A wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

The story of A Curse so Dark and Lonely is told from two point of views. The story is told by Harper and Rhyn. This makes the story engaging and the reader gets insight into both Harper's and Rhyn's world view. The story begins in DC, but the majority of the story is set in Emberfall. The story is well-written and the world building is amazing.

Wanted to read this as soon as I read the synopsis!
This is an imaginative retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which interested me particularly because it looked at the wider political ramifications of a royal family disappearing. The sorceress, Lillith's, motivation seemed a little thin to have lasted hundreds of years, but she was a fearful antagonist. I loved Harper as a character, especially the fact that cerebral palsy is only one of many things about her, rather than being a major plot point. Grey was another favourite although I took longer to warm up to Rhen. The ending seemed to leave a few plot threads dangling, perhaps for a sequel, which I will definitely be reading!
I will be reviewing in more detail on my blog closer to the publication date!

For over three hundred seasons Prince Rhen of Emberfall has been cursed.

He must repeat the season and become a monster until he falls in love. Prince Rhen thought it would be easy, who wouldn’t want to fall in love with handsome prince. The monster destroys everything in it path. It has kill everyone in Rhen family and all but one of his royal guards.

Harper Lacy life has never been easy, with a disability, deadbeat father, a dying mother and an older brother doing anything he to keep a roof over there heads. When on the look out for her brother, she see a girl in trouble and can’t stop herself trying to help. One moment she was in D.C the next she is in Emberfall. 

Harper is now stuck in Rhen cursed world, her only wish is to go home. But when Harper start to realised what is at stake she know she must do something to help.  With her offer to help Rhen start to realise that Harper may not be the girl he wanted but is the girl he needs. This season is going to be different from the rest as this time Rhen has the glimmer of hope. The hope that Emberfall need before it is utterly ruined.







A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that bring more fantasy to this classic Fairytale.

This reimagining is darker than the Disney version, but has so many light moments to balance it out. It clear from the beginning when it opens with the quote;

"There is blood under my fingernails. I wonder how many of my people I've killed this time."
A Curse so Dark and Lonely has a great cast of characters, there are three  main character.

Harper she is 18 years old from D.C who has Cerebral Palsy. Harper is an interesting character as she doesn't do what is expected of here. That is one of my favourite aspects of Harper personality. That Harper body may have been broken but that won't stop her.

Rhen is the Cursed Prince, I started to like him more as a character when he stop acting. When Rhen started living in the moment and not control every situation.

Grey is the last of Then Royal Guard. Grey is the great middle man between Harper and Rhen. He is a character that I would love to find out more about.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely is more than just breaking the curse, it about responsibility and what you will do for the betterment of others. Having the added drama of the invading of Emberfall.

A question was asked on Goodreads about if this book is going to be a stand alone, good news a sequel is planned and I can not wait to read it.

My rating for A Curse so Dark and Lonely is 4.8 out of 5

I received a free copy via Netgalley for my true and honest opinion.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. In this version we follow a young girl Harper Lacy from Washington, DC. Harper has an absentee dad, a dying mother and her brother forced to be a money collector to keep their family intact for as long as possible. Harper is used to people underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy but she has learnt how to be tough and survive each day.

Our story starts when Harper is waiting for her brother at a diner when she sees a stranger with a woman; she steps in to save the lady but gets transported to this parallel world where magic exists. The strange man's task was to select a woman who might help break the curse on the kingdom. The man in question is Grey, a royal guard to Prince Rhen. Prince Rhen needs to break the curse before the cycle of the season repeats itself. And our story starts.


The story does remind me of ACOTAR a lot.

For example the characters:
Prince Rhen: Tamlin
Grey: Lucien
Harper: Feyre

Harper does acknowledge and repeats that she has been kidnapped and doesn't believe Rhen in his sincerity. That he is much practiced in the art of seduction and faking his feelings to break the curse. This is always the awkward part in a beauty and beast retelling; because these females characters are literally been taken. I think the author did an okay job in not normalising this and acknowledging it is wrong but it just feels weird. (Also, why isn't there a story with the roles changed? The beast is the female and beauty the male?) Rhen isn't an ass like Tamlin but if this book has a second instalment I can see a love triangle coming up. I really liked the character of Grey and Freya! I mean Grey is loyal to a fault and Freya is not only taking care of a newborn but the children of her sister like they were her own.

