This book really surprised me! Not only did I go into it somehow believing it was fantasy (it's contemporary!) but I enjoyed it more than Sandhya Menon's previous books. This retelling of Beauty and the Beast is varied enough that it stands out in a saturated category. Protagonists Jaya and Grey have the kind of enemies to lovers trope that keeps you turning pages and their contrasting personalities and misjudgements of one another made for an interesting combination. Set at a boarding school with an element of privilege and fame, the school life drama made for strong subplots. However, I did feel that the secondary characters were underdeveloped. They seemed to have one major personality trait which was exaggerated, but nothing else to them, which was a shame. Overall, though, this was a strong read. The pacing and length were spot-on and the ending was predictable but satisfactory. I'm not sure how it's going to develop into a series but I'm excited to find out.
[I will also be discussing the book in a fairytale retellings video which will be posted on my YouTube channel on Friday 17th April].

Absolutely loved this refreshing and unique twist to Beauty and the Beast. My first book by this author and I know I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future. The writing was fast paced and light. I was hooked from the beginning and I finished in one sitting. I absolutely loved the characters. I could relate to them and I felt an emotional attachment to their world. I FREAKING LOVE GREY. His character speaks to my soul. I also loved Jaya’s compassion and understanding and her fiery character. The family bond was beautiful despite the politics. I highly recommend this one. It has the tropes we love (well I love them):
1) enemies to lovers
2) boarding school
3) beauty and the beast retelling

LOVED THIS BOOK! Thank you to the publisher for sending me an E-ARC!

This was a nice and easy read. I enjoyed the premise. But it took me a while to get into and didn't really intrigue me all that much.

We follow Jaya Rao as she and her sister Isha start at the St. Rosetta's boarding school. Almost immediately we find out Jaya choose that school because Grey Emerson goes there. And the Rao's and Emersons have quite some history. Jaya has some interesting motives to pick this as their new boarding school as you will find out soon. 

This story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and that was very clear. You can see the references to the original tale and I really enjoyed how Sandhya wrote this retelling. I think my favorite part of the story was the pendant. When reading about it, I think I actually cheered out loud haha.

I got an eARC through Netgalley but ended up listening to the audiobook. And I'm glad I did that. Because if I'm being honest, I'm not sure if I would've finished reading this as a physical book. I was pretty bored at times and simply didn't care enough. The story is very easy to digest and apart from the Beauty and the Beast retelling it does nothing new or interesting. So that leaves the characters, and they were lacking as well unfortunately. 

We get two POV's. One is Jaya's and the other is Grey's. I actually quite liked Grey. He is an interesting character with a somewhat heartbreaking background. But unfortunately his chapters were quite short. I really wanted his parts to be longer. Especially because the end of his chapter meant the start of Jaya's....

Most of the story is told from Jaya's POV. And I just couldn't stand her. Looking back at my notes I talked about Jaya being a bit annoying pretty early on. And that quickly changed to very annoying. I didn't really like Jaya's attitude towards Isha and thought the Catarina/Jaya storyline seemed pretty out of place. 

It was interesting to see the Indian influences in Jaya and I did like that part. But it wasn't enough for me to actually like her. While I understand parts of her and can even respect her, I just didn't care to read about her for a whole novel. She was very judgmental and I felt like she thought she knew what was best for every person she met. I liked most side characters a lot more and wish we saw more of them. 

Like I said, the Catarina/Jaya storyline was a bit weird for me. I did like how all of that was resolved but I think it could've been done in some other way. The general ending came pretty quickly compared to the rest of the novel. Not that much (exciting or surprising) happens throughout the story and than in just a couple of pages everything is fixed. The only thing I really liked about the ending is how the 'curse' played out. 

While I mentioned a lot of things I didn't like about the book, I still gave it 3 stars. It was a quick and pretty entertaining read. You can fly through it pretty quickly and I enjoyed the BatB references. Originally I wasn't planning on reading the sequel, but after reading the synopsis, I might give that one a shot!

