A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

by Brigid Kemmerer
Published: Bloomsbury, 2019
Pages: 496
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Amazon, Goodreads

“Have you not figured it out yet? The curse torments us all.”

About the book

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. 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.

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.

Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I initially didn’t want to read this book because I thought it’d be the typical, run-of-the-mill YA fantasy that’d be centered on a terrible beast who learns how to love and him and a young woman ride off into the sunset. 

I could not have been more wrong.

What really surprised me in this novel was the focus on character development, not romance.

Harper is a timid young woman used to staying the shadows. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her mother, who’s dying of cancer, and her brother, who is forced to deal with loan sharks following the abandonment of their father. While on the lookout for her brother, Harper is taken by a stranger and transported into a literal fairytale. To save those around her and get back to her family, Harper must tap into her inner strength and project the confidence she didn’t know she had. I absolutely love Harper’s character. Strong, independent woman are among my favorite character types. 

Rhen is a prince who, after spending the night with a mysterious woman with secret powers, is cursed to find a woman to fall in love with him or turn into a terrible, vicious beast who kills everyone in sight. The young prince cycles through hundreds of seasons through which he terrorizes his kingdom and brutally murders his own family before Harper lands before him. The mage who cursed him then declares that this will be his last season, meaning he has to make Harper fall in love with him or be turned into the beast forever. Rhen comes off as arrogant and entitled, though slowly Harper learns that Rhen is in deep mourning for his lost family and is extremely loyal to his people.

What makes A Curse So Dark and Lonely pop is the development of Harper’s and Rhen’s relationship throughout the story. I found this book to be more of a character development than a romance, though there are romantic aspects through the plot. 

Grey was also a great addition to the storyline. He’s fiercely loyal and provides another dimension to the two main characters. 

The ending also reveled a big twist and concluded in a way that leaves readers SHOOK. 

I really enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely. When I finished the book, I rushed over to the library to place a hole on the second installment. Looking forward to diving into it!