I can see that this book will be very popular with certain readers and not that popularly with others. If you did enjoy ACOTAR, this is a slightly better version of the first book. While A Court of Mist and Fury was much better, I also feel that this book does have a lot of potential to grow. It would be best to avoid the tropes and try to establish itself seperate from ACOTAR series. If the author every does read my comment, I would say be different and introduce something new. Take risks and don't be a cliche YA book.

I would give this book 3 stars. I didn't hate it or love it. For me its the abduction plotline I can't get over and I get it is a retelling of beauty and the beast but for some reason when retold in novel format it just doesn't work. The Disney movie (cartoon and live action) doesn't appear as disturbing in comparison to when it is retold in a novel format.


Content and trigger warnings for attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, abduction, captivity and thoughts of suicide.

I loved A Curse so Dark and Lonely! It's a beauty and the beast retelling with a difference. I was a bit nervous going in because retelling can be so hit and miss, but I like how Brigid takes the classic elements of Beauty and the Beast and puts her own twists on it.

The review will be spoiler free and there's a content warning at the end. I was sent this book via netgalley for an honest review.





[book-info]



Harper is a teenager who has cerebral palsy. She is high functioning and I can't speak on the accuracy of this representation. If you know more about this or have written a review and are own voices then let me know in the comments and I'll link to you!

A Curse so Dark and Lonely is indeed dark, both in the real world where Harper is from and Rhyn's world. Make sure you check out the content warnings as I can see this being difficult for some people.

I really like that the beast isn't, you know, a beast. It gets rid of the whole bestiality aspect which makes Beauty and the Beast a bit hard to swallow usually.

There's also queer rep in the form of Harper's brother, who's relationship is just cute af!

There's some twists in this that will send you reeling and honestly I can't wait to see how the whole thing plays out in the next one!



A Curse so Dark and Lonely is told from two POVs, Harper and and Rhyn. It means you get an insight into how both view the world which makes it really engaging. We spend most of our time in Emberfall, with it beginning in DC and setting up Harper's life.

The world building is brilliant. Emberfall is well developed and I really liked the disparity between the life Rhen led and the life his people led. All the characters and locations were well established and didn't feel like filler.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between the characters and the almost love triangle that keeps threatening to poke it's head out.



Harper aka Belle is not what Rhyn was expecting when he sent Grey into DC to capture a new girl to try and break the curse. Harper has had a hard life and has learnt to overcome a lot. This makes her tough as nails despite her disability. However, she is the most caring of them all. Her kind nature gets her into trouble but keeps the story interesting.

Rhyn aka The Beast has his eyes opened by Harper. As I mentioned earlier, I really loved this disparity between his life and his people's, and Harper really opened his eyes to it. He develops quite a bit throughout the book, much like the traditional beast we're used to. I look forward to seeing how he continues to develop.

Grey. He's going to be a favourite for many people, I just know. He's dark and broody, sacrifices his own interests in order to serve Rhyn, what's not to love? I really can't wait to see what happens with his story in the next one!

Lilith is the real evil b**** here. A sorceress who condemns not just Rhyn for his rejection, but an entire kingdom. She is twisted and abusive, you'll love to hate her.

Another notable character is Freya. She adds a bit of light in the darkness, and seems to take up the mantle that the lack of miss Potts and her crew leave.

Full review at: https://jenniely.com/a-curse-so-dark-and-lonely-by-brigid-kemmerer-book-review/

I really enjoyed <i>A Curse So Dark and Lonely</i>. I would even say it is my favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling I have read so far. The book has dual narration by Harper and Rhen. Harper is a girl from Washinton DC, who happens to have cerebral palsy (CP). Rhen is the crown prince of Emberfall. Harper gets accidentally kidnapped to the world of Emberfall and that is where the story takes off.

I found this book so enjoyable especially because Harper is from our world which even let to some funny moments in the book <spoiler>For example, teaching guards to fistbump, the "Kingdom of Disi" I just love that stuff</spoiler>

I recommend this book to everyone who likes fairy tale retellings, slow-burning romances, great male-female friendships, and mystical worlds.

The trend of fairytales retelling does not run out of steam and Beauty and the Beast is always an upbeat, so today review is a new retelling of this story.

