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The Curse Girl

by Kate Avery Ellison (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 528 ratings · 129 reviews

When Bee is imprisoned in a magical, cursed house because of her father's selfish choices, she has just one plan... escape! But in order to leave, she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all. And thanks to Will, the bitter young master of the house, the whole curse-breaking thing is proving difficult.

Will wants nothing to do wi...more

ebook, 125 pages

Published May 14th 2011 by EllisonBooks

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Apr 26, 2012 Lylaa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lmaaaaaoooo, triple-zero, paranormal-supernatural-romance

He glanced up once, eyes bored. “Please stop talking. I’m trying to eat.”

First I was like :
Bee - You are a whiny selfish brat,
Will - You are a self absorbed ~~attractive~~ jerk,
Rose - You weakling,
Liam - Shut up with your screaming,
Marian - You. Are. ~~Amazing.~~ Evil.

Then I was like :
Bee - Make up your mind and please, keep slamming the doors ( you are so mature )
Will - Why Will ? Why didn't you tell her ?
Rose - What the hell is happening to you :O
Liam - It's nice to be able to talk to someone,
Marian -...more

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May 08, 2012 Zuleeza rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Zuleeza by: Young Adult Reads group r2r

Shelves: debut-author-read-in-2012, favourite, tbr-challenge, fairy-tales-retelling

This review is also available on my blog, Qwerty

Excuse me while I'm

for a while.

*Try to recompose myself which may or may not help in the construction of a coherent review because I'm pretty much in my fangirling mode*

My dear fellow readers,

I know there are a few reasons which render you feeling skeptical about the awesomeness of this Beauty and the Beast retelling.

1. The..well, the whole Beauty and the Beast retelling idea. When authors decided for their work to be based on a well known fairy ta...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindled-it, paranormal, leading-men, favorites, werewolves, fairy-tales, favorite-couples-and-otps, re-read-worthy, leading-ladies, best-of-2012

This book was simply delightful. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't even begin to put it down. I loved the modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a fresh twist to it. I loved Beauty or Bee as she is referred to, she was very sweet and strong and I loved how she was able to adapt to her situation without being mopey or feeling sorry for herself, she always tried to make the best of things. I loved her relationship with Will, the gorgeous beast who was quite rude to her at the begi...more

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May 29, 2012 Tt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-for-authors-requesting, pick-it-for-me-challenge

*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...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Alyssia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: revisionings, awww-love, reluctant-love, faeries, read-and-review, kindle

I absolutely loved this book. It was an easy-read, and I read it in one sitting, with a quick break in the middle to tell my husband how much I was enjoying it. Then, once I finished it, I took a break, and later that night, read the whole thing again. Because it was fun, and cute, and because it has great re-readability. Even if, like me (view spoiler)...more I absolutely loved this book. It was an easy-read, and I read it in one sitting, with a quick break in the middle to tell my husband how much I was enjoying it. Then, once I finished it, I took a break, and later that night, read the whole thing again. Because it was fun, and cute, and because it has great re-readability. Even if, like me (view spoiler)

This book was well-written, with a few errors but nothing major. It had great flow, and despite the fact that the reader knew the basic plot (yay, a Beauty and the Beast retelling - I love these so much!) it still managed to surprise several times. It didn't just unfold following all the steps of B&tB - there were subtle twists and new reasons for things. I don't want to give too much away, but the placement of the curse, the way to break the curse, and how the curse functioned were all significantly altered, so that the reader could feel appreciation for the B&tB plot without feeling like s/he was reading Beauty and the Beast.
And I really loved the naming process in the house, and the way it provided the title for the book. And the fey lands - I think that was a very interesting addition.

I wish the book had been longer. I wish certain things had been further explained. But the book was sufficiently long, and the things left to the imagination were perhaps more appreciated that way. And it was adorable to read. I was laughing out loud and my husband kept coming in to ask me "What's happening now?" because I was so amused.

The largest criticism I have is that some of the threads in the plotting got loose. (view spoiler) But none of these things are terribly important. The book was very fun to read, and I would highly recommend it for a quick and satisfying adventure. I liked it so much that I immediately went and bought the other things for sale by the author, so I do think she's an author worth watching.(less)

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Jan 20, 2013 Scott-robert Shenkman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Marian needs Meds

Seriously, we are talking psycho crazy witch lady. Demented. Deranged. Nutter. And, she has some really good lines.

While this loony witch doesn’t have a lot of “screen” time, her presence is felt throughout this nifty little book.

