Curses

By: Lish McBride

Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle

A rebellious young woman and a skilled swindler team up in this enchanting young adult fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

“A unique and twisty magical romp!”—Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals Quartet

“A smart and hilarious twist on a tale as old as time.”—Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles

A run-in with a fairy godling at her betrothal ball left Merit Cravan with more than any fairyborn noble could want: wealth, intelligence, and the kind of beastly visage that makes children weep.

Now Merit has until her eighteenth birthday to break the fairy’s curse—and every day, she loses a little more of herself to the animal she’s become. All because she picked one unsuitable boy.

Tevin DuMont has nothing except a fairy gift of charm, an exceptionally handsome face, and two siblings he’s trying desperately to protect. As the oldest son in a family of con artists, he’s learned how to use what he has to his best advantage. He’ll do anything to keep his siblings safe, so when his mother runs afoul of the Beast of Cravan, Tevin doesn’t think twice. He’ll pay his mother’s debt, even if it means taking her place.

With her birthday looming, Merit has to find a match, but she’s terrified she’ll make the same mistake as before. Then she meets Tevin and realizes there’s no one better to protect her from an unsuitable match than the most unsuitable boy of all. Can Tevin help her break the curse, or is she doomed to be the Beast of Cravan forever?

Critic reviews

“Curses is the Beauty and the Beast retelling I've been waiting for.”—Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A unique and twisty magical romp!”—Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author

“If you're looking to escape into a fun fantasy romp, you can't go wrong with this one.”—Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A genuine delight.”—William Ritter, author of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series

“McBride’s voyage into this full fantasy world brings a different kind of humor than her Necromancer duology, and it’s a worthwhile pivot.”—Booklist

“This gender-swapped take on Beauty and the Beast is a snappy blend of old-school fairy tale appeal, with true love and pretty gowns, and modern-day sensibilities in dialogue and plot points.”—BCCB

“Earnest and amusing.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The path to true love constitutes an enjoyable read and the repartee among characters is clever and modern.”—School Library Connection

worth the audio

Curses by Lish McBride is one of those books that would best be enjoyed as an audiobook. It has a painfully slow start and as an adult reading this, I just couldn't get into the rambling. There was nothing in the few beginning chapters that hooked me in as a reader. I then decided to buy the audiobook because I was really interested by the synopsis and wanted to see where it lead.

That being said, the audio was great because it felt like you got an entire cast, that added life, character and personality to the stories. The author created an intriguing tale that may have gotten too carried away, but was entertaining once it was underway.

Definitely a life lesson for stubborn, rebellious teenagers and equally stubborn moms with good intentions, but closed minded. Give it a chance, buy the audiobook and get lost in this ya novel.

And enjoyable twist on the fairytale

I enjoyed the different point of view and the change of the story so that the beast was known in both her human and beast form. So her love interest had a chance to get to know her in both forms which felt more real. The characters were very entertaining. I enjoyed this read tremendously. Spent quite a long time that I enjoyed a book as much.

I love this book!!!

I loved the story and kept me hooked through the whole thing. I loved how it had love but adventure all in one book!!❤️

An Ok Book

This was an OK read, I don't know what was it that made me lose interest in the first third of the book and this feeling continued with me until the end of the book
The book tells the story about Merit she is kind of a princess and her mother wants her to marry since she was 15 but she doesn't want to marry someone she doesn't love, so she gets cursed to be a beast until she marries someone of her mom's choosing or someone who loves her the way she is .. and then we will meet Tevin ( who is an angel despite being a con man ) his mother trades him to serve the beast and he does it so perfectly .. he must find a husband for Merit to be free and break her curse .. but what if the one who loves her is there all along ?
the story takes a really interesting take to the story and Tevin's family are amazing .. but for some reason I was kind of bored through out the book .. it was ok, not bad but not great either

The narrator was ok, I did sometime struggle to know who is talking but overall she did a nice job

I love this book so much!!!

what a beautiful take on beauty and the beast. it's sweet and fun wonderful read