LitPick Review
“Of Curses and Kisses,” written by Sandhya Menon, was a beautiful and well written retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The story follows Princess Jaya Rao on her mission of revenge against Grey Emerson, the heir of the family that has been feuding with the Raos for generations. Jaya’s reason for revenge is to avenge the honor of her sister, Isha, after the Emerson family tries to destroy her and her family's reputation.
As the plot begins to develop, Jaya and Isha are sent to St. Rosetta’s Academy to be distanced from the public, however in the midst of this academic transition, Jaya is made aware that Grey Emerson will also be enrolled in this academy. Jaya immediately begins to plot a plan to win over Grey’s heart and then destroy it just as his family has tried to destroy hers.
With an old curse, courtesy of the Jaya’s family, looming over his head, Grey Emerson has built a wall of ice around himself and his heart in effort to keep everyone at a distance. Will Jaya be able to fulfill her mission by enticing the heart of her family’s enemy? Will the Raos’ family enemy, Grey, be able to resist the temptation put forth by Jaya Rao?
Opinion:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Of Curses and Kisses” by Sandhya Menon. I was very excited to read this book due to it being a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I loved that it took place in St. Rosetta’s as many of my favorite books have taken place in settings similar to this. The story line was very entertaining and well written. The characters were both diverse and unique. In addition, there were actual moments during this book where I literally laughed out loud! It was very lighthearted and so enjoyable.
Jaya caught my admiration right from the start. She was very ladylike and polite yet had a certain witt that added humor to the story. I was intrigued by Grey due to his troubled character and, when learning why his character had a darker tone, I felt really bad for him..
In addition to Jaya and Grey, I enjoyed meeting their friends throughout the story. They were amazing people and individuals that I would want to be friends with. I loved the fact that one of their friends was from France and, when he spoke English, he mixed in some french words. This actually allowed me to use some of the knowledge I have learned in french class and apply it to this story. His friends would translate his french for other characters however, so even if a reader does not know the french language, the story line could still be followed.
Menon's writing style was beautiful. It flowed beautifully throughout the story and, when the character point of view changed between Jaya and Grey, the writing style changed to match the character and their personalities. This allowed for greater differentiation between the characters which was both unique to the storyline and helpful to me, as the reader.
Overall, I can honestly say that I loved this book! It not only added a modern element to the story of Beauty and the Beast but, at the same time it embraced the classic elements of the famous love story as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast or fairy tales in general! This book deserves 5 stars.
