This book was so good! This book is a Beauty & the Beast retelling! What could be better than that?! I loved how diverse the characters were and how sweet this story was. There was hatred, love, and so much more. I loved watching the growth of the characters in this book. I would highly recommend it!

Along with Menon's other books, I loved this modern take on Beauty and the Beast. It helped it was set at an elite boarding school, I ate this book up from start to finish!!

3.5/5 stars

One part Beauty and the Beast, one part star-crossed lovers, one part fake-dating trope, of Curses and Kisses takes place in a present-day Colorado boarding school. Jaya is the heiress to a provincial Indian community starts attending St. Rosetta’s with her younger sister in tow, tails between their legs after Isha was photographed in a compromising situation. But Jaya has an ulterior motive: she learned from the newspaper that published those photos that the person who provided the pics goes to St. Rosetta’s, too, and he just so happens to be the heir of a neighboring community that has a long-seated grudge with Jaya’s family. And so Jaya is going to seduce Grey, the heir, and then break his heart. But as Jaya gets to know Grey, she befriends the lonely and hermit-like Grey, who has his own baggage that may or may not be tied to Jaya’s rose necklace that has a tendency to lose rubies.... And maybe Grey isn’t the beast her family has always made him out to be....

The slow-burn, the obviousness of Grey to Jaya’s flirting, and the natural inclination of one-sided enemies to friends to dating is gradually and well done. The fractured fairytale is too overt, like the story wanted to stray mor3toward star-crossed lovers, and then Menon had to remind herself, “No, this is Beauty and the Beast!” and then forcibly adjust the story to make the B&B aspects more overt. That gets old pretty fast, but the cuteness of Jaya and Grey was enough to warrant the bump up to four stars.

Diverse reads:
- Jaya is from India.

Since this is the first in a series, and there was a super minor character who is a lesbian, we may get an LGBTQIA+ romance from Menon in the not-so-distant future!

What a fun little retelling of Beauty and the Beast! I loved the mountainous boarding school setting, and the characters were interesting enough, especially since Jaya is a princess, but not really.

The story wasn't anything unexpected, especially the with some things that were revealed near the end that I called at about the 20% mark. However, it did twist the conventions of the Beauty and the Beast story enough that it didn't feel stale. Grey and Jaya both had interesting character development, though Grey's was more natural and it felt like Jaya changed all at once at the end of the book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read! A nice way to pass the time with a cute book, especially if you're a big Beauty and the Beast fan like me.

I simply wasn't a fan of this. I can see why others might like it, but it didn't work for me. The characters felt really shallow, especially Grey. He was the epitome of the Brooding Love Interest™. I almost thought his character was meant to be a parody it was so spot on. The other characters weren't as egregious, but I still wasn't a fan of them. There was a side plot involving a love triangle that felt really odd for the story and wasn't done that well in my opinion.

I had a hard time with the setting, as in what time period it was set in or even what genre the book is. Reading the synopsis I thought it was fantasy, but reading the actual book it seemed like it was meant to be a regular modern day contemporary, but then the actual dialogue read like it was more of a fantasy or set in the past. I found that very confusing, because assuming that the book is set in modern day the dialogue felt very off to me. It could be argued that Jaya had an interesting way of talking because she was a royal, but other characters seemed to talk like that too? But not all of them. For example, Jaya's sister who had the same upbringing didn't speak like Jaya. Other than the dialogue the writing was fine.

I had a hard time believing the plot. How conservative Jaya was felt really odd and the big scandal Jaya's sister was involved in didn't seem that bad to me? It's hard for me to imagine a 17 (18?) year old girl in 2020 believing that women can't do robotics. But then again, I'm not an Indian princess so what do I know. The romance was meh. I was not invested in the characters getting together, but I wasn't opposed either.

Overall this was fine. I'm glad there is a romance featuring a brown princess out there, but this wasn't for me.

I enjoyed this contemporary retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. The dual points of view was an excellent way to tell the story. I hope there will be more retellings from Menon.

