11 must-read new YA releases that will capture your heart this February

Of Curses and Kisses – Sandhya Menon

The new contemporary romance from the author of When Dimple Met Rishi and From Twinkle With Love, Of Curses and Kisses is a modern day retelling of the legend of Beauty and the Beast, set at the elite St. Rosetta’s International Academy.

Princess Jaya Rao is the heiress to a vaguely identified Indian kingdom, and even though her country became a democracy a long time a go, she must still act the benevolent, comported part of a ruler, whether she wants to or not. She also must watch over her free-spirited younger sister Isha – whose recent tabloid exploits are part of the reason the pair have been sent to St. Rosetta’s, a fancy boarding school in Colorado.

There, however, she must contend with the presence of Grey Emerson, son of an old English family that has long been at odds with her own. In fact, the two families have been feuding over a cursed ruby for generations, a fact that will clearly come into play later on in the story. Jaya intends to dedicate her year to getting close to Grey and breaking his heart as painfully as possible, as payback for his allegedly leaking a photo of Isha to the press.

How do these two find a fairytale ending?

The official synopsis describes the story as follows:

"For Princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn her in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending…right? His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse by a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed once he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s lived an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck… As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending."

Of Curses and Kisses is available on February 18.