Belle…I mean, Beauty (freaking guest song is in my head now…must.not.kill.self.) has amazing snarky lines, and Will isn’t too far behind her. These two despise each other at first. So naturally they’re meant to live happily ever after (oh come on, anyon...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: destined, fairytale, mystery, romance, sexy-male-leads, werewolves, young-adult

This was a fun and spunky short read. I think i read this book in a little under a day. There was a lot I loved about this re-telling but there were also some things that held it down for me. I liked the cursed people in the house slowly were forgetting themselves and how their skin was inked like the wallpaper, i liked how the house constantly was changing itself so the characters would get lost,and i liked how the walls would whisper to beauty. I thought Beast was a really neat character, a bu...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review can also be found here on my blog

Clocking in at just under 200 pages, this book is a fun, very quick read that’s great if you just want a bit of light fairytale escapism. It’s not a masterpiece, and the writing was juvenile in places (not unbearable by any means, just meant for someone younger than me), but this remake of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale was a charming indulgence in the generic.

When Bee’s dad dumps her at an enchanted mansion, she has one plan and one plan only:...more This review can also be found here on my blog

Clocking in at just under 200 pages, this book is a fun, very quick read that’s great if you just want a bit of light fairytale escapism. It’s not a masterpiece, and the writing was juvenile in places (not unbearable by any means, just meant for someone younger than me), but this remake of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale was a charming indulgence in the generic.

When Bee’s dad dumps her at an enchanted mansion, she has one plan and one plan only: get the heck out of that freak show. It turns out, everyone else inside the mansion wants out too, and she must cooperate in breaking a curse so they can all be free. This proves difficult when it means cooperating with the master of the house, Will. He’s the YA typical fair—hot, but infuriating. Just enough shitty qualities for the readers to feel invested in his reform but not hate him. Anyway, hijinks ensue! Because what else can happen in an enchanted house under the threat of being trapped for all eternity?

If I am to recommend this book to you, dear reader of this review, it is because I trust that you, like me, sometimes feel like indulging in some generic low fantasy that has cute, if predictable, plot elements. I mean, come on, the book is based off of Beauty and the Beast which is totally one of my favorite Disney movies, how could I not like this book at least a little bit? In the end there were some parts that tried a little too hard and some that didn’t try hard enough, but not enough of these parts that I disliked the book.

First, let’s talk heroine. Bee. Her real name is Beauty, which I thought was sooo dumb. I’m assuming Belle would be plagiarism, Isabella/Bella has been ruined for authors by Twilight for the next thousand years, and the author’s knowledge of foreign languages stops at Romance languages? Whatever about the name. I’ll let it pass. But let’s talk about her dumb background. White heroine who was bullied at school by the “cheerleaders” because she wasn’t pretty enough but ends up looking (literally) like “Scarlett Johansson” when she puts on a frilly dress? Check. Family that doesn’t understand her? Check. Interjections of “Awkward!” into a past tense narration? Check!!! Congrats I’m already slightly annoyed at your heroine. This isn’t to say that Bee didn’t redeem herself a bit in my eyes, but her backstory was so overused I will probably never remember it. The only thing I’ll remember about her is that she’s basically the origami world champ like seriously oh my god how do you fold origami that fast??? It takes me five minutes to make a shitty paper airplane. I liked that she was good at a weird talent. At least it wasn’t a boring talent like singing or plaintively sighing. Bee made some pretty dumb decisions, and she was entirely too forgiving of Will, but that’s teen love for ya, so fine. I didn’t hate her, which is something nowadays.

Will is pretty un-noteworthy. Generic paranormal YA guy. Smoldering eyes. Wounded soul. Plays piano. Manipulative (but only because he loves her!). From the past when gentlemen were real gentlemen (also pretty unilaterally racist and misogynistic, but shhhh this is YA… I say this as if it isn’t the case nowadays I’LL SHUT UP). I’ll say he isn’t as bad as Edward about manipulation from that book I will not mention again in this review because at least Will is repentant (hopefully). Actually I don’t really know if he’s repentant. We don’t really get told a lot because this book is less than 200 pages long.

The length was a big problem because it skimped on a lot of character and relationship development. We’re told a lot of things, but not shown. The romance felt really rushed. One moment he’s an asshole and she rightly hates him. Then there’s the electric shock of love in which the object of unknown affection gains an electrical charge relative to the object totally crushing hard on his fine ass and smoldering eyes. The electrical shock transmits love ions from the object doing the crushing to brain of the object being crushed upon to create instantaneous romance and affection. It’s Newton’s Law of Pretty Boys, duh, you didn’t learn that one in Introductory Physics? And there were characters that I wanted to get to know better, but didn’t because l-e-n-g-t-h. I remember that the other book by this author I’ve read,Frost, was also too short. It’s a shame because the author isn’t a bad writer by YA standards.

