BEAUTIFUL CURSE ARC REVIEW
AUTHOR: Jen McConnel
SERIES: Standalone
PUBLICATION DATE: December 2014
PUBLISHER: Swoon Romance
SOURCE: FBBC ARC
RATING: 4 stars
Goodreads Summary
Sixteen-year-old Mya Jones is cursed.
She is, hands down, the most beautiful creature on earth. But beauty can wound, and Mya finds herself reviled and shunned by her peers. If there is even a chance that she could start over, Mya longs to take it, no matter the risks.
So when the strange Mr. Merk offers her a new life away from home, Mya is hesitant but hopeful. Only she didn't count on the mysterious Ross, or her feelings for him.
BEAUTIFUL CURSE is a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.
“Beautiful Curse is the perfect balance of mysterious and romantic. You’ll swoon over this imaginative retelling of Cupid and Psyche.” - Robin Constantine, author of THE PROMISE OF AMAZING
“A fun and fresh twist on a well-loved story! The Cupid and Psyche romance is my favorite myth and McConnel's whimsical take did not disappoint. An absolute delight, I loved every moment of this love story and instantly wanted more.” - Rachel Harris, author of THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING
Beautiful Curse has been shortlisted for the Gayle Wilson Award Of Excellence
MY REVIEW
Mya is a an average school girl until one day she wakes up and finds herself completely changed. She has this kind of otherworldly beauty that does not escape anyone's attention. Because of her "beauty curse" her mom leaves and her dad resorts to alcohol. And instead of being praised or even acknowledged positively at school, she is shunned and bullied. Friendless and lonely, Mya's life has become hell until a strange man offers her escape. She accepts but it's not what she imagined it would be. She is sent to a castle where she sees no one except for a select few but is aware of the presence
of others. Whatever she wants she gets and on top of that the castle seems to have a mind of its own. Every night she dines with the mysterious Ross who does not allow her to see him but how long can she hold out? Especially since they both fall in love...
I was pretty sceptic about this book, i was scared Mya would come out vain or too victimised. Thankfully she was neither of those things! she was actually super sweet and never gloated or pitied herself. I also loved the fact that she drowned her sorrows in art, you could really feel her passion.
The setting!!! It almost rivals the castle in Cruel Beauty!!that castle ROCKS!!!from an invisible friendly buttler to a magical wardrobe this book has it all! It definitely gives off the magic vibe.
This book reminded me of one of my fav french book when i was kid so i was practically savouring ever single moment of it!
The reason i couldn't really give it 5 stars was because of the romance and Ross' character, was underdeveloped. Ross was mysterious but i couldn't get any read on him. The romance was sweet but i didn't understand how the shift between a dinner and love occured. Also it lacked some darkness.
Other than that, it was a great retelling and a unique take too. Loved the ending and the messages the author puts into the book.
5 comments
This sounds like an interesting take on a reverse situation (too beautiful!). It's like something is driving us to stay in the homogenous middle and no extremes are tolerated... Tx for your review!
ReplyDeleteAww thnx 4 commenting :) it really made me think about what the true definition of "beautiful" was in terms of physical beauty :) it was interesting to see the author's take on it
DeleteDude. "a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid" I NEED to read this. But I gather from your review that there's some insta-love??
ReplyDeleteLol :D umm not exactly insta-love, i mean there is a degree of attraction but they just went from dinner and attraction to love..it was underdeveloped and well Mya didn't know Ross at all..but u should definitely give it a go :)
DeleteOkay, that reassures me a bit more! Thx! :D
DeleteThanks a million for taking the time to post a comment :)