ARC, 477 pages
Release Date: January 29, 2019Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Read from: January 20-26, 2019A Curse So Dark and Lonely, #1Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: DeathFor fans of: Urban Fantasy, Action, Romance, Re-tellings, Bombshell/ Cliff-hanger Endings, Multiple POV’s, YAIn a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
“There is blood under my fingernails. I wonder how many of my people I’ve killed this time.“pg. 1
Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall has been cursed by an Enchantress. The only way out of the curse is to get a girl to fall in love with him. At the end of each season he’s turned into a beast that terrorized his family and his people. Then comes along Harper who has a dying mother, an absent father, and a brother who underestimates her. She is taken into Rhen’s world and can’t quite believe what’s happening. As all the secrets unfold, she has to make a decision… Leave or help him and his people break this terrible curse that’s been put on not just Rhen, but what seems like the whole time.
“Everything is always the same. Except for the dead/ They never come back.“pg. 10
I was expecting this to be good because it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but not THIS good lol Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, so I was kind of iffy about going in to this story. I didn’t want it to be messed up lol But as it turns out, Kemmerer did really well with the story. I loved her twists and turns that she added to the story. All the elements were there, but not in the way that anyone would expect. And that was interesting to me. In the synopsis it says for fans of Marissa Meyer and I can see exactly why.
“I was not mocking you my lady. […] Ironrose is not enchanted.” […] “Then what is it?” “Cursed.” With that, I turn the lock and take the key.“pg. 30
I also really liked the characters. Harper is BAD. ASS. She is what my grandpa used to call a spitfire lol She didn’t take crap from anyone and she stood her ground on so many things. And the way Kemmerer changed her from the original tale made me love her so much more. I love how she knew what she wanted and didn’t change her mind. And then there was Prince Rhen. He broke my heart. I wanted so badly to find a way to save him and the people he loved. And let’s not talk about Grey. He was my favorite character in the book.I could tell from the beginning with his bad ass attitude, but soft demeanor he was going to be my favorite. And last but not least, I want to talk about the villain. I loved that in this tale the witch that curses them stays around. And let me tell you, she is not just mean like in the original story, she is vile. And she has become one of my favorite villains of 2019 already lol Trust me, you will like her, but want to throat punch her, just like I did lol
“Words spoken in the dark in the middle of the night always feel so much heavier than they would at any other time.“pg. 96
As for the plot, I did feel like it was getting a bit repetitive. Not enough to get boring, but enough to feel like it was something that had happened in the story already. But once I hit the last 150 pages, I couldn’t stop reading.
“Have you figured it out yet? The curse torments us all.“pg. 97
As for the ending, if you haven’t heard already, there is a truth bomb that explodes at very end and left me with SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. I saw only part of that bomb coming and was completely shocked with the rest of it. So many of you will be just like me and say “HOLY CRAP” out loud. Hopefully you won’t scare the sleeping puppy out of his nap like I did too lol
“Not all scars can be seen, my lady.“pg. 115
yup you said everything I thought. I loved Harper. She was so bad ass like you said. great review.
She was one of my favorite parts of the whole book! Thank you!
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