The only other thing I’ll say about this book is that its message is kind of dangerous. Essentially it’s that “love is a lifetime of second chances” which I found very disturbing when the heroine says this in relation to Will’s manipulation. No. Love is about treating the other person with decency because you love them and want to treat them like a human being not an object to be possessed because you’re an angry bastard. THIS LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO CHEATERS AND ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS. THOSE PEOPLE ARE ASSHOLES AND YOU SHOULD DUMP THEM A.S.A.P. That message and the other problems mentioned with characters and length keep this book from being a 4/5.

So yeah if you really like the Beauty/Beast story and feel up for a fun, quick paranormal then totally get this book! I can’t remember if it was 99 cents or free when I got it, but I remember it was very cheap. So yeah that’s all from me! Happy reading!(less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Intisar Khanani rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves fairy tale retellings

Shelves: fairy-tales

A fun and creative retelling of Beauty and the Beast. A lot of such retellings drag in the middle because--well, what else are Beauty and the Beast supposed to do but fall in love while sealed off from the world? Fortunately, Ellison plays up the curse, making it into a riddle that B&B are racing to solve before time runs out. I loved how Bee and Will started off snarky and mean to each other for their own reasons; it reminded a bit of Pride and Prejudice in a certain sense. And it takes a w...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Inna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: obnoxious-and-hot-male-lead

Check out this review on My Blog
I love fairy tale retelling and this retelling of Beauty and the Beast was great as it was definitely a new take on a well known story. This modern retelling is a short easy read that kept me entertained.
Bee got on my nerves a little in the beginning. I guess you could say she was a typical teenager. She was a bit selfish and stubborn. Luckily that cleared up pretty quickly in the novel. Will was a jerk in the beginning and he was definitely cold towards Beauty...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Raizza rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I'm a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, and this retelling just made my day!

What I thought of:

Bee - At the beginning, she whines a lot, which is understandable. She whines but she tries her best, she tries to be strong and tries to look for answers and clues to lift the curse and to escape. I love Bee! She is the type of heroine I don't usually read in YA books. We need more characters like her.

Will/Liam - A jerk turned to I-would-love-to-love-for-the-rest-of-my-life guy! Enough said! The devel...more

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May 05, 2012 Ashley Montgomery rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of young adult, fantasy and romance

Recommended to Ashley by: Group Read

Beauty is dropped off at an old abandoned house by her father. She believes she is being a martyr for the family by sacrificing herself to “The Beast” in order to protect her family and release them from the magic. The plan is for her to step inside, make sure the mark on her father is gone and then run back out. However, once she steps inside and turns back to her father, the door slams shut and she is locked in.

She later learns that she is really there to break a horrible curse gone wrong. Her...more Beauty is dropped off at an old abandoned house by her father. She believes she is being a martyr for the family by sacrificing herself to “The Beast” in order to protect her family and release them from the magic. The plan is for her to step inside, make sure the mark on her father is gone and then run back out. However, once she steps inside and turns back to her father, the door slams shut and she is locked in.

She later learns that she is really there to break a horrible curse gone wrong. Her father actually offered her in exchange for her stepmother’s health, who has cancer. She becomes known as “The Curse Girl”.

After many fights and arguments will “The Beast”, they decide to call a truce and work together to lift the curse. They even go to The Fey Lands, a mystical world, to try to confront the witch that set the curse. Although the trip doesn’t go well, the witch accidentally gives them a clue.

While on this journey, she realizes that “The Beast” really isn’t such a beast after all. He is, in fact, quite handsome and charming, and she begins to fall for him. However, her affections take a twisted turn when she learns that her old boyfriend showed up to “rescue her” and “The Beast” has hidden it from her. She storms off to her room and starts making origami, which is what she does when she’s scared and upset. She somehow manages to make a key. Upon awakening, she realizes that the key has become real by the magic of the house. She packs her things and uses the key to escape.

Upon her escape, she learns that everyone she left behind has moved on. She has never been so hurt and betrayed, not even by “The Beast” or her father. She realizes that no matter how infuriating and aggravating he can be, she really does love him and goes back to finish breaking the curse. But, when she arrives, no one is around.

What has happened to everyone? Has the spell been broken? Read the book to find out!