What I liked immediatly in the book is the choice of the author to mix modern world and fantasy world with prince, king and magic. This gives an explosive encounter between Harper and Rhen, because unlike the traditional tale, she is not there by choice and she intends to show it, she is not a damsel in distress and I loved it a lot. The novel is also much less centered on romance than other retelling I had read in the past, indeed the kingdom of Rhen is on the verge of war with a neighboring kingdom. He decides to use the arrival of Harper to create a political game and give a chance to his kingdom. I loved that the author stands out from the fairytales, even if we still find many elements of the story from it, she change many things.

Harper end up unwittingly in the world of Rhen and she does not intend to be docile. She will fight to return home, but she is also understandable in the face of the curse. Rhen has lived through hundreds of cycles because of the curse, Harper is his last chance, however, he will not force her to do or feel anything and instead will accept his fate and do anything to help his kingdom. I liked these two characters, because they are detached from the fairytale, but also many rewrites that I had read. The author has really managed to bring modernity to the story and it also passes through hers characters who are not archetypes.

For the plot, I really liked what I read, as I said the novel is not a simple romance, there are political issues, questions about family, and choice, free will and I had a great time. To date, I do not know if this book is a oneshot or not, but it works very well as such and yet if the author wishes, I'm sure she could do a sequel. Overall, I find that this novel brings a touch of modernity to the traditional tale and the author has been able to detach enough to offer some new things.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s for the ARC. 3.5 stars

I was quite excited for this one as I’ve read Brigid’s other books and wondered how her writing style would translate in a fantasy genre.

I loved Harper and her determination and attitude, and Grey’s character was also interesting. I felt for Rhen, though sometimes he was a tad too dramatic for my liking. I think one of my favourite quotes would have to be ‘You accomplished these things because you dared to act like you could’ from Grey to Rhen, and I thought there was a lot to learn from that. There are many dark moments in the book where Rhen loses hope, and I think it illustrates well how these moments can push us to dare and do things we think we can’t.

I knew this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it put an interesting twist on the trope in that Grey kidnapped girls to try to break the curse. However this was a really dark element that seemed to be brushed over - they admit to kidnapping women and yet not one of them is mentioned by name, and they don’t dwell on them at all. Additionally, I struggled with believing that after so many years of this, Harper was supposedly the only woman to fight back.

However, the plot of the story was very interesting, especially wondering how they would break the curse and how it would fit in with Harper’s ties to DC and her family. I thought this made it a very original take, as well as seeing how everyone in the fantasy world started to respect Harper and see past her cerebral palsy to her true strength. I think the heart of Brigid’s writing, which is often very skilled at dealing with emotional subjects, made the core of this book much more interesting than a standard retelling. I am quite interested if there will be a sequel to this as I feel the ending implies, but as always, I’m more invested in the side characters than the central romance.

Fans of S J Maas will love this book. Great plot, fabulous ending and fantastic representation of someone with a chronic disease. Loved it.

The cover is really wonderful. I love the thorns, the blue coloring and also the writing of the title - so basically quite everything.

I also was really fond of the writing style. It was fluent and it totally pulled me into the story. The book is written from the personal perspective of Rhen, Harper and Grey, which was a really nice way to get to know and also to love each character deeply.

Harper is not perfect - she has CP - but not as other people, who might be a little fragile and sensitive, she is a really strong character. She really knows what she wants and always tries to do, what she thinks is right. Rhen is a wonderful conflicted character. He has his past, which has a lot of dark parts and if you would just know that part, you would think he is quite a fool. However, through the curse, he learned the hardest way, what is really important and who he wants to be in life and for his kingdom. Also his strong feelings of responsibility for his people was very sympathetic. A character, which I also really liked was Grey. Sometimes it feels like he is a safe haven and the calmness around the emotional ocean waves of the other two. His humor was really nice and it was really fun to read all the dialogues with him. I also liked, that he feels as well also a little conflicted, but would never go away from his unbroken royalitx to Rhen and the kingdom. Also the tension between Harper and Grey was quite interesting.
There were also a lot of great other characters, which all felt very vivid and manifold.

