Of Curses and Kisses

I was gonna read this ARC closer to the release date or atleast till I was able to buddy read it with my friends, who are all part of Sandhya's street team. But I found myself feeling a little sad on my birthday and decided what better way to cheer myself than picking up Sandhya's book. And that's exactly what happened.

This is a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast and while I don't remember much about the original except Emma Watson's movie, this book definitely had that fairytale feel all throughout. The setting of the boarding school in Aspen, the snow clad mountains surrounding it, the description of the town of St. Rosetta's, the rich and fancy kids studying at this school and the whole idea of a generations old family curse - everything added to that whimsical fairytale effect and however unlikely the story felt at times, the author was able to thoroughly transport me into the story and feel immersed in this world. And the best part is that even if you know nothing about the OG story, you'll miss nothing because this one stands beautifully on its own.

The pacing is also very fast and the plot so engaging that once I started, I didn't put it down for even a second until I was done. I was smiling, I was frustrated and most of the times, very very emotional and that's exactly what I always know I'll get from the author's book. I've been trying not to read very angsty books for a while now, and maybe this one can't exactly be called an angsty read, but it surely tugged at my heartstrings a lot.

Jaya is a stereotypical heir to a Royal family who has taken everything that she has been taught about family and tradition to heart, and believes that it is her duty to do everything for the sake of the dynasty and there's no place for her own heart's desires. So, even though the story begins with her trying to take revenge for a perceived attack on her family, what it eventually becomes is her understanding herself better, coming into her own and realizing that she can be both her own person as well as a dutiful heir. And while her very rigid attitudes both towards herself and her little sister really infuriated me quite a few times, I was glad to see the growth as the story progressed and I loved how she handled everything towards the end.

But it was definitely Grey who left the most impression on me. His backstory, the pain underneath that misanthropic attitude, his loneliness - it was all so genuinely depicted that it broke my heart and all I wanted to do was protect him. But despite his grumpy, stay away from me attitude, none of his friends really give up on him and his friendship with Jaya really opens his eyes to more possibilities and it was beautiful to see him change and hope for something better slowly. He deserves all the happiness in the world.

There were a bunch of side characters and while we got to know them only a little, they were all quite fun - even the mean girl plot line was resolved quite nicely. I especially liked Jaya's sister Isha who is passionate about robotics, wants to be an engineer and just have fun with her friends; and Rahul who is the nerdy awkward kid in the group with an almost eidetic memory and his deadpan dialogues always made me laugh.

To conclude, this was exactly the kind of book I needed to make me smile and I'm so glad I decided to read it sooner than I intended to. If you've already enjoyed Sandhya's previous books, I promise you're gonna love this. Even if you are unfamiliar with the author but enjoy fairytale-esque stories in contemporary YA settings, I think you'll really like this one. If was fun, it was emotional and it was a delight. Thank you so much Sandhya for making my day better.