Beautiful Curse Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Beautiful Curse blog tour! Today I have my review of the book to share - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.

Beautiful Curse

Author: Jen McConnel

Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology/Re-Telling

Release Date: December 2014

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Description:

Sixteen-year-old Mya Jones is cursed.

She is, hands down, the most beautiful creature on earth. But beauty can wound, and Mya finds herself reviled and shunned by her peers. If there is even a chance that she could start over, Mya longs to take it, no matter the risks.

So when the strange Mr. Merk offers her a new life away from home, Mya is hesitant but hopeful. Only she didn't count on the mysterious Ross, or her feelings for him.

BEAUTIFUL CURSE is a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid. 

Beautiful Curse is the phenomenal and completely captivating modern day retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Cupid. Mythology and various retellings seem to be all the rage right now, especially in young adult fiction, so I was prepared for another good book that would fade in with the others. I'm incredibly glad to say that this book stood out from the others instead of blending in, and it really gave a fun breath of fresh air that the genre desperately needed. The book is a modern day retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which is interesting in itself - but I don't think a lot of readers know the myth behind the book, which makes it even more exciting because you don't already know (basically) what's going to happen. I believe that by choosing a lesser known myth, the author seems to guarantee something fascinating that hasn't been redone a thousand other times. Choosing to center the book around this specific myth definitely makes the book stand apart from others in the genre, especially when it comes to mythology and retellings.

For me, this was an incredibly fascinating and fun story that was written in such a laid back way that it was a very quick read. It only took me a few hours to read the entire thing - I flew through the pages without even realizing how much time had passed or how many pages I had read. A large part of the reason why I inhaled this story so fast is due to the author's writing style. The book is written from our heroine's, Mya's, point of view. Because of this, we get an inside look at the real character of Mya - her thoughts, dreams, and fears are all laid out for the reader, which makes it incredibly easy to identify with her character as well as making her feel realistic to the reader. Another reason I like this writing style is because since it's told from Mya's point of view - it comes across as conversational, which in turn makes it fast-paced but with a natural flow. Books written in this way are always much easier for me to read because of these points, and this book was no exception. I loved Mya as a main character for the book. She's smart, tries hard in school, is a devoted daughter and friend, and she's strong (mentally and emotionally). She has her faults too - waking up one day to find that you're incredibly beautiful is a hard thing to try to accept. She suffers from low self esteem, grief, and blames herself for almost everything that seems to go wrong in her life - whether it had anything to do with her or not. I loved getting to know Mya and watching her character grow throughout the story. It's an unique type of "coming of age" tale that's mixed with mythology and modern times. I have to admit that I liked watching Mya and Ross together and seeing their relationship grow. Although I flew through the book and it has a light nature, it does discuss some serious topics throughout the story. There's a ton of lessons to be learned if you pay attention; ones like vanity, jealousy, heartbreak, family problems, self esteem issues, love, and becoming the person you were meant to be - to name a few. Overall, this book has it all - an intriguing and fun retelling of a little known myth, exceptional writing with a quick and laid back pace, detailed descriptions of the setting and occurrences, distinct characters, and even morals and serious topics underlying the story. This is by far one of the best retellings I've ever read. Fans of the genre will definitely want to get their hands on this one! I very highly recommend it to fans of fantasy, mythology, and retellings - as well as readers who enjoy YA fiction, paranormal stories, and those looking for something different to read and want an exceptional book to experience.

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).

She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW. 

A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga.

Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time. 
 

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Buy Link: Amazon

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