I will say that when I first started this book, I had my skepticism. However, the more I read, the more I wanted to read. The suspense just pulled me in! The story itself was great and it had a great set of characters. I actually started to fall for “The Beast” myself as I learned that he was really just a victim himself. I feel that the story was mostly about love, betrayal and forgiveness and how things aren’t always as they seem. I would definitely recommend this to fans of young adult, fantasy and romance.(less)

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May 02, 2012 Lily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow! What an awesome short read. This novella was generously shared by the author for a review, and I have to concede to the hype. This was hard to put down, and almost read same date, if I didn’t have to succumb to the very annoying need to sleep.

For anyone that enjoys the fairy tale stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, this will be a very entertaining and enjoyable novella. ‘The Curse Girl’ is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast story set in current times. A young high scho...more Wow! What an awesome short read. This novella was generously shared by the author for a review, and I have to concede to the hype. This was hard to put down, and almost read same date, if I didn’t have to succumb to the very annoying need to sleep.

For anyone that enjoys the fairy tale stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, this will be a very entertaining and enjoyable novella. ‘The Curse Girl’ is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast story set in current times. A young high school girl, Beauty, is delivered to the ‘Beast’s’ house by her father, who is marked by the ‘curse’ after he makes a very bad decision. In order to save her family from the curse, Beauty walks away from her life as she knows it, as soon as she steps foot in the house that is surrounded by myths of legend. She becomes a prisoner of the house with the Beast, who is really just a boy close to her age, who is also trapped along with his sister and household staff in the enchanted home. Beauty, in her quest of finding a way to escape, assists Will, the so called Beast, with finding an answer to the riddle that would break the curse they are all under.

For YA fans, this story follows the enjoyable rules of girl meets boy, can’t stand boy, then finds herself attracted to said boy as they work together towards a common goal. There is no ‘Insta-love’ here, which was a relief as I have just been assaulted too much lately with YA novels that feature such an annoying trend.

For the small size of this book, the author was great at character building. A lot of attention was paid not just to the two main characters of the story, but to everyone involved. Ya, of course Beauty and Will have the most focus for obvious reasons. But I did enjoy the attention to characters such as Housekeeper, Liam (before the predictable reveal towards the end), and of course the mean villainous witch, Marian. So the end result is, you care about them or despise them, and you can relate to them all in some way or another.

The ending was quickly wrapped up, and that was probably the only negative thing about this book. It just felt like it could have been a much longer story. But the negative is a positive. Obviously I was enjoying the heck out of this novel to be upset by how quickly it all wrapped up. But some of the wrap ups were a little too convenient, or without resolution (ie, her family moving away so no confrontation with father dearest who was so willing to give her up, and it ends pretty much once the curse is lifted – and yes I realize that may be a spoiler, but we all know the story of Beauty and the Beast, so get over it.)

I have to say I am impressed with the writing skill for a first published novel by this author. Kate Avery Ellison writes like a pro and reeled me in like one. I definitely have her next works on my ‘to read’ list for the future. (less)

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May 01, 2012 Gwynneth White rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: magic, re-tellings, young-adult

This was a fun read with a riveting opening. It hooked me from page one. Kate Ellison knows how to build tension and to describe a scene. Masterful. My biggest complaint was that the story was too short to really explore the world, or to develop the relationship between Bee and Will. I felt their 'love' was very rushed, and therefore a bit contrived. It cried out for greater development. I did like the Feylands and enjoyed Marion. She was a credible bad guy. The other characters - Housekeeper, B...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Julie(Reading By The Beach) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: r2r

As seen on -> http://readingbythebeach.blogspot.com...

Beautiful cover, right? Plus, who doesn't like Beauty and the Beast? This story is bound to capture a lot of attention. It instantly captured my attention, but I would have liked to see more.

I like this book, the concept derived from Beauty and the Beast was extremely interesting. The story quickly grabbed my attention, making me entranced by the gorgeous words.

"A shattered chandelier lay three feet away, crystal droplets spread like froze...more As seen on -> http://readingbythebeach.blogspot.com...

Beautiful cover, right? Plus, who doesn't like Beauty and the Beast? This story is bound to capture a lot of attention. It instantly captured my attention, but I would have liked to see more.

I like this book, the concept derived from Beauty and the Beast was extremely interesting. The story quickly grabbed my attention, making me entranced by the gorgeous words.

"A shattered chandelier lay three feet away, crystal droplets spread like frozen tears across the marble."