I had such high hopes for this one but it really let me down. I felt like the character development was really weak and the story itself just seemed rushed and a little boring. I love a good retelling but this one just didn't do it for me. I found the characters to be a little irritating. I think the idea of this novel is great but it was just lacking a lot for me. Thank you to Netgalley for sending this galley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 2/5

I have read all of Sandhya Menon's books so far, and this one is my new favorite by her, after her debut book of-course.

It's marketed as a Beauty & The Beast retelling.. set in an elite boarding school amidst the beautiful snow capped mountains of Colorado, featuring star crossed lovers, Indian royalty, British aristocrats, a scheme of revenge, and.. a centuries old curse!! All of which honestly gave me more than enough reasons to pick this book up. And after having read it, I've to tell you that the author did not disappoint.

Though I've to say this is not a true Beauty & The Beast retelling. In-fact the author has made this story uniquely her own, with only a sprinkling of Beauty & The Beast. Not that I am complaining, because Sandhya Menon's Beauty not only has agency, but is pretty much the one driving the story forward.

That being said, there are elements of the story that can be considered slow going, full of cliches, and you can figure out who the 'villian' of the story is right from the time they show up on the page, even though the official reveal is at the end.

But you know what? None of it bothered me in the least. And I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe I was too wrapped up in the love story or maybe I'm just easy to please. Either way, I focused on the central love story, which was a slow burn romance between two star crossed lovers - and I was very happy with how that played out.

So I'd definitely recommend this book. Even if you've never tried anything by the author, pick this one up. It's the first of a series, so you don't need to catch up with her other contemporary books first, which belong to an entirely different universe.

Oh and definitely go with the audiobook if you can. I heard this story on audio, and it was FANTASTIC. In-fact in this particular case, I have a feeling that the format has greatly influenced my overall feelings about the book. I was so wrapped up in the narration that I did not feel like the story lagged at places, which so many others felt like it did.

So trust me when I tell you that the narrator has done a FABULOUS job. In-fact even if you have read the story, and are looking to re-read it, revisit the story on audio - it's a TREAT.

Of Curses and Kisses provides a fresh retelling of a tale as old as time with unique characters, a different take on the original story, and captures the spirit of the story. I definitely felt a connection to the Disney movie while I was reading, although Kiran was less overtly Gastonian and more aristocratic snob. I enjoyed Jaya’s strength and determination to protect her sister and her later cleverness to revoke any claim Kiran had on her hand or on her family’s reputation. This turned out to be a wonderful read and I was happily surprised with our evenly everything concluded.

When I heard this was a Beauty and the Beast spin off I jumped. I had high hopes going in and this book did not disappoint. Jaya and Emerson lead us on one heck of a ride through family rivalries and ancient curses. I loved the setting of an international boarding school. Would highly recommend this to anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast. 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you NetGalley for the early review.

STOP OMG. AHHHH. THIS IS CRAZY. I LOOOOOVE THIS SO MUCH. LIKE, GIVE ME MORE! EEE!! I WANT TO READ MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR NOW!

I adored this book. The characters, the classic spin on an old favorite. The modernization, the diversity, the wit, the friendship, the family connections, truly, just all of it. Completely worth every single minute I spent reading it. So much fun and I am so excited it is going to be part of a series. I can't wait to see what she will do next with all of these fun loving and adorable characters.

A cute Beauty and the Beast retelling that focuses on a modern Indian Princess and her family's British nemesis. Think Romeo and Juliet meets Beauty and the Beast. This book's biggest strengths lie with Jaya's struggle to balance family duty (and antiquated expectations for women) with her and her sister's happiness. The book is a bit light on plot and I didn't quite feel the connection with the main characters that I was hoping for, but the inevitable moment toward the end of the book where the star-crossed lovers' relationship inevitably falls apart definitely got to me! I think fans of Menon will enjoy this fantastical twist on her cute contemporaries.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

If a book says "retelling" or has implied similarities to any single Disney movie, I'm going to want to read it. I'm weak. Beauty and the beast happens to be my absolute favorite and I will never think there are enough of them out there.

