Curtsies & Consequences will satisfy anyone looking to chase the high of My Lady Jane. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the various POVs. There are some sensitive parts, so some readers might find it difficult or triggering. Overall, I really liked this!

Curtsies & Consequences by Melissa Constantine is a charming historical romance filled with wit and intrigue. The story blends romance, manners, and societal expectations, with well-developed characters and a captivating plot. Constantine’s writing is engaging, making it an enjoyable read for fans of period dramas and romantic tales.

This book had an interesting premise, blending Regency vibes with some modern twists, but it didn’t fully capture my interest. The characters were engaging enough, but the plot felt a bit predictable and lacked the emotional depth I was hoping for. While it had its charming moments, the pacing was uneven, and it didn’t quite leave a lasting impression. An enjoyable, light read, but not one that stood out.

Thank you NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Curtsies and Consequences was a good read but it simply wasn’t for me. Overall I felt like the book blurb didn’t match what I expected. But hey, maybe that is my own fault!

The story follows the heroine, Kira, as she terrorizes the rich with a magical beast costume to steal from them. She should be queen, but her step-mother has all but stolen her throne through a regency.

When children from a nearby orphanage start turning into small beasts, she investigates with a knight called Robbie.

The beginning was very slow, and the stakes were not so clear at the start which made it even less compelling.
However if you stick through it, there is a story worth reading for those who enjoy more young YA books.

Sidenote- the cover could use an update!

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this e arc in exchange for my honest review.

I won’t say that this was my favourite read of the year but it wasn’t the worst. I think it was very slow and then rushed at the end.

However, I do see how this is a beauty and the beast retelling. And I think it was very sweet. I just needed something a bit faster paced.

Unfortunately I ended up DNFing this one, I just couldn’t get into it. I do think I’d like to go back in with a clearer head later on though!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

Going into this book I was not sure what to expect. I wasn't familiar with the author and honestly the cover does not lead to many assumptions. The description of the book was good but gave away what could have been used as a twist in the story. It began like your average fairytale-esque story with a more strong minded FMC who, it was clear to me an adult reader, did not have a full understanding of the situations going on around her. There was also the MMC who just wanted to be a good knight and do his job right. Together they have to solve a magical mystery about why children at an orphanage are turning into mini versions of a mystical creature. Sounds fun right? It had all the right ingredients for a great story that had a low stakes adventure, some deeper reflections and a fun romance. Unfortunately it just didn't quite come together. There were several side characters that had their own sub plots going on that did not really add to the story. In fact I found myself not paying quite as much attention to their plot lines. It is clear that the next book will be focused on one of these side characters, which made it seem even more pointless to include so much of her story in this book. We could have simply been introduced to her in this book so that we were familiar enought to want to read her book. Instead we got a large chunk of the book following her story, when it could have been focused more on the FMC and MMC of this book. Because of the side stories I didn't feel as invested in the relationship, which means at the end I wasn't strongly effected by the results. The world building could also have used some work. The author created such an interesting world but then did not set it up in a way that made me understand fully. There wasn't much about the different kingdoms and royals and also the Fairy realm? Overall this author had a good premise with their story and I believe that as they continue to write we will see imporvement in the books.

Kira is the Princess Royal and the heir to the throne, and she is chafing under her stepmother's thumb while awaiting to ascend to power. In the meantime, she uses a magic cloak to pretend to be the legendary Beast of Barlow and roam the kingdom as a quasi-highwayman for her own amusement (and revenge too). Her childhood friend Robert is a knight, too handsome for his own good, but also kind and generous. Strange events start happening in a nearby kingdom with orphans turning into tiny version of the Beast when they leave the orphanage. Kira and Robert investigate this mystery as events unfold to bring them closer together. This new-adult romantasy is low steam but has lots of heart. Plenty of royal intrigue and magical happenings, with multiple plot lines to follow and a large cast of supporting characters. There's a nice thread of humor throughout as we learn more about Kira and her struggles as the Princess Royal, and her relationships with her stepmother and Robert. There are multiple 3rd-person POVs, which was a bit much at first but given how many supporting characters there are it really helped to tie everyone together (and set the stage for the next book in the series). Although there were a few pacing issues, the story picks up speed after the first third of the book and there was plenty of engagement through to the end of the story. This is a new-to-me author and I would definitely read her again, and I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this story, this was my objective review.

I read the blurb before reading the book and I instantly thought “ this is the book for me” and it truly was ! I am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future !

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. The tropes really got me interested in this book, but there were multiple POVs that confused me DNF

3 stars rounded up. This left me feeling kind of lost and not fully satisfied. The execution wasn't great, and there are many things that feel unfinished. There were side characters that I feel could've just been left out because of what little importance they have in the book. Based on the ending, I feel as though there will probably be a second book that has some of these side characters as main ones, but I'm not sure I'd be interested in reading it. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This is an out of the ordinary book choice for me. I decided to try something different and enter into the fantasy world! I really enjoyed it from beginning to end, it kept my interest, curiosity and hopefulness about certain circumstances coming together! I don’t want to give anything away. Keep the series going, Melissa! Would highly recommend, thank you!

I had so much reading this to be honest, Kira was just an amazing character and a very strong female with a very unique secret which made thee book even funnier, gave me the Brave vibe specially with the kids and why they are little beasts..
It was a light and fun read for me but some parts I felt she was a bit immature since she's the princess of a kingdom but made sense because she's still a girl

At the start, there isn't a whole lot happening to drag you in. It starts off pretty slow, with main character Kira, the princess of the Kingdom, turning into a beast to rob and terrorize people that go through the woods, one of those people being Robert, who she soon has to work with to find out why the kids at the orphanage are turning into the beast.