The story - as might be guessed a little from the cover - is a new adaption of the Beauty and the Beast. A lot of you might ask - do we really need another adoption of that story - after reading this one, I would definitley say YES. There were some nice elements of the original fairy tale, but there were also some genious new aspects, which I really enjoyed.

Also the ending of the fairy tale is known to me, it was really unsure how this story might end. There was a lot of action and thrilling story twists. On one hand the end felt quite satisifying, but on the other hand it left me with a longing for more.

Fazit:
Fascinating fairy tale adaption with characters to fall in love with, some action and exiting story twists - I give the book 5 out of 5 stars :)

I'm actually giving this book 4.5 stars, I really loved this book! If you love Beauty and the Beast, and you love re-tellings then this is a book you should definitely read. It is however a bit darker than the original story, which is what drew me in more (I also recommend all of Christina Henry’s books if you want dark re-tellings).

I really liked how fierce the main character Harper was, and how she would never let people define her by the fact she has Cerebal Palsy. I really liked the friendships she developed with Grey and Zo. For me, Rhen was a bit harder to like at the beginning. Typical Prince taking what he wants to try and break the curse he brought on himself. But as the book went on and he opens up more to Harper I began to fall for him, hell he should’ve kidnapped me, I could have broken his curse (I’m joking, the kidnapping part was a huge part of me not liking Rhen and Grey in the beginning). Freya was an absolutely perfect character in my eyes; she not only brought up and looked after her own child, but also took in her sister’s children – she is the unsung hero of this story.

Basically overall I loved this book and after THAT CLIFFHANGER!!!! I need a sequel like yesterday. My mum absolutely adores Beauty and the Beast so I’m going to make her read this too as I definitely think she will enjoy it too.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is an absolutely incredible fantasy novel. Fantastical, thrilling, unique, and so very cleverly plotted, I was entranced from the first page to the last. I love Brigid Kemmerer’s writing and all her books, so I knew I would enjoy A Curse So Dark and Lonely, but I was totally blown away. This Beauty and the Beast retelling is the very best retelling of this, my favourite, fairytale I have ever read - and I have read a few. It is clever, original and, well, I’m seriously impressed.

Harper is barely scraping by. Her mother is sick and needs treatment they can’t afford and her brother is being forced to work as a violent debt collector to pay off their own debts. Workings as a lookout for her brother one night, Harper intervenes when she sees a man carrying an unconscious women. The man and Harper both receive a shock - he with a blow to the head and Harper when he magically transports her to another world. Commander Grey has done everything he can to help Prince Rhen break the curse that binds them both. While Harper wasn’t his ideal choice as the last maiden to attempt to break the curse, she continues to surprise them all with her caring heart and determined and independent ways, especially when Rhen’s kingdom is threatened by external forces.

What can I say about A Curse So Dark and Lonely except that I loved everything about it. While the basic threads of the fairytale are consistent - cursed prince needs a girl to fall in love with him - everything else is unique and cleverly twisted to feel like an original story. A Curse So Dark and Lonely reads more like a modern epic fantasy than a simple retelling, with action, looming wars, political intrigue, a fantastical beast, and layered, complex characters.

Harper has to be one of my new favourite heroines - strong, brave, caring and independent. Harper has Cerebral Palsy which gives her some physical challenges, but it never slows her down much or stops her racing headlong into dangerous situations to defend others. She is clever, and while she isn’t sure she can help Rhen break the curse in the traditional way, she has no problem plotting with him to help defend his kingdom. Rhen himself, his curse and the mix of grief, guilt and anger he feels about his actions and powerlessness to break the curse, all bring further complexity to the story. I also loved the addition of Grey. Rhen’s lone remaining solider and protector; I loved the stoic role he plays.

Then there is the romance. Oh, my gosh!!!! I don’t want to give too much away, but let me say I think it will surprise you. The best part about the romance is the parts that are not there. Harper’s intelligence and independence mean she does not fall blindly in love, have her head turned by empty words, nor get roped into something she doesn’t fully feel. What she feels, what Rhen feels, is complex. Trust me. It’s brilliant.