I can't tell if I didn't truly enjoy this book or its that the previously written books by other authors left a hard trail to cover for this one. Honestly for whatever reason I just couldn't get into or connect with this book as much as I had hoped.

It wasn't that is was bad, I just didn't get the butterflies you know? The story is cool and definitely has an edge to it, but just not my personal cup of tea. I would have liked more angst and tension, hatred and love. Just more passion for a romance retelling like this.

3,5 Stars

ARC form NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 30%

I wanted to love this so much!! It is an elite boarding school. It is a beauty and the beast retelling. It is Sandhya Menon. But while this is perfect in concept and in theory, I just can't get into it. The characters are insufferable. I just can't relate to anyone in the book. They don't have real world problems. I don't know anything that they are talking about.

After looking at some of the reviews and people that I really trust have rated it low or have DNF'd it as well, I wasn't interested in finishing it. Reading that there is a cheating plot with little to no reprecussion made the decision easy for me. I'm really disappointed because this was a highly anticipated 2020 release. This is definitely a me thing and not a book thing and it definitely could still work for you!

Jaya Rao is a princess from Mysuru, India. Her family and an earl's family, the Emersons, in England have had a generational feud over a ruby that her family claimed was stolen from them. Over the years, there has been a lot of bad blood between the two families, culminating in the public disgrace of Jaya's younger sister and subsequent banishment of the two princesses to a boarding school in Aspen. There, Jaya meets Grey Emerson, who she suspects is behind her sister's disgrace. She decides to engineer a revenge by having him fall in love with her and then breaking his heart. This is the flimsy premise, which Jaya and Emerson don't quite make into a fully-fleshed out story.

I have read all of Sandhya Menon's books so far and I have loved them, but this one was so different. I really tried to like the book, starting and stopping multiple times thinking perhaps it was my mood, but it just didn't appeal to me. In all the previous books, her voice was fresh and light and very funny while the characters were mature and the emotions were real. The premise of this book was flimsy, and the characters were bland and overwrought, and their emotions were a bit silly. There was none of the humor of Menon's previous books. While I am not tied to likeability of characters in the books I read, in this book, it felt like Menon was trying hard--too hard?--to make them likeable and not succeeding.

This is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast and it held very true to the story. It’s very cute, a little bit cheesy, and was the perfect read for the month of love! I didn’t love Jaya’s character. She wasn’t awful or anything, but she did everything “just so” all the time because she is trying to be the perfect heiress, and it got a bit boring. I also felt the characters were a bit one-dimensional. I did enjoy the obvious and building tension between Jaya and Grey and the story progresses. The friendships were also portrayed well. They focused on empowering each other and admitting to your mistakes.

Overall, I really enjoyed Of Curses and Kisses and would recommend it to all those searching for a cute, romantic retelling of one my favorite stories!

Sandhya Menon’s books have been either hit or miss for me and unfortunately, this one was a miss.

Of Curses and Kisses takes a modern spin on Beauty and the Beast, following princess Jaya Rao and lord Grey Emerson at St Rosettas Academy, a school in Colorado for the rich and powerful’s kids. The Raos and Emersons have been feuding for awhile (decades?) since an Emerson stole a Rao’s ruby and the Raos cursed the Emersons in retaliation.

The story picks up after the paparazzi gets their hands on a photo of Jaya’s sister Isha working at an auto body shop and kissing a boy while covered in oil. Isha loves to chase boys and work with machines, both big no-nos for a royal. After the photo is published, the Rao family faces problems and opposition all around. The king and queen send their daughters off to St Rosettas to lay low.

Then we meet Grey. He’s been at St Rosettas since he was 6. Literally. He hasn’t left or visited his father across the pond since he got there. Grey is apparently cursed. He’s doomed to hurt anyone close to him and his father blames him for his mother dying in childbirth.

After a phone call to the magazine, Jaya found out the photo of Isha came from “the son of a family who hates yours” or something along those lines. Of course this has to be Grey. Because obviously no one else would hate the Raos.
So Jaya has a solution! She’s going to take one for the team and make Grey fall in love with her. Then break up with him. Because logically: Embarrass my family=devastating break up. Duh.

