Of Curses and Kisses

December 16, 2019
In this uneven “Beauty and the Beast” retelling from Menon (When Dimple Met Rishi), Princess Jaya Rao is the heiress to an old Indian kingdom, and though India is now a democracy, she still has to act the part. This means doing her duty (acting “benevolent, firm, and fair”), aspiring to perfection, and looking after her free-spirited younger sister, Isha. Isha’s appearance in the tabloids is why, in Jaya’s senior year, they’ve been sent to St. Rosetta’s International Academy, a fancy boarding school in the Colorado mountains where the rich stash children who they want out of the public eye. Jaya has reconciled herself to it, though: Grey Emerson, scion of the English family that her own has feuded with over a cursed ruby for generations, also attends there. The plan is to break his heart as payback for his allegedly leaking a photo of Isha to the press. Seventeen-year-old Beast stand-in Grey is lonely, brooding, and, “tainted” by the curse, sure he can’t be with people. As if their family connection isn’t enough, Grey and Jaya’s tempestuous relationship becomes entangled with other school dramas. En route to the inevitable happy ending, readers may tire of repeated descriptions that underline not only the characters’ wealth and family connections but also their emotional states, which are often described, and then announced, within the protagonists’ alternating first-person narratives. Ages 12–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

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. J.E.C. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine