The Beautiful and the Cursed (Dispossessed, #1) (The Grotesque)

by Page Morgan

A compelling gothic romance set in Victorian Paris

Ingrid Waverly 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...

• ISBN10: 0385743114
• ISBN13: 9780385743112
• Publish Date: 14 May 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

The Beautiful and the Cursed follows two sisters Ingrid and Gabby, who move to Paris in order to help their mother open her new gallery and escape from the social nightmare at home in England. However the gallery is worse for wear and lined with gargoyles, and with the string of disappearances haunting the Paris streets Ingrid and Gabby are forced to recognize that the city may be far darker than they could have ever thought.

Ingrid, the oldest of the Waverly sisters, is smart and capable though quiet and reserved. She’s a silent pillar to her younger sister’s fiery passion. For the most part I rather liked Ingrid. She’s brave and ready to do what is needed to get her brother back, even if others refuse to take the risks, but she’s also level headed and doesn’t just rush headlong into things without some sort of thought before hand. There were a few moments that were a case of extreme frustration and they were the rare moments in which she did show signs of irrational behavior or indecision…because it was just so odd for her despite fitting the situation. Gabby is also a great character and though she comes off as flighty to begin with she owns up to her situation as soon as it becomes apparent that there is something she can do. She has spirit and a strong will, but she’s also a bit too brash in her behavior. We also get glimpses of Luc and Grayson’s point of view, which are mostly small sections and provide some insight into their situations and personalities. The only problem I had with this is that things were revealed to them that the sisters did not know and some of the tension and suspense was taken out of it.

I should probably point out that this novel is no where as soft and fluffy as the cover implies, as gorgeous as it is, I think the first few pages really send that message home. The plot is one that works like a slow burn, and while I do consider it a bit of a page turner it’s not fast paced. Morgan works at a very deliberate pace to build up the world and work in all the details, and while there are tense scenes with plenty of action it moves with a pace similar to that of a historical romance novel. It has much of the same feel as well, it’s well written and the voice feel authentic (or as much as I know about the time period). Of course there is the main plot point, the gargoyles or Dispossessed. I love the whole idea of a gargoyle novel, which is probably rooted in the fact that I grew up watching the cartoon Gargoyles where they watched over and protected a city. Morgan gives them the ability to shift forms, from their stony gargoyle like features to their more human-selves. I also love the back story one why the gargoyles are charged with watching over the city like they do. I would love to know more about Luc’s past as well as a few of the side characters like Yann and Marco. The building tension between gargoyles and the Alliance (a group of humans aware of the supernatural) that really has me interested in their future relationship.There is also the fact that we get to see much more than gargoyles at work and I wasn’t expecting that at all. While some of it was a bit odd and a tad unexplained, I enjoyed originality of it and I really hope to get to see more of the Underneath and the creatures in the next book.

The one real issue that bugged me about this one was the odd love triangles. They were not overwhelming to the plot and they didn’t take precedence over it, but they were there and left me in a bit of a kerfuffle. In one instance the relationship between two characters was slow building, obvious, and welcomed…but the second interest is much slower to build and didn’t feel quite as passionate. It’s still a good match, but it wasn’t quite the same. I think this was the main reason I couldn’t quite rate this five stars, along with a few tiny details that I wanted to know but were not quite given.

I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next book and I can’t wait to see how Gabby and Ingrid fit into the world of the Alliance, and how Luc and Grayson adjust to a few new elements in their lives.