See? Gorgeous. Great imagery. Even the characters were fun, without any downright flaws, but my biggest thing with The Curse Girl is that it would have benefited greatly from a longer length. I liked the characters, but there wasn't really enough time to connect with them in a way that would have brought forth an even greater investment. I would have liked to see more of the budding feelings between 'Curse Girl' and 'Beast Boy' that would have lessened the instantaneous feeling that I got. I also would have liked to see a bigger interaction with the the other characters, because of the length, the story pretty much solely focuses on Bee and Will which isn't a bad thing, but it would have brought more emotion and better ties from me, the reader, to them, the characters. In other words, it would have rounded out the story more, adding depth. I know I'm not the only reviewer that has stated that the length should have been longer and honestly it's great how it is, but it would have been beyond fabulous if there was a little more detail. I know this because Kate Ellison has a talented writing ability that draws you into the world that she has created. There were just so many things that could have used more elaboration which would have only added layers to an already great story. Plus, there definitely should have been a more romantic ending!

The plot successfully kept me interested as they searched for the clues to break the curse, even twisting in unexpected ways at times. There were the obvious things that came from Beauty and the Beast, but there were also fresh ideas that made the story as fun and great as it was. There was one huge inconsistency that I found that didn't hugely subtract from my reading experience, but it was a big part of Bee as a character so it did take away from the magic of the story. If you've read the story, I'm sure you'll know what I'm referring to. It is firmly stated that Bee experiences something for the first time in a long while when I precisely remember reading about it happening twice prior to that moment.

A fast, fun read that shouldn't be missed, especially if you are a fan of fairy tales and um, Beauty and the Beast! (less)

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Apr 30, 2012 ❉Olivia ツ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, ya, 2012, r2r

I was given this book by the author to review and LOVED it!! Not to say there weren't flaws in the plot and writing - there were - but overall I found the story to be a quick read that sucked me into its spell.

This is the story of Beauty and the Beast with a contemporary-ish twist. Beauty (Bee) has leave her life and go live at the cursed house to fulfill the promise that her father made in order to save her stepmother. She grew up hearing gruesome stories about the house and its inhabitants. Ye...more

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Apr 28, 2012 May rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-count-2012, favourites

So, I received this book due to a 'Read to Review' in the Young Adult Reads group. You'd expect a book based on such a popular fairytale to just fall flat, right? Wrong. This was actually an amazing modern retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast'. Engaging, humorous in some places and very entertaining.

The characters were all well developed and managed to make me feel connected to them in a way. I loved Bee's determination and attitude and Will's wit (and dashing good looks). Rose was sweet and Maria...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Quiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, the-fae, young-adult, fantasy, paranormal

I read the synopsis for The Curse Girl by Kate Ellison and I was immediately intrigued. I’ve always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast, so I was eager to read Ellison’s take on a classic. Let’s just say I was not disappointed.

We’re introduced to Bee, a young teenage girl who’s been dropped off at a house the entire town believes to be cursed. Any sane person would steer clear of an old house that’s believed to be under a witch’s spell, a house an entire town believes a dangerous beast resid...more I read the synopsis for The Curse Girl by Kate Ellison and I was immediately intrigued. I’ve always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast, so I was eager to read Ellison’s take on a classic. Let’s just say I was not disappointed.

We’re introduced to Bee, a young teenage girl who’s been dropped off at a house the entire town believes to be cursed. Any sane person would steer clear of an old house that’s believed to be under a witch’s spell, a house an entire town believes a dangerous beast resides. Unfortunately for Bee, she doesn’t have much of a choice. Her father landed himself into some trouble, which put not only his life, but his family’s life in jeopardy. Now it’s up to Bee to save him and the rest of her family, by breaking the curse, and setting those who reside in the cursed house free.

I loved this story. Ellison did a wonderful job of creating a world filled with danger, mystery, magic, and romance. Her descriptions of the characters, their emotions, and surroundings were so vivid, that I actually felt as if I were in the story experiencing and seeing everything Bee felt and saw. The story itself was engrossing as well as entertaining, and kept me captivated until the very last word.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially Will and Bee. Bee was stubborn and quick to anger, but she was also smart, capable, determined and brave, traits which made for a compelling character. Will was rude (in the beginning), bitter and snarky, but he was also a good brother to his sister Rose, witty and at times gentle. I fell in love with his character by the end of the story. Add a powerful yet insane witch, a faery or two, a house full of peculiar servants, and you have a story that’s brimming with colorful characters.

Overall, I give The Curse Girl four stars. I really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to future books from the author. So if you’d like to read a book with an interesting cast of characters and a good plot, then this story is for you.