I was so very over the moon when my request to read this book was approved by the publisher on NetGalley. I've heard so many positive things about the author, about her previous books that I haven't read yet, that I couldn't wait to start devouring Of Curses and Kisses. And then... I got so utterly disappointed in it. I've had high hopes since these sort of fairytale-retellings are being a huge thing right now and I've read some which I quite enjoyed. Only this one let me down, which makes me sad.

Granted, I can see why the author has so many fans. The writing itself wasn't bad, it just wasn't for me. And the story itself was dragged into eternity, such few dialogue included, way too much telling instead of showing. Or is it the other way around? I'm not sure, but it's like nothing ever really happened and it's still an average-length book. I didn't see the chemistry between the main characters and Pricess Jaya annoyed me throughout the novel. The story idea might be cute, but to me, it was poorly converted into words and a good book.

At some point, I just started skipping the pages, looking for the rare dialogues happening and read those instead of everything that happened - or didn't actually - between the lines. Maybe I should have been more open-minded for this one, because if you're into fairytales, then the way Of Curses and Kisses is written, actually resembles that well. There's a lot of explaining, a lot of thoughts you get to read from the characters' point of views. But I still missed sparks, I missed something. The drama didn't feel real to me, the pain, the curse, just anything, really.

Which is why I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should give the author's other books still a chance. Most of them have this super high rating on Goodreads or other platforms, but I'm not convinced yet. It might take some time for me to try again.

I think my expectations for Of Curses and Kisses were slightly too high and so this novel was slightly disappointing. There were interesting aspects and unique touches to this diverse Beauty and The Beast retelling but it needed a lot more drama and impact to keep me hooked.

So far I don't think I've read a BATB retelling in a modern day contemporary, I was definitely intrigued how the Beast would be represented and how the author planned on delivering the curse in this novel. It was a fairly thought out story which included many cultural aspects for Jaya, including the ramifications of being a princess from India and the tradition of arranged marriages. These cultural diversities added a uniqueness to the story that I haven't seen so far in young adult retellings.

The first half of this novel kept me entertained as Jaya attempted to gain Grey's trust and admiration under false pretences. Jaya was a very strong main character who knew the responsibilities of her role but was also willing to learn and adapt if need be, I think her character progressed well throughout the story.

However once I reached halfway I lost all motivation to carry on reading. The middle section of this book seemed dull and not at all dramatic or enthralling like BATB. I struggled to continue reading in the hope that the ending would at least be a good one but unfortunately I was disappointed. The ending of this novel felt very anticlimactic to me, whilst I loved the character progression and the decisions they made, the ending itself felt flat. There was no build up that kept me turning pages, I almost didn't care what became of the main characters as they both seemed so at ease with the supposed death of Grey due to the curse.

I had high expectations from Sandhya Menon for a brilliantly diverse BATB retelling and whilst she delivered a diverse story it wasn't on the same level as her previous novels.

This book was extremely cute!
I wasnt too sweet, it was pure adorable. The story of Jaya and Gray kept me hooked to the pages the whole time and i appreciate Sandhya Menon so so much!

For the most part, this was a very entertaining Beauty and the Beast retelling. I hadn't read a contemporary retelling of this before, and I really liked how it handled the original story. Especially the curse storyline worked really well, I thought.

Unfortunately, I felt like I never really got to know the main characters very well though, which made the romance feel underdeveloped for me. The story was pretty slow to start, and while it did pick up in the second half, I also feel like it stayed a little on the surface.

All in all, I had fun reading this, but I feel like it will be a fairly forgettable read. It didn't live up to Sandhya Menon's other books for me.

It started slow and then boom! The story gets really interesting and I can't stop myself from flipping pages after pages. I enjoy Beauty and the Beast retellings. It was cute. I don't even realize that this book is a series because I thought the ending was cleared enough. Now, I'm excited about the next installment. It is well-written and I enjoy it.

