Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Bloomsbury
Goodreads
Fall in love, break the curse.Review by Nara
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
A rather dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast, A Curse So Dark and Lonely focuses on Harper, a girl from Washington, DC who is taken to the fantasy land of Emberfall in order to break the curse on the prince and the kingdom there.
The characters were a bit typical in terms of their basic fantasy roles, but I found it quite refreshing to have a main character with cerebral palsy. I found it interesting to see the parallels between the original tale and the retelling, with a much darker spin on the curse and the villain. However, I also did feel that the book dragged on a little, and would probably have rated it higher if there wasn't as much bulk to the plot.
The ending seemed a bit incomplete, but the author says the sequel is more of a companion novel, so I'm not quite sure where the series is going to go to be honest! But I'm definitely going to be getting the next book to find out.
Really liked it
RatingsOverall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
