A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer – Book Review

Hello fellow book nerds! I am such a huge fan of retellings. I love seeing how the authors rework the original story and wow. This book was everything. I was blown away with how unique this story was and how great each character was as well.

What’s your favorite retelling?

Happy Reading!

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Rating according to Goodreads:
5-It was amazing
4- Really liked it
3- Liked it
2- It was okay
1- Did not like it

“I’m not going to fall in love with you,” she says.

Her words are not a surprise. I sigh. “You won’t be the first.”

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

by

Brigid Kemmerer

5 out of 5 stars

Summary

Taken from Goodreads

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.

 

Feedback

I don’t know if I am going to be able to explain how much I love this book. It was like no other retelling I have read. This was so unique in so many different ways and it was fantastic. While this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it is so much more. It has the aspects of it but this story is something all of its own. I feel like this is how you do a retelling. One of the things I loved about this book was how Rhen wasn’t a beast which made it possible for them to explore his kingdom. By taking away that one aspect, it opened the world up so much. Also, the curse was freely talked about. In most of these retellings it’s this huge secret but this novel took that aspect and threw it out the window – which was so successful. The pacing in this book was absolutely amazing and I could not stop reading it. There was so much development and everything just flowed so well.

While this was a great story, it was honestly the characters that made this book surpass other retellings. First, Harper was incredible. Our main character has cerebral palsy but with some corrective surgery, she has most function of her leg. Not once does Harper get down on herself because she has limits but she uses her wits to enhance it. While it does cause some difficulties, it never inhibits her. The best thing I love about Harper’s character is that this disability never define her as a character. It is nice to see representation in a novel but that is not what makes Harper’s character unique, which really speaks to how well developed Kemmerer did for her main character. Harper was witty and smart and caring. There is so much to her personality and I love that she never backed down and was willing to endanger herself to others without a second thought. This is what made Rhen second guess his actions. Rhen was a fantastic character as well. I’m so glad that we didn’t get yet another character with this ridiculous temper only to be calmed down by the woman protagonist. At this point, Rhen had given up due to season after season of failure. Was he the best prince when the curse happened? No. But even before Harper got there he had settled a lot. Harper helped Rhen see that there was more to the curse and instead of hiding he still had a responsibility. Rhen truly cared about his people and even before it was really said, you could see how much he cared about Grey. Grey was another great character. His loyalty was always true to both Rhen and Harper. I really enjoyed this because it showed how accepted Harper was into this new world.

Friends, I could go on and on about how much I loved this book but just do yourself the favor and read it. There is truly so many amazing things throughout and I cannot wait for the second book.

 

Final Thoughts

Overall, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer was everything I wanted and more. This was so much more than a simple retelling but truly a unique story. While it’s easy to see where Kemmerer drew her inspiration from, she truly made this story her own. The pacing and plot developments were do well done that I could not put it down. Even though Kemmerer created a fantastic story to follow, it really was the characters that made this book. Each one was so memorable and really made me care about them. Harper was so strong and I absolutely loved her personality. Rhen wasn’t the angry “beast” that you usually find in a story like this, which was so refreshing. And Grey was the middle man that tied everything together. I highly, highly recommend this book – even if you don’t like retellings because it is so much more than that.

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

Buy It Here