A few years ago, I read a YA romance that I still regularly think about, when anyone asks for cute, funny recommendations. That YA romance was Sandhya Menon’s debut novel When Dimple Met Rishi, so I was super stoked when I was approved for her latest book on NetGalley.

Of Curses and Kisses is the first in a new series of YA novels set at St Rosetta’s Academy, an exclusive boarding school for the children of the elite from across the globe. It’s also yet another YA Beauty and the Beast retelling, which we’re definitely not short of, but the departure from fantasy keeps it fresh.

The Raos of India have long been feuding with the British Emersons over a stolen ruby and an ancient curse centuries ago. However, now the Emersons appear to have taken to targeting the youngest Rao princess Isha and her older sister Jaya won’t stand for it. When she learns that Emerson heir Grey will also be attending St Rosetta’s this year, Jaya takes it upon herself to exact revenge. She’s going to hurt Grey in the worst way possible -by breaking his heart. But how is she going to crack the aloof loner that is Grey Emerson?

Family is everything to Jaya and I understand that this is her motivation for her devious plan but I can’t help but hate her for it. Somehow, I suspected very early on that Grey wasn’t actually to blame for anything and so I was firmly on his side throughout. However, even if he had been the spiteful snitch Jaya assumes he is, I can’t ever advocate for an intentional heartbreaker. I was somewhat disappointed that Jaya didn’t do any research to ensure that she had the right guy or that she didn’t really consider a better, more humane way of avenging her sister. However, she grew on me as the narrative progressed and I admired her enormous amount of courage towards the end.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent quite a lot of time alone myself but my heart was Grey’s pretty much as soon as I met him. I tend to be drawn to enigmatic, seemingly unfeeling characters anyway but the fact that Grey has a great group of friends and a disregard for his cruel father suggests that he is desperate for a different kind of existence to the one he is resigned to.

Aside from the main love story, there are a number of other dramas going on within Jaya and Grey’s circle that are as fun to follow. Grey’s friends Leo and Rahul provide the comic relief and there’s a love triangle between handsome but evil jock Alaric, his stunning girlfriend Catarina and brilliant heiress Daphne Elizabeth. Menon is great at writing believable, loveable teenagers that both delight and frustrate you in equal measure. In my opinion, Daphne, Rahul and even Penelope -a very minor character- are all great contenders for protagonists of future companion novels!

Despite a very satisfactory ending, I want more from St Rosetta’s. In recent months, fairytale retellings have seemed too formulaic, which of course, they are by nature. However the contemporary setting and the unique tweaks that are still recognisable make it a very enjoyable read that I couldn’t put down. Yes, it’s thoroughly predictable but the humour and wonderful cast of characters spurs the pages on.

Of Curses and Kisses is the perfect cutesy read for fans of American Royals and Red, White and Royal Blue -just add a family curse or two!

Sandhya Menon is a YA author I’ve been meaning to check out for a while now, so when I was sent a copy of her new Beauty and the Beast retelling via NetGalley I was excited to finally check out her work. Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying it all that much.

Menon’s writing is very readable and, while quite a bit of the wording in this novel is a tad too flowery, particularly the dialogue, she’s an author I would try again in future. This isn’t a series I’m interested in continuing, though.

Of Curses and Kisses follows Indian princess Jaya and British nobleman Grey, who both attend St. Rosetta’s Academy in America. Jaya and her younger sister, Isha, are newly arrived at the school after a media scandal involving Isha that Jaya believes Grey is to blame for. Jaya and Grey’s families already have a turbulent history, stretching back to Britain’s colonisation of India, and Jaya decides she’s going to make Grey fall in love with her and then his break his heart to get her revenge. Because this is a romance, though, everything changes when the two develop genuine feelings for each other.