A surprise twist at the end means this series is set to continue in a very intriguing way. I can’t wait to continue the story of these characters and the kingdom of Emberfall. I love what Brigid Kemmerer has done with this fairytale and can’t wait to see where she takes it next. I highly recommend this book for fairytale and fantasy lovers and fans of strong protagonists.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a modern day re-telling of Beauty and The Beast. Its set in two worlds – DC in our own world and a fantasy otherworld called Emberfall. We follow Harper who is a young girl with Cerebral Palsy living in DC with her chronically ill mother and her brother who has had to work for a local enforcer/dealer/bad person in order to keep the family afloat after their father split on them.

Harper is transported to Emberfall after she stands up for a young girl when waiting for her brother. She’s thrown into a fantasy world where she has to find her feet. We are introduced to Prince Rhen, Grey and Lilith and we find out that there is a curse on the kingdom and on Rhen and Grey. I won’t say too much about the details of the curse because this is where the book brings in a slight twist and I don’t want to spoil it.

We follow the story through as Harper tries to find her way home, find her place in Emberfall and get to know Rhen and the discovers the curse.

The Positives:

She feels like a normal girl with a bit of an attitude and sass but with a good heart. I liked her from the start and the growth she shows throughout the story is ace – she goes from this quiet nervous girl who has all these walls up to this bad ass woman who will take on anything you put in front of her.
The representation and diversity. Having a lead character with cerebral palsy, there is also a male gay character and a male coloured character. None of it feels forced or for the sake of having diversity and it works well I think. Obviously, it's worth noting here that I’m a non disabled white woman so my interpretation of this may differ slightly from yours.
The twist to the fairytale. I’ve read a lot of re-tellings over the years but I have to say the way this one was done felt new and unique and it had me intrigued from the outset. Again, I don’t want to go into detail and spoil it for you – mainly because it was such a different way of telling the story, but it definitely had me going ‘wait, what?’
Rhen and Grey – both the characters and the character relationship. I enjoyed both of these characters individually. They were well written and fleshed out. Grey’s story was an interesting one, especially around his feeling of being at fault and his loyalty to Rhen. Rhen was an intriguing character – I felt like we were lead to believe he was quite one dimensional and shallow on purpose (which is a very clever bit of writing) but we find out over time that Rhen is not all he seems. The interactions between the two characters as well drew me in. The loyalty shown to each other and the balance that they have in the relationship I really enjoyed reading.
THE ENDING!!!! ‘nuff said.


The Negatives

Some of the characters felt like they could have had more done with them. Lilith is our Sorceress equivalent and is the person who cursed the Kingdom and Rhen and our villain. She doesn’t feel particularly villainy other than she’s a bit evil and very abusive. Her back story is not what I was expecting. While I understand that its been written that way to reflect the back story of the sorceress in the fairytale but it just fell a bit flat for me.
The pacing – while I really enjoyed this book I did feel like the scene setting and some of the events took too long. It then felt towards the end of the book that it was slightly rushed and the beautiful way of building a scene got a little bit lost in the last 3rd of the book. Without giving a lot away, the final scenes with the monster and the scenes towards the end in DC both felt like they could have done with a few more pages to broaden them out.


Its hard to pick out any other actual negatives. I enjoyed the book and I’ll definitely read the sequel that the author has confirmed (this book is written as a standalone but there will be a sequel), it was just good and enjoyable. It didn’t blow me away, however the uniqueness of the re-telling will definitely mean I recommend it to people.

Overall this was a 3.5 out of 5 for me (rounding up to 4 as it was a positive 3.5)

Firstly thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC of A Curse So Dark and Lonely in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! When I first started this book, I had just finished another Beauty and the Beast retelling and to say it was pretty awful would be an understatement, so I was entering this read with a keen sense of wariness. It turns out, this was not needed in the least, and I realised that I was in for a good ride by about 5 pages in.

This book was simply fun and entertaining with a style of writing that is sophisticated, yet so lovely and easy to read, that I never felt like I was reading a fantasy book, which we all know can be a bit heavy at times. It did take me a long time to get through, not by any fault of the book’s, but simply because I wanted to take my time and soak it all in, rather than rush or skim-read. It’s quite a long book from what I could tell reading it, but it never felt tiresome or slow at all. The pacing was fantastic and there was never any ‘slow’ sections, even the climactic part of the novel at the end, was paced so well with the rest of the book, that the flow was really enjoyable.

