Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Title: The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed, #1)
Author: Page Morgan
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Publication date: May 13, 2014

Genre(s): Young Adult (Historical/Paranormal/Fantasy)

Source: Publisher

Format: Finished Copy (Paperback)

Pages: 352

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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.

The Beautiful and the Cursed was BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT, THRILLING, and just such a surprising and fantastic read. I don't generally read paranormal and usually tread lightly and warily when I do but The Beautiful and the Cursed destroyed that. It left me dizzy from all the excitement, plot twists, and just good writing. Good writing is so hard to find.. great ideas are abundant but it is finding a book that has both and I am so happy I requested this for review. I've been raving about this book (and its sequel) on twitter ever since I finished reading them. 

The plot line for this series is so unique and combine multiple genres, something that I've come to enjoy and appreciate when I find it in novels. The Beautiful and the Cursed combines the historical genre, where the book is set in 1900, a fantasy element with some powers that we are introduced to, as well as paranormal elements with the whole concept of gargoyles. I also believe this book has an adventure element, a mystery, as well as kick butt and fantastic characters. The writing is always exciting and I find myself hooked anywhere I continue with the book. It's truly hard for me to find books that are gripping during the whole storyline. 

A fantastic plot without good characters is always a shame right? You don't see that in here. I love, truly love, all of the characters. The main protagonist, Ingrid is the twin sister of Grayson who goes missing in paris. Ingrid also has a feisty younger sister named Gabby who is actually my favorite character. If you told me this at the beginning of the novel I would have laughed in your face but the character development of Gabby is enthralling to witness and see. Her love interest too *whistle*. Ingrid however is the one that is more entangled with the gargoyles because she is the main protagonist and this book also has a romantic line with a gargoyle. I was a bit wary of the paranormal creatures but Morgan incorporates that into the novel in such a fantastic way. She actually weaves all the elements perfectly and the threads all fit right in to create this addicting and thrilling novel and the start of a fabulous trilogy (trust me, since i've already read the sequel, The Lovely and the Lost. I ended up loving it even more than this!)