The Beautiful and The Cursed: Marco’s Story

The Beatutiful and The Cursed: Marco's Story by Page Morgan
Series: The Dispossessed #0.5
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers on July 16, 2013
Pages: 35
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
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Page Morgan had me at Sangiovese.

If you haven’t read the first book in this series by Page Morgan, The Beautiful and the Cursed, then you can check out my review of it here.

This short and satisfying novella had me ready to leave my house and go buy some wine and cheese to enjoy it with. I was intoxicated with the story by the first page.  Marco is Italian. I LOVE all things Italian. This story warms us up to  Marco, a gargoyle that we are first introduced to in The Beautiful and the Cursed. Luc is our main gargoyle in TB&TC, and Marco and he have a shaky relationship. I didn’t feel it was safe to like Marco as a character in the first book, but after reading his story I’m a fan of this cinnamon-colored creature in his human and coalesced form.

Marco’s story is short, so I won’t give too much away. In this novella we learn about his past and what his daily routine is like since becoming a Dispossessed.  Marco is the cheif custodian at Hotel Dugray in Paris, and the same intensity and loyalty that drives Luc also drives Marco. Page Morgan does a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of an Italian persona. Marco is suave, and exudes the casual arrogance of someone who knows their strengths outweigh their faults. He has an eye for beauty, and doesn’t mind acknowledging a woman’s charms as long as he keeps the coals of desire cold and dark. He is conscientious in his work, and diligent in it’s excellence. Similarities between Marco and Luc are drawn when Marco’s charges are faced with danger, and it gives us insight into Marco’s attitude toward Luc in TB&TC.

The writing and imagery in Marco’s Story is lovely and heady. It went down like a bottle of finely aged wine. I was excited to delve into the essence of Marco, and see if there was a softer side behind that facade of self-importance and coldness.

“He had murdered a priest in cold blood, and because of that one unforgivable sin, Marco had been banned from Heaven upon his own death. He had been cast into the Dispossessed. Made into a monster. That priest had deserved to die, though, and Marco would not, for one second of one day, ever regret killing him.”

If the quote above doesn’t capture the sentiment of what it is to be Italian, than I don’t know what does. Marco acts with passion, purpose, and finality. Bravo to Page Morgan for making this gem of a novella shine as brightly as the first book in the series. The next book in the Dispossessed series, The Lovely and the Lost, is expected to be published in 2014. Check out Page Morgan’s Pinterest page for Marco here.