[Kaye’s Review]: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonley
by Brigid Kemmerer
Pages: 484
Published by Bloomsbury
Release Date: January 28 2019
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Magic
Source: Publisher
Goodreads

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? 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.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Curse So Dark And Lonely was a breath of fresh air from many books I have read recently. The pacing of the book was very well done leaving me to easily pick up where I left off with no questions. The writing style let me read quickly with no complicated wording and mystery that, although are good, can sometimes feel heavy to get thru.

“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.” — Brigid Kemmerer

The actual story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but I honestly thinks that idea limits the depth of the writing. It follows only the basic path and understanding that the prince is cursed and he must find true love to break it. The curse is much darker in reality and gives depth to Rhen, the beast of the story, that other retellings can fail to do. Since the story is told in a multiple perspective writing style, you not only see actions from all the characters, you see the reasoning and emotion behind those decisions which automatically give so much more character and likability to those speaking.

Harper is the main female lead of the story, and the girl who is to break said curse. She is not the typical “princess” or even remotely like Belle in the original retelling. She is a very normal girl who learns to be fierce and very capable despite having been born with cerebral palsy and living with complications from the condition. A fascinating twist of the story is that Harper is from our own reality and is dropped into “Emberfall” with no way home. This reminds me of the movie Enchanted where the characters are dropped into our world but rather in this story- it is the other way around. In doing this, Harper becomes very relatable and likable. She does things and reacts in ways that I easily could see myself doing.

Failure isn’t absolute, just because you couldn’t save everyone doesn’t mean you didn’t save anyone.” –Brigid Kemmerer

Although the story revolves around breaking the curse with true love, there is much lacking in this department. The two love birds do go down the path of getting to know each other, but half the time I was wondering if Harper and the commander, Grey (my favorite ), were going to be the ones falling in love. The story really leaves you hanging on the edge of love, not quite sure where the heart of Harper lies. This is something that I appreciate and think gives much credibility to the realistic aspects of the story.

If you are looking for an easy read, and one that does have twists and turns, pick this beautiful story up and dive in! Be on the look out for the sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken out January 7th, 2020!