering/etc her) is non existent. We get a lot if Jaya thinking about how important her sister while basically never seeing them interact, which just feels very weird.
Overall though, a solid 3.5 stars - it really was cute and light hearted.
That being said, I feel like the pacing was kinda weird - a lot of Grey and Jaya's thoughts/internal narratives felt verrry repetitive, and the ending felt weirdly rushed for all the build up (and Grey's speech on the phone - without being spoilery - while good and warranted, also completely came out of nowhere. A lot if Grey's white boy brooding angst and both of thier repetitive musings could've been used to build some foundation for that speech).
As well, given that Jaya's entire focus/drive is supposed to be her sister, Isha is baaaarely in the book. I get the focus of this story is supposed to be Grey and Jaya, but aside from basically chapter 1 and the very last chapter, the sister relationship which is supposed to be SO important (to the point that Jaya is molding her life around protecting/avenging/steering/etc her) is non existent. We get a lot if Jaya thinking about how important her sister while basically never seeing them interact, which just feels very weird.
Overall though, a solid 3.5 stars - it really was cute and light hearted.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
2.0
CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 2
Writing: 6
Plot: 4
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 5
Enjoyment: 4
This was a massive disappointment. I think I will be sticking to Sandhya Menon's contemporary romances from now on not these weird delves into alternate worlds with royalty.
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 2
Writing: 6
Plot: 4
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 5
Enjoyment: 4
This was a massive disappointment. I think I will be sticking to Sandhya Menon's contemporary romances from now on not these weird delves into alternate worlds with royalty.