I really appreciate how this novel brings in the history between Britain and India. That Jaya’s family hate Grey’s family because of a stolen, important jewel is something I could completely believe. In the 19th century, Prince Albert had the sacred Koh-i-Noor diamond re-cut and set in Queen Victoria’s crown, and it’s still set in the crowns of the British monarchs today which is gross. In fact the theft of the Koh-i-Noor is what inspired the very first English-language detective novel, The Moonstone.

Almost everything else about this novel, though, really got on my nerves – and I wish it didn’t!

Like I said I really appreciated Menon, through Jaya, not letting the way India was treated be forgotten, but at the same time I wanted Jaya to open her eyes. Yes, her country was treated horrendously – but she’s lived all over the world, doesn’t want for anything and has a special ruby necklace that her father bought her in Dubai. Whenever she mentioned this history it was mainly focusing on her and Grey’s families, but what about all of the people who suffered who weren’t members of the aristocracy? Jaya talks a lot about her duty to her country, but she never really talks about what it is about her country and its people that she loves. Everything was how they perceived her, but we never learned what she thought of them other than the journalists she’s (understandably) angry with for dragging her sister’s name through the dirt.

I don’t for one second want to imply that because someone’s wealthy they can’t have problems or that their problems aren’t valid, but something I’m learning about myself is that I’m just not into contemporary books about royals. It’s difficult to watch someone complaining about how hard their life is while they’re on a limobus on their way to a school ski trip.

Other than Isha, I didn’t care for any of the side characters. This is an international school, and yet the French-speaking student is the only one who drops any non-English vocabulary into his sentences because let’s not forget he can speak French, guys! French is popular in YA right now so let’s really hammer that home!

And then there’s the side ‘love triangle’ beween Daphne Elizabeth, Alaric and Caterina and I just didn’t care at all. I’m very aware that I’m an adult reading this book starring teenagers and aimed at teenagers, so I don’t want to criticise these teenagers for being teenagers; your emotions are heightened and everything feels like the end of the world when you’re 17 (I remember it well!), but I still found it hard not to keep rolling my eyes. None of these kids felt like real people.

In fact, sadly, Grey didn’t either. Most of the time because Menon rarely described him as a human being. He’s constantly called ‘feral’ and ‘lupine’ and it’s just weird. Also this book doesn’t help at all with the stereotype that the British nobility still live in the Regency era. They certainly live in a different world to the kind of world the majority of us live in, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that a 21st century father would teach his son that he murdered his mother because she died in childbirth. I mean… what the hell? Grey mentions that the doctor couldn’t get to her in time and all she had was the housekeeper. Uh, Grey wasn’t born during the Blitz! Call for a bloody ambulance, the NHS is a thing that exists!

The ultimate ‘villain’ also didn’t talk the way a human being talks, and by the end of this novel I just wasn’t enjoying how it was written anymore. Everything was wrapped up far too quickly – to the point where it was a little boring to read? – and I honestly think my overriding thought upon finishing this novel was that it didn’t need to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

If this had just been a YA novel about the love story between two people from wealthy families, one from Britain and one from India, and how the history between Britain and India might impact that relationship, I think it would have been a stronger book. By turning it into a book with a curse and a potentially magical necklace, I personally feel as though Menon has focused too much on making it a retelling instead of exploring the novel’s themes even further.

If you’re into books about royals, you’ll probably like this book – unfortunately it wasn’t for me!

This is a hard book to rate. It could have been so much fun, but I was already put off at the start because of the main character. She is very judgemental and just not a pleasant person to read about. But I do like when characters go through a development so I was kind of waiting for that throughout the book. However, the development I was waiting for happened at the like last 20 pages so that was unfortunate...

That being said, the ending was cute but it took so long to get up to that point! I also expected more from the boarding school setting, but it just wasn't that prominent into the story so that was a shame. I'm also thinking I might just generally not be a fan of stories where teens are royalties or something?! So that might just be my personal taste. Lastly, I don't really get the purpose of the curse in this book.. I mean it added a little bit of drama but other than that it was just a bit underwhelming to me?

