Review: The Cursed Beauty

I recently had the exciting opportunity to review an ARC of The Cursed Beauty, the newest fairy tale adaptation by Valia Lind. This book is part of her Skazka Fairy Tales series, which is about a Russian-inspired fantasy world with a heavy focus on romance. As the first full-length novel I've read that takes place in this world, I found it refreshingly sweet. The Cursed Beauty is a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that places more focus on the love story than the magical elements of the fairy tale. It's a straightforward romance about a princess and her bodyguard and the class differences that stand in their way. I liked that the book didn't use unrealistic feminist standards and gave an accurate representation of how this type of relationship could have played out.

The Cursed Beauty starts out exactly like "Sleeping Beauty." Princess Alyona was cursed by an evil fairy at her birthing ceremony to fall into a death-like sleep that would affect the whole kingdom by her 19th birthday. Just as the fairy tale goes, one of the fairies who came to grant her a blessing revised the curse so she could be awakened by true love's kiss whenever it took place. In preparation for what was to come, Alyonka's family locked her away from the world and gave her a group of capable soldiers to protect her. When she came of age, they held a competition to find the right prince to form a strong bond between their two kingdoms and eventually break the curse. However, Alyonka has little interest in any of the competitors. Her heart was captured long before by her bodyguard, Nikolai, whom she had known for many years. Although Nikolai shares her feelings, he must do his best to keep them hidden so that he can properly perform his duty.

While it works well as an adaptation of "Sleeping Beauty," The Cursed Beauty excels the most when it focuses on romance. Every chapter is told from both Alyonka and Nikolai's perspectives giving us a clear picture of their feelings toward each other. I've read many other books that alternate between the perspectives of two love interests in the past. Although I can understand why it was done, there were times that it would switch perspectives while narrating a scene from the same place at the same time, which occasionally made me forget whose point of view I was reading from. Regardless of this minor confusion, Alyonka and Nikolai have wonderful chemistry. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the excitement and awkwardness they shared when they were alone together and wanted to confess their feelings but had to hold back for the sake of the kingdom and breaking the curse. All of this builds up to a predictable yet satisfying ending.

The author of this series put a great deal of effort into her world-building. Skazka is heavily influenced by medieval Russia, complete with Russian-inspired language, culture, and fashion. The fantasy elements are equally well-written. A stand-out supporting character from the book is Alyonka's secret dragon friend, Chudo, who can communicate with her telepathically and has mysterious powers that help her. The fairies are similar to the ones from the original fairy tale but fit well into the fantasy world that Valia Lind has created as well. Although I was able to figure out the identity of the villain early on, she was a powerful foe who posed a suitable match for the heroes of this story. Since Alyonka was facing a curse as opposed to a physical threat, she did not need to be physically strong in the same way as other modern princesses and was able to focus on more feminine personality traits.

The Cursed Beauty by Valia Lind is an enthralling fairy tale adaptation that shines in its romantic portrayal of "Sleeping Beauty." With its dual perspectives, the novel masterfully captures the sweet and tender moments between Alyonka and Nikolai, making their love story the true highlight of the book. The author's world-building skills are equally impressive, transporting readers to a richly detailed Russian-inspired fantasy world. While some minor quirks in the narrative perspective may cause brief confusion, the story's predictable yet satisfying ending and memorable supporting characters make up for it. Overall, The Cursed Beauty is a charming addition to the Skazka Fairy Tales series, perfect for those seeking a romantic and dreamy fairy tale adaptation.