From someone who suffers from a chronic illness, I love that the author included a character with a disability who was anything but disabled and achieved everything she set out to do, oftentimes better than an able-bodied person. Harper was outgoing, confident, willful and still looked out for the good of others, even when her and her family had been treated poorly by other people, including her own father. While I don’t think I could ever be as brave or confident as Harper, I still found myself able to relate to her and this I think, is vital for maximum reader enjoyment.

Rhen was an absolute sweetheart and I just want to smoosh his cute little cheeks together and find myself a clone of him as soon as possible. He was strong, self-sacrificing and a warrior through and through, yet made of such sweet gentleness that was the opposite of the beasts he turns into, that I would think there would be few who read this book and wouldn’t love him. His relationship with Grey was much like a brotherhood and seeing their friendship grow over the course of the book was also great to watch. Grey was such a great addition to the book that I fell in love with him almost instantly as well, and his gentleness and protectiveness of Harper was sweet to read.

Overall, a fantastic fantasy read that has great world-building, plot, pacing, characters, action, villains and romance that anyone who is a fan of Sarah J Maas, Graceling, Poison Study and just YA in general will love. 5 stars!

You know that I could not get this e arc on my e reader properly… It made it freeze when I tried to open it. So I made a plan to read a 100 pages on the computer daily. I shouldn’t have bothered. I read it in one sitting. All 500 pages.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Of course I know the basic story. Who doesn’t? But I still haven’t read the original book. I need to. Having said that, it is easy to see how this is a retelling. I think it does its best to stand apart. The beast in this book is very different, as is a part of the setting. Harper comes from our world. I enjoyed the world and I enjoyed that the story took place outside of the castle of beast as well.

The world building in itself is solid but it can use some work. How exactly is their world shielded? Was our world and theirs connected at some point in history? And I have questions regarding the witches in this that were mentioned. First to be death. Than not? I also wish that there was more done with certain of the more enchanting elements of Beauty and the Beast, like the music playing. Where in the(original or rather Disney) story the castle is almost its own character due to the inhabitants, it barely plays a role here and I think that was a shame. It could have enriched this story so much. Yet I also understand that the author went for a more realistic route of blood and carnage.

As for the characters, I enjoyed them. Harper is a young girl in a tough situation. A father that left them with little more than problems, a mother that is sick and a brother who has to deal with their father’s demons. Literally. She herself has cerebral palsy, something that has played a big role in her childhood. Her brother treats her as weak, rather having her stand out and guard than fight with him if needed. She can’t fight with her thin arms, right? Yet when she sees a guy dragging a girl with him she jumps right into action. Harper is a fighter. She just doesn’t know it herself. It is something that she discovers throughout the book. And let us be real, not just physically fighting. But also fighting mentally. I appreciated this a lot and for as far as I can tell, as someone who does not have cerebral palsy, the representation is quite accurate.

As for the guys well there is Grey, the guard. Scary Grey. Who isn’t really that scary. He clearly has so much more to him than we get to see here. Crown Prince Rhen is cursed to become a beast every season, die and then relive another season until someone falls in love with him. Quite the set up. Rhen clearly has changed throughout the seasons and I would have loved to have seen more of that change in flashbacks or through Grey. I feel like it wasn’t addressed quite enough.

The ending made me feel a little iffy. It isn’t quite so solid as it suddenly leaves open something. I do think it creates a possibility for a companion novel with one of the characters. But I just wish the ending for this book was a little tighter.

So I really enjoyed this book enough to read it in one sitting. I was completely enthralled as I read it. It certainly isn’t a perfect book by an means though.

A reimagining of the tale The Beauty and the Beast, A Curse So Dark And Lonely is set in a dark world in which a cursed prince is transformed in a bloody vicious beast every season and a girl discovers that only her love can save Emberfall and the cursed monster.

PROS

World Building. In the last few year, many novels inspired by my favourite fairytale have been published, so it's quite difficult for the world crafted to be unique. However, Kemmerer created the medieval-inspired Emberfall Kingdom, a parallel world to our contemporary one. Just like Alice follows the White Rabbit into Wonderland, Harper, a girl from DC, after stopping Rhen's Commander from kidnapping a girl, also finds herself transported to a old-new world where technology has no place. She has to adapt to magic, curses and sword-fighting.