(less)

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Apr 20, 2012 Farah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not really sure whether this review has any spoilers or not, but read it at your own discretion. lol

Anyway, this is one GOOD book! It captured me from the get go, and wouldn't release me until the last page! I found myself laughing, crying, and awe-ing with the characters. The book has essence! Even though based on a fairytale, I found myself willing to believe the events occurring! The characters were so life-like it felt like I'd known them all my life, and in a way, I guess I have!

Kate Av...more I'm not really sure whether this review has any spoilers or not, but read it at your own discretion. lol

Anyway, this is one GOOD book! It captured me from the get go, and wouldn't release me until the last page! I found myself laughing, crying, and awe-ing with the characters. The book has essence! Even though based on a fairytale, I found myself willing to believe the events occurring! The characters were so life-like it felt like I'd known them all my life, and in a way, I guess I have!

Kate Avery Ellison took a story that is close to all our hearts, brought it into the 21st century, and gave it that extra magical touch it was missing!

Unlike Beauty, who only had her looks going for her, Bee has spunk! She has fire in her a belly, and a good heart in her chest! At certain moments, she really reminded me of myself, as I'm sure she will do to almost everyone who reads this book. I really found myself relating to her! I mean, she's not one of those perfect girls that most authors portray as heroines. She's a regular human, just like anyone of us, whose fate just happened to be tangled in a big mess. While she has the kindest heart ever, she's also selfish. While she is certain of herself and has a whole lot of confidence, she still has her self doubts and insecurities. Those insecurities make her very endearing to all of us!

I found the Beast to be someone I'd readily fall in love with! At first, he came off as your typical teenage bad-boy! But then I realized that that's his defense.. Just like any other human who has been hurt, he hides behind his snark comments and mean behavior, when in reality, he's just a sweet boy paying for the sins of someone else.

At first, the story was a bit too fast paced, and I felt like there were some events that were not used to their full capacity, some emotions were left unattended, and the characters had a lot more to offer. But as I read on, I realized that the only reason why the beginning was rushed was because the author wanted to get to the good part. I still felt like I'd rather have more attention payed to the beginning, but I understood the reason behind the rush. At certain points, I also felt like there were informational dumps. It was like there were no clues, nothing to help us figure out much on our own, and then suddenly BLAM! in one conversation, the whole story is spilled on us readers, as well as on Bee, and we were just left there to deal with it. These are basically the only reasons why this story was a 4 star one instead of a 5 star one, although for the first time ever, I feel like reading this book again!

My favorite part is when they're in the library and Will is telling her all the amazing qualities that he likes about her, when in her head she's having her destructive self talk, pointing out all her insecurities, trying to shield herself from his praise so she wouldn't get hurt… I don't know if there is anyone on earth who hasn't had that moment, and to see it in a third person point of view… It was incredible!

Finally, I have a note for the author that is most definitely a spoiler!
(view spoiler)(less)

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Nov 18, 2012 Chiara (Oscuro y Seductor Romance) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. La una vez nuevamente revisionada historia de Bella y Bestia. Esta vez la maldición incluye a seres mágicos de todo tipo y alguna que otra sorpresita.

Bella, ó en este caso Beauty, es obligada a ir a la mansión de Bestia, ó Will en este caso, para que la maldición que cayó sobre su padre al entrar en la casa maldita desaparezca.

Cómo veis la historia está basada esta vez en dos adolescentes.

Como en toda versión del cuento, los dos protagonistas tendrán sus diferencias. Veremos como la maldición ca...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fairy-tale, fantasy, female-heroine, romance, young-adult

I truly enjoyed reading this book. It was quick, fun, and cute. From the very first pages, I found myself humming music from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, because it was so reminiscent in feel of the movie. Bee was a sympathetic and relatable main character who I found myself rooting for. Will was also a great character. He was just the right balance between depressed and upset with sweet, making you care about him anyway.

Most of my problems with this book lay in how short it was. I felt that i...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: couldn-t-put-down, loooooooved-it, ohhh-la-la-romance

Ok first of all, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie. So for obvious reasons, I decided that this sounded interesting and wanted to give it a shot. Boy I was I glad I got to!!!! This story was a different approach to the Disney movie and I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!!! It was such so simple to me but yet it still pack a punch. I came across like a couple errors(nothing to take away from the story, I just notice things sometimes).

Anyways, as I started reading I was yelling man Bee's dad...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Traci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, fantasy-scifi, 4-stars, kindle-library, paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy, short-stories-and-novellas, witches-and-magic, young-adult, fairy-tales, r2r

Disclosure: I received The Curse Girl in exchange for a review from Shut Up & Read.

