The Beautiful and the Cursed

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Overview

Fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and Lauren Kate's FALLEN novels will devour The Beautiful and the Cursed, a wholly original interpretation of gargoyle lore. 
It was bizarre and inexplicable, but after it happened no one spoke of it and 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 Paris with her mother and younger sister, Gabby.
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The Beautiful and the Cursed

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Overview

Fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and Lauren Kate's FALLEN novels will devour The Beautiful and the Cursed, a wholly original interpretation of gargoyle lore. 
It was bizarre and inexplicable, but after it happened no one spoke of it and 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 Paris with her mother and younger sister, Gabby.
In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house her twin brother Grayson found for them isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that one could almost mistake for living, breathing creatures.
And Grayson is missing.
Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some secrets of his own.
There's one secret about the city that he can't keep hidden, though. There's a murderer on the loose. And every day Grayson is missing means that there's less of a chance he's alive.
Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost.
Only the path to him is more than she could ever imagine.

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Editorial Reviews

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Page Morgan's The City of Light trilogy opens with a dark web of romantic yearnings, paranormal threats, secrets, and suspense. With its plot about a Parisian murder and a missing twin, this debut novel has the magnetic attributes necessary to fuel a successful series. Editor's recommendation.

Publishers Weekly
Debut author Morgan launches the Dispossessed series with a well-crafted gothic fantasy told through alternating perspectives. In 1899, after suffering a crushing heartbreak and blamed for an ensuing fire, 17-year-old Lady Ingrid Waverly moves with her mother and sister to Paris. Her rakish twin brother, Grayson, is already there, having purchased an abandoned, gargoyle-adorned abbey, which their mother intends to transform into an art gallery. But upon arrival, Ingrid learns that Grayson has been absent for several days, and that a string of disappearances have been plaguing Paris. Ingrid is sure that something is wrong with Grayson, though only Luc, a servant in the abbey, appears sympathetic. As the narrative shifts between Ingrid, Grayson, and Luc's points of view, Morgan relies on familiar paranormal romance elements. The labyrinthine and dilapidated Parisian setting, filled with sinister figures of both human and demonic varieties, should hook readers, and Morgan's fluid descriptions, inventive otherworldly elements, and characters with convincing motivations result in an immersive first installment. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ted Malawer, Upstart Crow Literary. (May)
Children's Literature - Denise Daley
It is the late 19th century in France when Ingrid, her sister Gabby, and their mom arrive at the abandoned abbey that they plan to turn into an art gallery. Grayson, Ingrid's twin brother, had procured the place and was supposed to meet them there. Grayson, however, does not show up and the girls are surprised to learn that he has actually been missing for several days. Given Grayson's wild reputation, most people are not too concerned about his disappearance. Ingrid, however, believes that her twin is in danger, so she and Gabby begin their own investigation. Together, they discover a world of living gargoyles that can transform into humans. The gargoyles are charged with protecting the people who reside in their territories from the murderous hellhounds that have been rising from the Underneath. Ingrid learns that the attractive and desirable servant, Luc, is actually a gargoyle who has failed in protecting Grayson from hellhounds that have taken him to the Underneath. Why have the hellhounds taken Grayson but kept him alive? Ingrid and Gabby are determined to rescue him from the Underneath. But the plot thickens when powerful lightening begins emerging from Ingrid's hands whenever she is angry. This exciting and enticing page-turner will keep readers on the edge of their seats, all the way to the last page! Reviewer: Denise Daley
Kirkus Reviews
A newish supernatural being arrives in this straight-out gothic saga. Gargoyles, forced to protect humans from demons, lurk overhead on the old Gothic church in Paris bought by a titled English family in 1899. Gargoyle Luc tries to protect the family's two daughters as they roam Paris looking for their missing brother, Grayson. Proper in name only, Ingrid, 17 and the story's main heroine, doesn't bother with chaperones, while Gabby, at 15, dresses in a sexy red dress and goes out to visit men alone. Meanwhile, hellhounds are slaughtering Paris' population of young ladies. Readers learn early that Grayson is a prisoner in the Underneath, where gargoyles and humans cannot go. Luc can't seem to do his protecting job properly even with the help of the Alliance, a group of humans who also fight demons. Forbidden romance and hot kissing scenes abound. Gargoyles are not yet overexposed in books for teens, and Morgan's description of the Underneath also stands out as inventive. However, the gothic genre leads her into the usual conventions of sentence fragments and hyperbole ("Hesitation meant death"). Her execution of the story comes across as awkward and inexpert, with much repetition. The concept may be somewhat new, but the plotline could have been lifted from any 1930s monster movie, including the villain who obligingly explains all before attacking. A nifty idea clumsily executed. (Paranormal suspense. 12 & up)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780375990953
  • Publisher: Random House Children's Books
  • Publication date: 5/14/2013
  • Series: Dispossessed Series
  • Format: Library Binding
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 965,337
  • Age range: 12 years
  • Product dimensions: 8.20 (w) x 5.60 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

PAGE MORGAN has been fascinated with les grotesques ever since she came across an old, black-and-white photograph of a Notre Dame gargoyle keeping watch over the city of Paris. The gargoyle mythologies she went on to research fed her imagination, and she became inspired to piece together her own story and mythology for these remarkably complex stone figures. Page lives in New Hampshire with her husband and their three children. 

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Customer Reviews

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 17, 2013

    Great story with character development you don't often see in su

    Great story with character development you don't often see in supernatural thrillers. Page's writing style is elegant. The story flows evenly and rapidly with enough tension to pull the reader along into each plot twist and character revelation. It's refereshing to see a mature prose style in a first time author. Can't wait for the next installment.

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