Of Curses and Kisses

By: Sandhya Menon

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio, Jason Carpenter

“Fans of Menon’s frothy, contemporary rom-coms will be excited for this venture into new territory.” —Booklist
“[A] dreamy, sassy confection of a romance…Funny, extravagant, and satisfying.” —Shelf Awareness

From the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi comes the first novel in a brand-new series set at an elite boarding school that’s a contemporary spin on Beauty and the Beast.

Will the princess save the beast?

For Princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn her in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending…right?

His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse by a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed once he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s lived an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck…

As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending.

Critic reviews

"Narrators Shiromi Arserio and Jason Carpenter are perfectly matched in this modern-day fairy tale in which a forbidden romance blooms between aristocratic teens from rival families. Arserio portrays Princess Jaya in a controlled tone and a posh British accent that is well suited to the reserved and traditional teen. Jaya unexpectedly finds herself drawn to the quiet, brooding Grey Emerson, whose melancholy personality is enhanced by Carpenter's deep, solemn voice—complete with an American accent that is fitting for this British teen, who is living in exile due to a family curse. The budding romance takes place at an international boarding school rife with drama. Listeners will be captivated by how easily the narrators flip between the accents of the diverse student body. Together, Arserio and Carpenter bring this cursed romance to life."

Siri voice

The Narrator grays portion of these books literally sounds like a male Siri. But at least Jaya’s was good

Of curses and Kisses

This was a great book! It was well written! The characters are great! Well done!

Fun retelling

Such a good retelling definitely recommend. I love all the Beaty and the beast references and just enjoyed this book a lot

3.5 Interesting Plot

Overall this was a sweet new high school take on Beauty & the Beast with a Romeo & Juliet vibe as well. The main female character kind of starts like a mean girl but then becomes normal, and the mean girl kind of gets some redeeming qualities (and is the main female lead in the next story in this series who I wouldn't have wanted to read about until her character arc). There is a lot of politics between the families hating each other and what is expected of royalty and culture, the rich kids boarding school environment, friendships, and then the slow growing sweet romance that begins blossoming. The mystery throughout about the curse/falling rubies is unique as well. With 45 minutes left in the story, I still had no idea how they were going to resolve all the problems, but I was nicely surprised.
I enjoyed the male narrator's voice, and the female narrator did well with emotions. She also did quite a few accents to distinguish between the friends, though some of the Indian accents were a little harder to always understand I had to turn the volume up.
I do have to note that I took a long break about halfway through this story due to losing interest with the main character pretending to like the boy, for over 6 months time, and then came back to it. I'm glad I finished it.