This is a short story based on the classic "Beauty & the Beast." It was, for the most part, a reasonably straightforward retelling. There were a few new elements.

First off, I would have loved to see this a little longer. The original elements of the story--the 'legend' surrounding Curse House, the background between Robert and Marian, a bit more about the curse in general--those really stick out in my min...more Disclosure: I received The Curse Girl in exchange for a review from Shut Up & Read.

This is a short story based on the classic "Beauty & the Beast." It was, for the most part, a reasonably straightforward retelling. There were a few new elements.

First off, I would have loved to see this a little longer. The original elements of the story--the 'legend' surrounding Curse House, the background between Robert and Marian, a bit more about the curse in general--those really stick out in my mind, and that's what made this retelling unique among others. But there simply wasn't a whole lot of it, and I know that I would have loved more detail. There was a lot of Bee's life, and of Robert's, that we were told a little about but didn't get to see.

As an example, when Bee first finds out what her father did, she says that she suspects she's not his daughter. Later on, someone says that her mother's not a bad person... these two things together hint at a little bit of drama that I honestly would not mind reading about. Why? Because this is something that makes Bee who she is, and at times her behavior needs a little explanation. We were told, also, that Bee has an inability to cry, but nothing was mentioned about why that might be vital, and I can't remember her crying throughout the course of the story, either.

On the other hand, I can understand, to a point, why it's a shorter story instead of a full length novel. It would probably be a really fine line to walk, and considering that the original work is also short, it does make sense to keep the retelling short, too.

I found the ending to be a little rushed and too neatly tied in a bow for my tastes, but again, I think that's more a matter of personal preference, considering that this is a fairy tale and things tend to fall together rather quickly. It could also be that it seems to be so hard to find a standalone novel these days and I'm just not used to everything being wrapped up in one story, instead of (sometimes needlessly) dragged out for sequel after sequel.

I didn't find an overly obnoxious amount of spelling and grammar errors. There were a couple of spots where I thought that might change, but overall, it was fine. My eyes didn't bleed when I stumbled across those spots, and that's a good thing.

Also, the cover is beautiful!

Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked the original bits and they were integrated with the classic story well enough. It was an easy and enjoyable read and it's something I'll probably read again at some point.(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 JB The Book Addict rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OMG! I cant believe how interesting this book was.I loved Bee. Her character was amazing. Strong, yet vulnerable, Bee is thrust into the extraordinary while still struggling to hold onto her average teen life of friends, school and a sort-of-boyfriend.I loved how she explained herself: "I wasn't a hero, and I wasn't admirable. I was simply stubborn enough to keep going even when everything seemed to be falling apart." Then there's Will. Oh, Will. He's such a complete jerk at first.I loved the ba...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Monika Pardon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: r2r, three-star

Synopsis
When Bee is imprisoned in a magical, cursed house because of her father's selfish choices, she has just one plan... escape! But she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all before she can leave, and that is proving more difficult than she originally thought thanks to the bitter young master of the house, Will.

Will wants nothing to do with Bee or her help (and he certainly isn't planning on falling in love with her), but he might have underesti...more Synopsis
When Bee is imprisoned in a magical, cursed house because of her father's selfish choices, she has just one plan... escape! But she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all before she can leave, and that is proving more difficult than she originally thought thanks to the bitter young master of the house, Will.

Will wants nothing to do with Bee or her help (and he certainly isn't planning on falling in love with her), but he might have underestimated just how determined and clever--and irresistible--she can be.

Review
I thought The Curse Girl was an interesting and fast read, however it wasn’t memorable. The idea of a girl being trapped in an enchanted house with a beast type character is a fabulous idea and the writing was technically fine. I liked Will and his extension character. I like Bee/Beauty, but their story was predictable. I pretty much guessed the entire book by the fourth chapter. The father, while he was terrible, I wanted to know more about his and Bee’s relationship. It was too skimmed over. I wanted to see more romantic development between Will and Bee. It happened too fast. Also, I was a little disappointed that while Bee finally figured out that she had feelings for Will, she still ran off to Drew. The part that made her run, Will’s lying, was not an earthshattering reason. Also, it felt too rushed. The entire book is 108 pages, and it felt too rushed to me.

I like the story itself, but it needs to be developed more. This story could use another 100 or pages of development. I want to know more about:
1. Marion’s story
2. Will’s curse
3. More about Will and Bee’s search for the curse breaker
4. More action within the Fey Land
5. Bee’s relationship with her dad
6. Will and Bee’s romance in a non-rushed way/the turning point in their relationship that isn’t glossed over
7. Rose’s (Will’s sister) story
8. What makes Drew such a good guy, to make us actually like him because when we meet him, I thought he was a complete douche!

