PRINCE RHEN, the heir to Emberfall, is cursed. Forced to repeat the autumn of his eightenth year over and over, he can only be freed if a girl truly falls for him, and fter so many failures his kingdom and its people are barely holding on.
HARPER’s life has never been easy, but she’s learned to be tough enough to survive the streets of Washington, D.C. When she is sucked into Rhen’s world, nothing is as it seems. Piwerful forces are standing against Emberfall … and it will take more than a broken curse to save it from utter ruin.
I read this book a while ago, and I finally got around to re-reading it before continuing with the series. I’m glad I re-read this one, because I didn’t remember everything about the book, and purely because I enjoyed my time re-reading it.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that does stick to the original fairytale with some unique twists. One of our main characters, Harper, actually comes from Washington DC in the real world, and is dragged into a fantasy world that exists alongside our own. Because of this, and because Brigid Kemmerer also writes contemporary, I do find her fantasy books read very easily and quickly.
We are all dealt a hand at birth. A good hand can ultimately lose – just as a poor hand can win – but we must all play the cards the fate deals.
I found A Curse So Dark and Lonely like being wrapped in a warm blanket. I just found it really comforting – partly because it does play into some tropes and YA fantasy cliches, but I honestly didn’t mind it this time. It did mean this book didn’t turn out to be quite a 5 star because it wasn’t surprising or unpredictable enough for me, but I did really enjoy it.
I once again liked our main character of Harper and found it really interesting to read about her disability throughout this book. I also loved Grey, who is so sweet and protective. I didn’t love Rhen, but I did feel a lot of sympathy for him by the end of the book, which is something Brigid Kemmerer does well.
The choices we face may not be the choices we want, but they are choices nonetheless.
I’m so glad I picked this one back up and I’m really looking forward to carrying on with the story. Although it can be a little cliche, it was so much fun to read and I really enjoyed it.
★★★★
4 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
Shop | Booktube | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook
The Books are Everywhere 