Curse. Who can resist to a good old curse? The Enchantress who cursed Rhen, Lilith, is very present in the story. Not only did she curse Rhen, but she also tortures him physically and psychologically (mention of sexual assault).

Cerebral Palsy. Harper, our Belle, has mild cerebral palsy, which makes her quite functional. Even though some people think of her as a porcelain china doll that can break at any second or try to shame her because of her limp, Harper doesn't allows cerebral palsy to define who she is - and that's such a powerful message.

CONS

I never felt too connected to the story. I thought I'd love A Curse So Dark And Lonely because of its synopsis. There were so many things I loved individually, but I didn't enjoy the whole story as I was expecting to.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

Fall in love, break the curse.
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.

I love 2 things Brigid Kemmerer and Beauty and the Beast. So having a story done by her that is a retelling of that made me so happy.

What I also liked was the fact that you can see the Beauty and the Beast inspirations but she used it in a very unique way that made it her own. This story even though it is almost 500 pages long I found to read it so quickly because I needed to know what happened.

Harper what I loved about her is she is not an average main character you see in so many other books. The fact she has Cerebral Palsy showed even if you are born different from what society sees as normal you can still be strong and independent. I loved the fact in her normal life she seemed to be treated as not an equal due to her Cerebral Palsy but in her new one she found her self and realised how strong she really was and is.

Rhen I liked as well, but I did feel like something was missing with his character and I am not sure what it is. I think because he was so closed off I found it hard to imagine Harper falling in love with him not only in that setting but with his way of interacting. I know he was like that because of many years of pain and not thinking anything was going to change but it made it hard for the romance to feel authentic.

One thing I didn't realise till the end of this book was it seems to be a series (when I started it I thought it would be a stand alone). If I had realised that to begin with I think closer to the end it would of made more sense why things where happening the way they where. It wasn't till I finished it and I thought wait this can't be the way it ends and I got mad that I found out it was book 1 in a new series.

I ended up rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed it and I am now excited to find out what happens in book 2.

ARC provided by NeyGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a lot of <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> retellings this year - it really seems to have been a trend recently - and honestly, I think this is the best one I've read in 2018. Anything that's based on a fairy tale is going to have unsavoury aspects as I've mentioned in my reviews for Beast - a Tale of Love and revenge and The Beast's Heart. I think a lot of authors overlook this and then are sideswiped by readers disliking their books. After all, how could something as timeless as a fairy tale, especially one acknowledged to be a huge favourite with mass popular appeal, not engage the masses? The reason is simple - a fairy tale is not timeless. A fairy tale's themes are timeless. In order to successfully adapt a fairy tale so that a modern audience will engage with the adaptation, the author must address the unsavoury aspects of the original, whether by changing those aspects in a skilful enough way that the reader is on board with the changes, or by running at those aspects head on and calling them what they are. I'm very partial to the Erlkonig mythos for example but I'd never dream of calling it anything but kidnapping!

So starting from the viewpoint that B & t B is a very rapey fairy tale, How does ACsDaL measure up? In some ways, fairly well. Harper ends up in the 'Beast's' clutches far more by misadventure than by design on her part of anyone else's. She is forced to stay when she doesn't want to, but not because the beast is holding her prisoner. Because he doesn't have the power to return her to DC himself. Yes, he locks her in her room but then she does keep lashing out with (pardonable) violence and won't listen to explanations, so she doesn't realise that the surrounding country is dangerous. It's not great but it's not exactly being imprisoned either. (Also while I applaud an MC who lashes out with a tyre iron when it appears she's been kidnapped and a strange man is approaching her, I would like people to consider how we would expect a man to act in that situation where he appeared to have been abducted by two women. Is it alright for him to hit them with an iron bar? Just a thought.)

Harper is probably the best developed character. I ended up quite liking her and I really appreciated that she didn't do stupid things just out of stubbornness. If someone explained why you shouldn't do something, she didn't just tear off and do it anyway (*cough* Feyre *cough*)

The beast is Prince Rhen , who is only a beast when he fails to break the curse at the end of a season. Since he's had 327 seasons, he's obviously not on a winning streak. The curse forces him to take a different form each time and slaughter anyone near him. Honestly, I wasn't fussed about him. He had very little agency, to the point where I wondered why we had his POV. However, I did like the fact that he thought about things Harper said and changed his opinions when wrong. He was also competent at statecraft and politics which was a breath of fresh air. It's not cool to have an ignorant heroine barrel in and take over when she doesn't know anything, it's lazy writing. The author allowed us to see that Harper realised she didn't know anything about rulership and made several gaffes.

