A review by k_winchester
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon
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.