Review: The Curse Girl by Kate Ellison

When her father tries to steal magic from the mysterious, beastly master of the "Curse House" outside her home town, seventeen-year-old Beauty is the one who becomes the Beast's prisoner.
But the Beast, Will, isn't anything like she expected. He's the same age as she is, for one thing. He's also really handsome, contrary to local legend. Well, maybe the whole "beast" thing is meant to be metaphorical, because he's a total jerk.

Between the house's weird magic and Will's snobby attitude, the situation is nearly unbearable, and Beauty only wants to escape. But there are complications. The witch who cursed Will left him a riddle to solve and four years to figure it out. And now that Beauty's become a part of this messed up fairy tale, she'd better help Will figure out the riddle so they can break the curse, or she's going to remain a prisoner in the curse house too.

Because the four years are almost up ... (From GoodReads)

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I have been sitting here for about 10 minutes, trying to start writing. But I can’t seem to stop ogling the gorgeous cover of The Curse Girl. From the beautiful girl, to the gorgeous bluish/purplish colors, and the magic dust (or is it stars?); the cover to this book is a definite win.
As you might have deduced from the synopsis, The Curse Girl is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I’ve never read a re-telling of a classic tale, so I was excited to take this book on. When the story opens, Beauty (who also goes by Bee) has been betrayed, then abandoned by her father.  Bee has been given up to the Beast to pay for her father’s sin.  When her father leaves Bee at the Curse House, she must enter the spooky mansion and become a prisoner of the curse herself.  As you might imagine, given that his nickname is Beast, the owner of the mansion, Will is arrogant, hateful and condescending. The house is filled with employers and family members who have also been saddled with the curse. Bee must decide whether to succumb to her fate, or work with Will to solve the riddle that makes up the curse.
The Curse Girl is filled with several memorable characters. There is Bee, of course. Bee is a funny, snarky, spunky girl. She never lets Will’s “beastly” personality get her completely down. She is immediately up to the challenge of solving the riddle.  Will, as I stated before, definitely has some character flaws. While he is often irritable and rude, you always get the sense of his underlying despair and vulnerability. Will’s sister, Rose, is a delightful little girl. She is often the peacemaker to Will and Bee. There is also Liam, a boy chained in the basement of the mansion, whose screams wake Bee at night.  The most surprising character of The Curse Girl is the house itself. Kate Ellison managed to make the house into another living, breathing, albeit spooky character.
While all of these elements make for a great story, The Curse Girl is not limited to the modern world. There is also Fae Land, the home of all mythical creatures. There are faeries, trolls, witches, elves vampires and werewolves.  No one in Fae Land is trustworthy, and all are dangerous.  Of course, the mystery to breaking the curse is the driving force of the story. What will break the curse? Will Bee and Will find a way to work together before time runs out?
The Curse Girl is a story filled with a tremendous sense of magic and wonder, which made it a very charming book. Kate Ellison managed to take a “tale as old as time” and create a charming story of her own.

You can find The Curse Girl at:
Smashwords- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/59665
Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00512ZWUU/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img
Barnes & Noble- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-curse-girl-kate-ellison/1031207364?ean=2940012417725&itm=2&usri=the%2bcurse%2bgirl
GoodReads-http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11415787-the-curse-girl

*I received a copy of The Curse Girl from the author, Kate Ellison, who asked me to give an honest review*