I was not a fan of Kira as a main character. She just seemed really rude, immature, and unlikeable and she had constant beef with her stepmother, which is explained in more detail later on, but way too far in the book, in my opinion. I wish we had more information on this earlier on, because maybe then she wouldn't have annoyed me as much. She does get better as the book goes on, especially once we get that explanation, but she definitely acts like a princess, and not the good kind. I mean, she claims to want to take over the throne from her step mother, who seems that she would be a way better ruler by anyone's standards, but doesn't act in any way that would show that she deserves it. Robert was a breath of fresh air, and was way better than Kira in all senses of that. Robert and Kira were complete opposites, but he deserved better.

There was even a love triangle, if you can call it that, between Kira, Robert, and Robert's childhood best friend. However, if this was meant to be a major plot point, it needed a lot more than it got and it was placed on the back burner and at times, I found myself wishing that Robert ended up with his best friend instead.

Thank you to Sun Valley Books, Melissa Constantine, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I feel guilty but I DNF'ed this about halfway through.

I fully expected this to be a light, easy, surface-level read with an interesting concept. I mean, I certainly have not heard of any story about the MC wearing a beast cloak and terrorizing people?? That's hilarious. Why does she even do it?

The writing did make me laugh from time to time, but as one other reviewer said I had a little bit of a tough time keeping track of the characters, which made it hard to follow the story. To be totally fair that's not super unusual for me, but I think they were just all introduced in the very beginning in too quick of a succession for me to differentiate them all. They also didn't necessarily have unique traits for me to remember to help keep track.

Something about the MC kind of irked me too. I think it is quite difficult to write about a princess who doesn't care about her role in a way that makes her lovable rather than spoiled. I mean, she clearly didn't respect the expectations set of her by showing up late, running around in the woods, etc. but then had the audacity to be irritated when her stepmother is referred to as Queen rather than Queen Regent? It's just odd. But seriously, literally why is she dressing up as a beast and terrorizing people? I don't really understand why she would do that (despite how funny it is). It is probably mentioned later in the book than I reached, but I needed an explanation sooner.

This story was very unique! I have not read anything else like this & it was quite refreshing.
It’s also nice not to have so many triggers/ trigger warnings! I like a dark read and I think in a way trigger warnings can kind of intrigue you to read more and see how dark something really is? But this had such a good unique story line & not one trigger warning that I could think of at the top of my head apart from a family death that they talk about in past tense.

The humour had me literally LOL.
I did find it a little hard to keep up with the characters as they all more or less get introduced at the beginning and you have to try and follow along but that could just be my downfall to be honest.
It did confuse me slightly but again, this could be down to me! But everything made sense in the end if you kept following right through ( worth it, keep going…).

Robert & Kira live in my mind & I can’t wait to follow the rest of the series! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this incredible arc 💗

Curtsies and Consequences by Melissa Constantine is a hilarious no-spice regency fantasy romance, à la My Lady Jane.

Meet Kira, the future queen of the Known Kingdoms, as she will tell you one hundred times in this book. But for now, her crown is held by her stepmother, which she deeply resents. So to take her revenge, she robs the Lords of the country by being the Beast of Barlow, a mythical creature, using an enchanted fur pelt. But one day, she meets the knight Robbie, and the magic starts running havoc. The pair has to solve a mystery raised by Kira’s cousin: kids from an orphanage suddenly became small versions of the Beast of Barlow… But this doesn’t have any link with Kira, does it?

I absolutely loved this story! It was original and a breath of fresh air from all the regency or contemporary romances I usually read. And did I say it was hilarious? The humor went from sharp and witty banter to comical situations, and I found myself laughing out loud at times.

The narration has multiple POV, between the two MCs and their friends, which is a bit weird at first, but I quickly realized that there’s not just one love story, but three!

The characters were so damn-well written, I actually regret not to have a bit more to read on them. I would have loved a bit more insight on all the characters, because the comical of the situations removed a bit of the dramatics. One example: when Kira and Robbie find themselves again at one point, the focus is not on them but on magical objects that appear out of thin air.

I have to admit I did not like Kira at first: I found her obnoxious and rude to her stepmother, but as I delved into the story, she really grew out on me - especially when I learned why she hates her Stepmother so much. You know when you read something and you have to go back to a sentence at the beginning of the book and you realize you completely misunderstood it. Yeah. Like that.

The world-building was deep and novel, and I wished it was more introduced at the beginning of the book. I felt a bit of frustration at knowing new things about the world at the very end of the book - how could I have guessed what the mystery of the book was without knowing anything about the world I’m reading about?

That being said, it was a very, very good story that went way deeper than I expected, and it will probably stay with me for a while.

*Small note* I had the pleasure of reading this as an ARC, but there were a lot of missed words or errors in construction of sentences, especially at the end. I hope this is resolved when the book is out.

Okay, so, Curties & Consequences... I'm feeling a bit conflicted about this one.

I liked the idea of a story set in a world with magic, fairies, and court intrigue. And the forced proximity trope is always fun! But honestly, the first 20% was really slow.

The FMC, Kira, was a bit of a brat at times, which made it hard to root for her. But thankfully, she does get a character arc that redeemed her a little.

I think this book might be better suited for YA readers than New Adult. It felt a bit too young for me.

Overall, it's not a bad read, but it's definitely not my favorite.

This story is so good and so cute! Omg!!! I loved to read this book. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

This was such a fun read. Enjoyed it immensely! The characters were likable and interesting. Hooked me from the beginning. Thank you for allowing me to read it early!