Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Paige Morgan

Have I ever read about Gargoyles before? In a YA setting, no. Which is why it came as a surprise, a really pleasant one, that I enjoyed reading this book so much.

Title: The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed #1) by Page Morgan
Release Date: May 2nd 2013
Published by: Hot Key Books
Source: Publisher (Thanks Olivia!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

Ingrid Waverley is a young woman to be reckoned with. Faced with her brother's mysterious disappearance after an abrupt move to Paris, she is determined to discover what has happened to him. Soon she and her sister Gabriella are drawn into a Parisian underworld more terrifying than they could ever have imagined, but watching over them are two impossible (and impossibly handsome) young men. Luc is a 'Dispossessed', an ancient gargoyle whose sworn duty it is to protect the humans who inhabit his abbey. Nolan has secrets of his own too. He is a member of the Alliance - a shadowy group dedicated to keeping Paris safe from the demonic forces that threaten to destroy it.

Secrets, danger and hidden powers stalk the girls in this beautifully imagined paranormal romance that will keep readers gripped from beginning to end - and one thing is for sure - you'll never look at a gargoyle in the same way again...

Ingrid wasn't sure if she's relieved to have been shipped off to France with her mother and younger sister Gabby, having bought an abbey her mother was planning to convert into a gallery. The change of scenery couldn't have come in a good time because she had to escape London after an incident that left her reputation in tatters, leaving her without a best friend and a broken heart. But France presented her a new and dangerous challenge when her twin brother mysteriously disappears. As she tried to find where Grayson is, she encounters Luc, a mysterious servant under their care, with an obvious dislike for her the moment they laid eyes on each other. But Luc is tied to Ingrid in a way she wasn't expecting, harboring a dark secret that might scare her away. When Ingrid digs deeper into the mystery of her brother's disappearance, she comes across things, unusual, extraordinary and deadly, and she had to make her way through it with her life intact if she wants to save her brother.

To say Ingrid is a force to be reckoned with is an understatement. She's a headstrong woman, often stubborn, and it takes a lot to scare her. Once she sets her mind to things, nothing can change it. Which is why her fervent need to find her brother has brought her to places she's never thought of ever going to, opened up a world she never thought existed, and meet people and creatures she didn't know were real. She's the type of her that should be exasperating because she's out to defy every order and rule there is for her brother, but something in the way she does it makes me like her instead. She's strong but not the type of heroine you'd be forced to hate because she's also got a good head on her shoulders. Consistent, maybe a little bit conservative and maybe even crude at times, but she's frank and isn't afraid to speak her mind. There's this delicate balance the author seem to have found in making Ingrid's character so potent and solid that it's not easy to dislike her.

You think of a potential love interest for Ingrid and Luc looks like a very unstable guy at first. Oftentimes brooding, most of the time quiet and likes to be solitary, he's not the very first guy you think is ideal. The gargoyles might have an impulse to protect their charges but they don't think of anyone else other than that. If Luc was in high school he'd be the good looking guy who's not popular because of his personality and is stuck doing something he doesn't like. But he grows on you, as there's always something about a dark, broody guy that just draws people. The hierarchy within the gargoyles is something Luc struggles with as well. Vander is the opposite of Luc, kind, knowledgeable and gentle. He's also someone whose personality tends to be a lot weaker compared to Ingrid, but his gentleness softens her personality.

As much as I loved Ingrid and her very confusing entanglement with both Luc and Vander, I was more drawn to Gabby and Nolan's romance. The Waverly women are known for being tenaciously stubborn, and Gabriella is the same. A sixteen year old who's also on a search to find her brother, hot tempered and a little more bold than Ingrid will ever be, her paths crossed with Nolan in a very embarrassing way and they were brought closer by his ties with the people who knew where their brother Grayson had disappeared to. There's something about the spark between Nolan that made me love them both. They traded barbs with each other and it was so very amusing to see! Never mind the age gap, it all but adds to the unconventionality of their relationship.

I have not read any books about Gargoyles before, and so I gobble up any tale spun involving them, and The Beautiful and the Cursed had spun one that was very interesting. The Gargoyle's story being closely tied to angels, their status as mere slaves, their compulsion to protect, all of it sounded new and captivating to me. A very entertaining debut for Paige Morgan, definitely! If you're up for a steady paced story about shape shifting stone gargoyles, men and women who fights to protect mankind, frightening demons, powerful angels with headstrong, loyal female characters full of life and swoon worthy men, though moody, brooding and sarcastic they might be. It's a fast, fun, entertaining read!

Content (plot, story flow, character):
Though Luc is a good male lead, I think Nolan just swept the floor with his very charming, sarcastic, funny personality.

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
This cover better depicts the story in my opinion.