The Beautiful and the Cursed, by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed #1), by Page Morgan

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal, Historical, Gothic, Romance, Mystery

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Publication: May 14, 2013, by Doubleday Canada

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)




Goodreads Summary: It was bizarre and inexplicable, and after it happened, Ingrid Waverly was forced to leave her life in London behind. She had to trade a world full of fancy dresses and society events for exile in gothic Paris with her mother and her younger sister, Gabby.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and disturbingly, the house rented by Ingrid's twin brother, Grayson, isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And to top it all off, Grayson is missing. 

Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some deep and dark secrets of his own. 

There's one secret about the city that even Luc can't keep hidden, though: there's a murderer on the loose. And every day that Grayson is missing means there's less chance he's still alive.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead--she can feel it deep in her soul--but she knows that he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost. 

And yet the path to him is more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

Review:

"Whatever the black liquid being injected into his bloodstream was, it was changing him. He should have wanted to help the girls. He should have felt remorse when each girl eventually stopped screaming. But it just wasn't happening. Instead, he found himself smiling. Laughing. Wanting to make them scream louder."

   LOL. That gif cracks me up every time. 

   This book was a flashback for me. It surprisingly and weirdly reminded me a lot of Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, one of my most favourite series, ever. It's weirdly similar. A girl looking for her brother, who mysteriously disappeared? Paranormal, vampire stuff going on? This sounds too much like the NYT bestselling trilogy that took my heart away. And that's a big reason why I disliked this book too much.

   Originality is a key to a reader's heart, I believe. At least, it's one of the things. This book didn't have an original idea. It was gothic and Victorian and paranormal. Does anyone else realize this? o_O This idea has been done with over and over again with. There's an ordinary girl, and there's a guy who's a half monster/human creature. It just doesn't flow well for me.

    I usually never pick up gothic reads. They're usually not my type of thing, but the few ones that do catch my attention are just so hard to stay away from, and I end up needing to read it. This was one of those cases, but I regret it. Don't waste your time reading this novel if you trust my opinion. That's my key line in this review. 

    I was the black sheep, as I am during many other times. Everyone is loving this book, and meanwhile, I'm here wanting to throw it off the balcony. I'm so disappointed with the outcome of this book.

    This is about Ingrid and Gabby, who's brother Grayson suddenly and mysteriously goes missing after they move into Paris with their mother. Luc, a handsome servant who Ingrid has a connection to notes that there's a murderer on the loose and there's a less possible chance that Grayson is alive because of this catastrophic event. The main idea is basically a: What will the protagonist do? moment. 

     Like I said: I hate copying. This was a mixture of Clockwork Angel and Twilight. 

       This plot sucked. I was bored most of the time and I ended up skimming the end of the book because it showed no importance or structure to me. The whole book was bland, especially from the middle to end. The beginning showed some signs of potential, but then it all dropped and ended up making a huge disappointment for me. It was very slow-paced and since the concept wasn't my type, I wasn't interested at all, but I somehow made it through the end.

       The only good thing was Ingrid and Gabby. I liked them, a lot, but not enough for them to brighten up the whole book and make it enjoying. They were a good team, and I loved their loving relationship. It's been a while since I've seen a great sisterly relationship like this.

       Luc was just an ass, and I hated him. He was snobby and thought too good of himself. Ew. I just don't even want to think or speak of him. So think about it, if I hated him, then what did I think of the romance? The choices are: (a) I loved it and I SHIP (b) EW GTFO I HATE IT or (c) IDC IDK. If you guessed B and C then you're right. :)

        Overall, I was very disappointed with this book. It's probably the worst book I read so far this summer that I had no interest in but the characters and plot in the beginning kept me reading until the end. Something made me stay, but I just can't figure out what it was. Not recommended from my eyes.