I REALLY wanted to love it, but because it felt too rushed and barely any character development. I really like the story. I just think that Kate Ellison should go back to it and really start with explaining the interesting world she created and give the characters more of their own story and really bring the world to life. I just can’t give it 4 or 5 stars, so I’m going with 3.5.
(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Jennifer C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: challenge-2012, fairy-tale-retellings

I received this book for free from the Good Reads group Shut Up and Read.

This was a really good retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It's one of my favorite stories. I really liked all of the characters and loved the details that were given about the house. I liked how the rooms changed and the origami came to life. I would have liked to find out more about what happens to the other people in the house at night. You only see Housekeeper at the end as part of the wall, but what happens to Rose, an...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fantasy, ya, tween

I received a copy of this book for review as part of the Read it and Reap event from the Shut Up and Read group here on Goodreads.

This is a modernized retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a few new twists from the author. Much of the story will be familiar to anyone familiar with the Disney version; teenaged Bee is imprisoned in the mansion to save her family, stuck with the company of peculiar, amnesiac servants and the grumpy master of the house, and enlisted in helping break the curse that...more

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Apr 20, 2012 J.R.Barker J.R.Barker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-tale

I received this free as a read and review from Read it and Reap

I found this to be a nice and easy read and the story was a rather sweet one.
I really loved the Fey lands and would like to read more about them, perhaps in another book.
There were a few inconsistencies, but these were minor.
The descriptions were fantastic and sucked you into the story.

However I didn’t gel with the main character as she was a bit of a stroppy mare.
(view spoiler)...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Erin Arkin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast.

There were some elements of the story I enjoyed and others I wish had more detail. The characters were interesting but with the story being so short, we weren't given a lot of background/insight into who they really were. I also wish we would have gotten more information surrounding Bee's relationship with her father. It was mentioned that she felt her father wasn't really her father but that was it. I would have liked to understand the reaso...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Delilah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, language-english, 50-2012

I got this book to review from the Read It & Reap project.

As far as fairy tales go, this variation of the Beauty and the Beast theme was okay. The story reminded me more of the tale of the Prince beyond the Seven Seas with the male lead changing into an animal/monster only at night, but that was quite refreshing. That particular story is seldom mentioned when people think of a version of Beauty and the Beast, as far as I know.

There were just some teeny-tiny things that made me not enjoy the...more I got this book to review from the Read It & Reap project.

As far as fairy tales go, this variation of the Beauty and the Beast theme was okay. The story reminded me more of the tale of the Prince beyond the Seven Seas with the male lead changing into an animal/monster only at night, but that was quite refreshing. That particular story is seldom mentioned when people think of a version of Beauty and the Beast, as far as I know.

There were just some teeny-tiny things that made me not enjoy the book as much I would have liked.

1) the outside world time scale: (view spoiler)

2) Bee's character: She was too... beastly to work as the second main character in a B&tB story. Frankly I do not understand how Will could fall in love with her. (view spoiler)

Maybe those two points wouldn't have irked me so if the story had been longer. There would have been more chance to see the character's behaviour change.

As it was, I wanted to see more interaction between Bee and Liam in the dungeon. Instead I got sort of googly eyes at the pretty boy upstairs and a riddle that made me wonder what went on in Will's head, because for a guy who spent years with nothing else to do but read his twenty-thousand-books library and look for a way out, he sure was very oblivious to the screaming obvious metaphor of the curse riddle. on the other hand, maybe he already knew what was needed to break the curse, and just to think about it. That would have made sense at least.(less)

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About Kate Avery Ellison

I've been making up stories since I was five years old, and now I'm thrilled to be able to do it as a full-time job. I have an obsession with dark fantasy, dystopian futures, and Pride and Prejudice-style love stories full of witty banter and sizzling, unspoken feelings. When I'm not writing, I'm creating digital art, reading funny blogs, or watching my favorite shows (which include TVD and BSG)....more

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Quotes from The Curse Girl

“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I could. My voice sounded strong and smooth, but my hands were shaking. I put them in my lap so he couldn’t see.
“I prey on innocent villagers and terrify their children,” he said with a nasty smile. “And sometimes when I’m feeling really evil, I read books or paint.” — 14 people liked it

“He glanced up once, eyes bored. “Please stop talking. I’m trying to eat.” — 13 people liked it

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