Grey, the long suffering elliptical Captain of the guard was an interesting character. I have a horrible feeling given how this ended, that there's going to be some kind of love triangle in the next book though.

Here's the thing about Beauty and the Beast. In the original story, the beauty is NOT kidnapped or imprisoned. She is bargained away by her father or at best, chooses to sacrifice herself for him and her family and their honour. It's a metaphor both for an initially distasteful arranged marriage - 'he's no looker right now but he may turn out to be a prince'. And also for female sexual awakening. So it just doesn't quite work if the beast is not a beast when the curse breaking is supposed to be taking place. I had the same problem with A Court of Thorns and Roses and those stupid masks. Add to that knowing the stakes at the beginning - there's a curse, I need you to fall in love with me - doesn't work for me. I get that it's such a popular tale that it's tricky to reboot, which is probably why it should be left alone for a bit now tbh.

Generally I quite enjoyed this despite that. I found Harper engaging. The style, though loose, was easily accessible. What knocked the rating down for me was the world building which was a bit sparse, Harper's largely unexplored back story which felt a bit thin, and Lilith who was a very one note villain. The mechanics of the curse left a lot to be desired too. I know a lot of people felt the book improved towards the last third but I went the other way and started enjoying it less. I really didn't appreciate a 'Frozen' type finale, not because I wanted romantic love to conquer all but because I felt it really wasn't well done. However it's a fast, easy read with some real gems of humour sprinkled throughout and two or three great characters. If you love retellings of fairy tales, give it a whirl.

I loved this book so hard. I finished it in a whirlwind of two days (when I was supposed to be writing a report) and I have been recommending it to everyone ever since. Not only is the book cover stunning, but the retelling itself is also unlike any others I have read before.

Instead of our female protagonist, Harper, being some naive, passive, helpless girl, she is strong and smart and embraces her cerebral palsy - refusing to let it hold her back. This is something which I really admired since I had an aunt with cerebral palsy and I know the struggles. Our character, Harper, is stubborn and funny and I instantly loved her devotion to her family. What's more, is that I loved the complexity and depth of Prince Rhen and his steadfast loyal captain of the guard, Grey. There were times when I didn't know who I wanted to ship more Harper and one of the men or the prince and the guard themselves :P Even the novels villain, Lillith, is interesting and I instantly hated her (but only in the way that you love to hate villains in these kinds of stories).

Kemmerer did an amazing job of making me care about the characters and what happened to them. The world building was fantastic and I instantly wanted to live in Emberfall. I especially loved how they took a character from our modern world and transplanted her into a fairytale world - I thought that was really cool.

If you love fairytale retellings, stories with kick-ass females and hunky but smart princes, then you will love A Curse so Dark and Lonely.

"Fall in love, break the curse."

We've got ourselves a main character with cerebral palsy! We've got ourselves a cursed prince! We've got ourselves some good banter! And last but not least we've got ourselves a relationship that actually builds up properly! YAY!

Okay fangirling aside, this book was lovely. The only reason I gave it three and a half stars is because it's not my kind of book. This year I've been reading some retelling and I've noticed that I never give more than 4 stars for them simply because I don't like to know the ending before I even begin with the book.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a spectacular Beauty and the Beast retelling (way better than ACOTAR if you'd judge that book as a retelling, which I didn't so you'll find a higher rating for ACOTAR, don't judge me :) ) I started the book not knowing how many pages it was. I received the e-arc from Netgalley and read this book because I'd been putting off the books I got from Netgalley which isn't fair. Finding out that this book is 500 or so pages was hilarious. It did not feel like 500 pages at all. I flew through the pages of this book so that means the writing was excellent!

Harper is freaking amazing. Bluffing her way through Emberfall and impressing everyone who meets her. Gosh, I love her.
Rhen is so great too. I thought he was way too manipulative at first, but now I quite like him.
Scary Grey was a nice addiction as well. Loyal to a fault, yet also not afraid to have his own opinion, do things his own way.

"Break the curse, save the kingdom."