I have started this review half a dozen times and continue to come up speechless. The Curse Girl drew me with its compelling cover and blurb, but within the first few pages I knew I was about to fall in love. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite faerie tale, so imagine my surprise in discovering its modern day retelling. Knowing the source material, be prepared for more than a few twists and turns as Bee tries to unlock the curse.
The Beast is terrible and charming. The servants magical and though small in their parts engaging. The history and magical element is fresh and exciting.
Purchase this book and be prepared to read something extraordinary. ( )

I enjoyed The Curse Girl overall, but not quite as much as I was expecting.

I love fairy tale retellings, and Beauty and the Beast in particular (although, to be totally honest, probably the Disney version more than anything--the decidedly scary elements of the story don't appeal to me as much). That being said, I understand it's a really tricky one to pull off. I think I can count on one hand the number of books that really fully persuaded me that two people genuinely hated each other for valid reasons, but then also genuinely fell in love for valid reasons (I'm thinking of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and, in a more lighthearted fashion, William Shakespeare's As You Like It.)

A few things that I found kind of disappointing: though it naturally inclined me to like Will more to discover that he hadn't been the one the curse was originally meant for, it also felt, to me, a bit like a cop out. That's the instant removal of one genuine barrier to love between him and Bee--that he's actually someone who got cursed because he truly was beastly on some level.

Also, I found it unbelievable that Bee didn't consider, even once, that Liam might be Will. They're two halves/nicknames of the same full name. I understand why Ellison might not have let Bee think about this, because I think the only reasonable thing that Bee could have thought to brush that aside would be that they had different-sounding voices... but, though I generally have a pretty generous suspension of disbelief, this one I just couldn't buy.

I thought this book, unlike Ellison's other books I've read so far from the Frost Chronicles, could have benefited from more than just another round of copy-editing. For example, I understand that Will spoke in a more old-fashioned way, but why (especially in the beginning) did Bee? She switched back and forth between being pretty formal and being colloquial at first, which threw me off a little. Also, in the beginning, maybe it was just me, but I felt like reasons to hate Will were more or less manufactured, and profanity used mainly to emphasize hatred without really showing a lot of it first. I also did find Bee unnecessarily dramatic a lot, especially in the beginning, and wished that she were not quite as temperamental. But again, I acknowledge that this is a really tricky dynamic to write, and I don't think Ellison did a terrible job; I just wasn't always fully convinced.

In the end, though, I still found the romance very sweet. Some of the descriptions really gripped my imagination and I loved the way things came together towards the end. And I still stand by the declaration that I love Ellison's narrative style. Plus, from what I've read of Ellison so far, she's good at plotting--planting clues here and there that are put together in a satisfying way at the end. I definitely enjoyed this book, and it was fun enough that I can imagine myself going back and wanting to reread it in the future, when I'm in a certain mood for it. But there were parts that held me back from loving this book as much as I thought I might. ( )

The Curse Girl is a quick and enjoyable read. Kate Avery Ellison sticks to the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, but adds just enough of her own ideas and twists to make it refreshing. I found myself quite caught up in the love story of Beauty and Will - the romantic / intimate moments were well done. This novel isn't overly complex, and because it's a retelling of a classic tale, it is predictable... But what else can a reader expect going into a young adult fairy tale adaptation?

I read the Curse Girl in just a few hours. It's great if you're looking for something quick to keep your mind busy. ( )

*I received this book to review by the Author*

This story is a re-telling of the classic story Beauty and The Beast. If you are familiar with this Disney story you are able to recognize all the characters in this book easily.

Beauty also called "Bee" for short is a modern version of Belle. Bee is 17 years old living the regular teen life which includes hanging out with friends and dating Drew one of the cutest guy in school. Bee's life takes a drastic and enchanting change when her low down father trades his daughters life to the towns Legendary "Beast" for his second wife's well being.

I absolutely Adored this book! Two thumbs up and Five Stars for this crafty re-telling of a story that is so close to everyone's heart! The Author jump's right into the story from the first page which was very smart of her because the readers really dont need a lot of background because this is such an old story. I also appreciated how the author took all the special elements of the book including the Rose,the housekeeper,the curse, and The Beast and ran with it and made her own twisted story of Love,Murder,Betrayal,Forgiveness, and a little magic!

This was a short and lovely read. The Author plays a game of tug of war on your every emotion while reading and I found myself laughing out loud to "No He didn't" to "No She didn't!". I also loved the character commentary between Bee and William bickering back in forth and I laughed out loud when Will told Bee that her names fits her because she acts like a Bitch! LOL HILARIOUS!! I enjoyed this from beginning to end. All the twist and turns along with the mystery behind the events that lead to everyone being Cursed and the mystery to figure out how to break the Curse that has taken on a life of it's own.

Recommend to: I recommend this book to everyone who loves the original story of Beauty and The Beast. You will definitely have fun reading this and figuring out who all the characters are because of the twists the author puts in the story. A must read! I will definitely be reading more of Kate's books!

Cover Rating: 5 stars! The cover is a Beauty! :)

Favorite Quotes: "If being happy prevents you from being good, then I'd rather you were miserable. Misery breeds repentance, after all."

-Marian/Witch -The Curse Girl by Kate Avery

"Hatred is an ugly thing, Bee. It's like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. It corrupts the person holding it inside."

-Liam-The Curse Girl by Kate Avery ( )

Same storyline of Beauty and the Beast. Cute read.