This book was just messy. Menon has great ideas but puts them together in the oddest ways. The whole story seemed to be based on conveniences and out of nowhere twists. For example, it’s obvious right away that Grey didn’t take the pictures or whatever. (My money is on Kiren. I didn’t finish the book but I felt like that one was spelled out as soon as he entered the book). So Jaya and him just have this convenient miscommunication going on for a majority (maybe all?) of the book to keep their riff going.

There’s also the deal with the ruby. The whole situation is weird, but are we really supposed to believe that instead of returning it (too easy), the Emersons sold it and tracked it’s every move in another country no less? Yup!

They also find these weird ways to just suddenly get mad. It happens All. The. Time. One character will be talking then say literally one sentence and the other character unleashes hell. Every character flips on a dime and can get angry in just a couple sentences.

The characters are also just boring and stereotypical. We have:
Jaya- our Mary Sue main character! Her only flaws are she is duty bound (not a big deal) and angry most of the time.
Grey- “brooding” aka boring! Also angry most of the time.
Isha- carefree, not-actually-boy-crazy little sister. Also angry most of the time.
Daphne Elizabeth- spunky bff who doesn’t get attention so she dates the most arrogant boy in school for no apparent reason (except he “sees” her although they only interact once??? Sure!). Angry most of the time!
Caterina- mean girl who’s set out to destroy main girl for stupid reason. Angry the whole time!
Alaric- asshole who gets all the girls cuz you know. Plot does what it must!
Leo- happy go lucky random friend who says three lines a chapter to remind you he’s still around. (Also probably the equivalent of Lumiere(?)—he is French after all).
Rahul- the weird friend. He doesn’t do much except literally be weird. And slightly stalkerish—he knows EVERYTHING about Caterina. It’s creepy. I hate to say it but I’d maybe send him away too.
Also I guess there’s Kiren- pretty obvious bad guy who fools everyone easily!

Overall, this book is like a daytime soap, or a straight to TV movie. It has a good idea, but follows through with it in a shaky, awkward way that just makes you cringe at times but still manages to keep you invested. That said, I’d recommend Something About Sweetie or maybe even When Dimple Met Rishi before this one. Fingers crossed 10 Things I Hate About Pinky is better.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. I would have loved this book in middle/high school. That’s the intended audience and I think for that audience, it is a good retelling. As an adult, I think it’s too direct of a retelling. Every plot point is predictable. I didn’t believe Jaya and Grey’s romance at all. Maybe they loved each other because they were so boring? Overall, it’s a simple retelling meant for an easy read for a young adult. It lives up to that and not a lot more.

It is interesting to me, the mixed reviews I have seen for Sandhya Menon's latest, Of Curses And Kisses. On the one hand, I get why - this book is quite different from her Dimple-Rishi etc books. That's okay. On the other, I liked that the start of her new St. Rosetta series was such a departure. I am interested to see the direction this series goes in and what other fairy tales will be explored (if that is the intent).

Of Curses And Kisses follows main characters Jaya Rao and Grey Emerson. Jaya is a princess from India. Grey Emerson is an English lord. There's some animosity between the two families - as a long time ago someone from the Emerson family stole rubies from a Mysuru temple during the time of imperialism. So, someone from the Rao family cursed the Emerson family. Both Jaya and Grey are seniors at St. Rosetta's - a posh boarding school in the Colorado mountains where children of the wealthy go. At first Jaya plans to make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart -- but life has other plans for her.

I think that Of Curses And Kisses did get off to a slow start. However, once I really got into it, somewhere around the 150 page mark, I had a hard time setting it down. At that point I was invested in Jaya and Grey as people. There were some parts I was not overly wild about, and well, let me just say protect Grey at all costs. But overall, this is the kind of book I would have loved as an actual teenager - so I'd certainly recommend. Go in expecting it to be different from Dimple et al, and I hope you end up enjoying the experience as much as I did.