But yeah if you don't mind waiting to the very end for some cuteness and don't mind an unlikable main character, this might be for you :P Also, the love interest Grey was cute though and he kind of got me through the book XD

This book was so damn adorable! It was very light-hearted and easy to read - everything you could want from a contemporary YA romance. I haven't read any other books by Sandhya Menon but after reading this one I will be adding them to my wish list. I cannot wait for the next St. Rosetta book in the series!!

"Of Curses and Kisses" is a very interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast retelling. There are so many renditions of this classic tale but reading it in a contemporary setting was very intriguing for me. The story started out slow and the author took her time to establish the characters and their back stories along with their family histories thereby setting the tone of the plot. Both the MC's, Jaya and Grey were sweet and I loved the transition of their relationship, from sort of enemies to lovers, which, I think was done quite amazingly. However, I have mixed feeling about the supporting characters and there's quite a lot teenage drama involving some of them which was a little off-putting for me. The subtle message towards how parents should allow and support their children to follow their own dreams and paths was conveyed in the most beautiful manner.

Overall, a sweet and cozy read for a grey February day!

Thank you Hodder Books for sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I heard about a Desi Beauty and the Beast retelling I knew I had to read it! And it did not disappoint! This has become my favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling!

This book was such a wonderful read and one I could not put down. Even when I wasn’t reading it my thoughts kept going back to Jaya and Grey. I loved that Sandhya kept true to the story but also included some really interesting twists to them and throughout the book I was reading thinking is it truly magic? Or not? It made the story even more intriguing to not really be certain either way so we can make up our own minds.

One of the things that I loved was that it was set in a boarding school rather than the beasts castle as it took away the whole kidnapping and keeping Beauty hostage part of the story which I absolutely hated because Stockholm syndrome anyone?! With it being in a boarding school and Jaya having actively decided herself to go and attend the school it took away that issue. And the boarding school gave it a fresh take on the story too as there are other characters and their stories which are interwoven into Jaya and Grey’s.

I loved Grey from the moment we meet him because unlike other Beasts, he isn’t a jerk. He isn’t cursed because he was a horrible person. He is really closed off and doesn’t like interacting with anyone and that is mostly down to him being aware of the curse since he was a kid. He is called a misanthrope, who is someone who avoids human society, and honestly I think we can all relate to that! He is actually a pretty great person but because of his curse he feels like he shouldn’t bother thinking about the future or making friends. Despite him not wanting to make friends, he still does have some pretty great people in his life who do call him a friend and that was so lovely to see.

Jaya was someone who I initially wasn’t particularly fond of, she was condescending and judgemental towards anyone who had a different opinion to her when it came to her conservative view of how a young woman should behave or be allowed to do. She doesn’t approve of her sister wanting to study mechanics because it isn’t something appropriate for a princess. She does however have such a wonderful character arc that made me end up really rooting for her and really loving her. We learn that there’s more to her than we initially see.

The rest of the characters we meet, Grey’s friends and Jaya’s sister and even the “popular couple” have more depth to them than we initially think they would. Their friends are wonderful and I loved seeing that there was a great group of friends who were supportive and accepted each other for who they were. I also loved seeing Jaya’s relationship with her sister and how they are always there for each other and how much Jaya tries to protect and keep her sister safe.

I also loved seeing Indian culture incorporated into the story and how it’s an important part of Jaya’s life but also how some parts of the culture have certain expectations for women and expect women to stay in their place and how Jaya learns to deal with that inner battle of being who she is expected to be by her parents and society but also being true to herself. It also touches on the British Empire and colonialism and how the effects of that still affect people living in India today.

