Curse of the Wolf King

Loved the book

It wasn’t bad. It kept me interested but any character development felt way to fast paced. We barely see the main character interact with anyone aside from Elliot but then we’re told she has this deep connection with other side characters out of nowhere. Just felt like everything was told me instead of showing me threw any actions the characters made.

I finally picked up Tessonja Odette’s Curse of the Wolf King and it was one of the most magical fairytale retellings I’ve ever read! There’s all sorts of varieties in retellings and this one has that right fairytale vibe that tells a classic tale in a new way and I loved every word of it!Let’s face it, when it comes to The Beauty and The Beast we tend to think of the Disney movie versus the actual fairytale. And while there’s nothing wrong in that, it’s sometimes important to know when a retelling has similarities from one versus the other. (Forewarning though, I’m definitely going to be breaking out in song in this review! Lol.) Here our heroine is an avid reader and lover of books, but alas she does not have a caring father, but her one remaining sister is completely on Gemma’s side.Gemma and her family have moved to the Winter Court fairly recently in order to escape a scandal that Gemma became involved in. After having had a bad relationship, Gemma is ready to give up on love. She wants to find a job and be able to support herself so she can live the life she wants to live. Her father is vehemently against this idea, but she figures if she gets the job and herself squared away first, she can break the news to him then.But when she goes on what she thought was an interview she finds herself a prisoner of a Fae king. When she refuses to offer him her greatest treasure in exchange for her life, he decides to take a different route on matters. For the Fae king has been cursed. If he does not get someone to offer him their greatest treasure of their own free will he will remain cursed except he will lose all his memories, lose his wolf form and the immortality that comes with it…he will essentially die.So Gemma promises to help him find love from another girl, one who would give up their greatest treasure. The Fae king can feel free to leave her and return to the forest that he desires afterwards. In exchange Gemma wants to be paid a sum that can send her away, to return to her late mother’s homeland and she can have a fresh start. The problem is getting her arch nemesis to fall in love with the beastly king she names Elliot Rochester.This book was quite the delight! You’re able to see the familiar parts to the tale that is old as time! I especially loved that the gruesome man who pursues Gemma is named Gavin Aston! That had me giggling when I first read it! Gavin is very much in line with Gaston, but he’s maybe not as full of himself as Gaston was…by about 90% maybe? Lol.Naturally we watch Gemma and Elliot grow closer as Gemma tries to make him into a dignified man versus the wild animal he prefers. Though, as they grow closer, things begin to change. Simply put, “there’s something there that wasn’t there before!” I loved that their relationship took time to develop. In the original fairytale Beast was ready to marry Beauty that first night. Of course he was thinking of his own curse but classic fairytales are always ready to fall in love early on.I positively had a blast reading this! I love when fairytale retellings still have that fairytale feel to them. The style of this writing was very easy to get into. Curse of the Wolf King had all of that and more. You’re not simply reading a different version of The Beauty and The Beast, you’re reading a new version, a new tale that will capture your heart in the way the original tale did but it’s so uniquely different it can’t replace that first one. For retellings are a whole new tale all on their own, even if we know that it will always end with “happily ever after!”Overall Rating 5/5 stars

This is not a typical 'once upon a time, far far away' retelling. The secondary characters were quite loathsome in the best way. One could even be considered a female version of Gaston. There weren't any talking tea cups but the Fae element gave the enchantment expected from B&B. The author gave these well loved characters depth and growth. The female MC is perfectly clever, has some sass and deals with anxiety. Our beast is more than a brute or a desperate trapped human. A well written and imaginative version of a favorite classic!

Um where do I even start? It’s written in the vernacular, there is no beauty in the writing. The protagonist is a bitter character who was wronged in love and is now a rigid feminist? The author tries to make her sound super smart and self sufficient, but she’s not. Her skills are managing a household, and she outright refuses to read intelligent books. She only reads romance novels, why? Was really really difficult to read. Ugh what a disgrace