This whole story and the slow burn romance had me feeling all happy and gooey inside and I just loved this book so much. I saw a brown girl be the book nerd princess and my inner child just loved it so much! I really loved how the ending showed how much they have grown together and because of each other. And I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon. I've voluntarily read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In Of Curses and Kisses we meet Princess Jaya, who is scheming a plan to get revenge on Grey Emerson, the heir to the rival royal family who's reportedly behind a humilitating scandal involving Jaya's little sister. But after getting to know Grey, things aren't what they seem. Can Jaya go through with her plan to make Grey fall in love with her and then break his heart?

Of Curses and Kisses is an original spin on Beauty and the Beast. The writing is fast paced and moves along smoothly. The character-building is amazing and all the characters are very well fleshed out. I was immediately hooked from the first page. Jaya is vivacious, determined and a stickler for the rules. Grey is handsome, broody and mysterious. What more could you want in two main characters? The banter between the characters is fun and cute. The story keeps you on your toes and remains interesting from the beginning til the end. Just an incredibly fun read!

I love beauty and the beast retellings and I will never tire of them, whilst this wasn’t the best I’ve ever read it was really enjoyable and kept me turning the pages to find out more, it’s a sweet heartwarming feel good read , the characters and story are lovely. Thoroughly recommended for a smile or to feel good.

The file did not download to my kindle therefore I have been unable to read and review this book. This book is now archived so unfortunately I can no longer try to resolve the issue. I think it is unfair that I have to leave a rating (which I have no other option but to give 1 star) and at least a 100 character ‘review’ in order to clear this from my dashboard. Apologies if there is an alternative way to clear this from my dashboard without impacting my Netgalley percentage, but I am not aware of it.

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE!
When I heard the premise of "Of Curses and Kisses" it INSTANTLY became one of my most anticipated books of 2020 and I was not disappointed.
This book has EVERYTHING:
- "hate"-to-love romance
- sweet and loveable characters
- boarding school setting!!
- ADORABLE snowball fights!!!!!
- and a touch of magic<3

Jaya Rao is a princess of Mysuru and heir to the throne. After her younger sister is caught up in a scandal, the sisters are sent to St Rosetta's to finish their schooling. Jaya is convinced that Grey Emerson is the one who has started the rumours that ruined her sisters life and when she finds out he is also attending St Rosetta's she comes up with the perfect plan. Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart....

The thing I loved the most about this book was the characters - especially Grey. I just wanted to protect him! He is so loveable and pure. I also really loved Jaya, her loyalty to her family was admirable and even though she was stubborn and annoying at time i really liked that side of her because it helped the reader see her character grow as her and Grey got closer.

The relationship between Grey and Jaya was also adorable! It was super believable and I could feel the chemistry between them. There were so many charming scenes between them that made my romance-novel heart happy<3
Theres swimming, skiing and a snowball fight! What more could you want?
I also really liked the 'enemies' to lovers trope in this because they weren't *really* enemies. Their families were. I think the main message behind this book was acceptance and learning to not judge others based on the actions of their ancestors.

The side characters in this book were also superb. They all felt fully developed and I really enjoyed the scenes where we got to delve more into their lives. I've heard Menon is writing two more books in this series so i'm really hoping those are about some of the other characters we saw in this story! (and i really hope we get to see more of Jaya and Grey in the background).

Finally, i thought this retelling stuck relatively close to the original beauty and the beast which I really liked. I loved being able to spot the elements from the original story and i think Sandhya Menon weaved them into this modern retelling perfectly.

Overall, this book was delightful to read and I loved the exploration of culture and family loyalty. I can't wait to read more books in this world! I would recommend this one to anyone who loves fairytale retellings and contemporary romance.

I adore Beauty and the Beast, and I have loved all of Sandhya Menon's books to here. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same about this one.

I think the issue was me. I'm not a big fantasy lover, so while I could appreciate the fabulous story telling and the wonderful world building Sandhya brought to us, it wasn't my kind of book. I felt it was a little erring on the side of fantasy for me.

Despite this, I'll still be looking out for Sandhya's books. We're not breaking up – we're just on a break.