Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

A New York Times bestseller! "Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale." - Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things "Absolutely spellbinding." - Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval and Legendary In 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. 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.

Aimee :)

"Grey is dead, Mother. That is all you need to know."

“No. Rhen. Please, I love you. I love you. I'll say whatever you want. Please just stop."

I wish she had. Not because of the curse, or because of Karis Luran, or because of Emberfall.

The only time I forget is at night, when the bedroom is dark and the fire snaps and the world seems to melt away.

When Zo plays music outside Harper's door, and we sway.

"It's not always this stiff," she says. "If a girl likes a boy she'll rest her head on his shoulder."

"Does this girl like this boy?" My voice is light, teasing like hers was, but my question is genuine.

Her blush deepens and her eyes sparkle in the light from the fire.

She says nothing, but then she moves closer, until her body is against mine, and her head falls on my shoulder.

"I'm not trapping you." I step closer. "I'm not chasing you. I'm not tricking you."

No matter how much I beg, she does not stop.

It is barely a kiss, but she is somehow closer to me, her body a pool of warmth against mine.

"Even now," she says, "you're out here risking our lives, trusting me to help you save your people, when you don't really know anything about me. When you're probably supposed to be back at the castle feeding me grapes and trying to get me to fall in love with you."

"Grapes?" I say. "Is that what it would take?"

"The red ones are secretly the way to my heart."

"I am inviting you to dance, not dragging you behind a horse." I sigh dramatically. "Must you look so tortured?"

"I had almost forgotten what this was like."

"No." Rhen looks past me at his guard commander. "Being part of something bigger."

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

"Oh, I'm furious. But not about my face."

Her voice fills with steel. "I'm mad I missed."

"Such sweet words of affection, my lady." I play a ten of hearts.

I draw back my hand and slap him as hard as I can.

He doesn't see it coming. It throws his head to the side.

I don't wait for a reaction. I duck back into the room and slam the door in his face.

Her hair slips loose again, and this time, when I reach to push it back into place, I let my hand linger.

Her lips part as my fingers brush the rounded shell of her ear.

But then her hand flies up to catch my wrist. She's suddenly breathless and angry. "I know what you're doing. You've had three hundred women to practice this on. Stop."

"Your Highness.. will you be joining the princess?" I open my mouth to say no, but Rhen is quicker.

"Yes." He smiles. "Princess Harper and I have much to discuss."

I raise my eyebrows. "You wish those to be our roles? Fine." I turn my head. "Commander!"

“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."

"Why? What am I supposed to do?" she says, her expression piercing. "Fall in love with you?"

The woman tugs at Harper's hand. "He is the crown prince," she whispers.

Harper meets my eyes, and hers are full of wary defiance. "He's not my prince."

literauri

A Curse So Dark and Lonely was an all-right novel, it was refreshing to read a ya fantasy book about princes again. 

It is a beauty and the beast retelling though, so it was very easy to predict the ending, but the plot still gave a twist to the original story.

Maybe it was just the middle of the night when I finished this book, but I did not understand the ending (especially with Grey??) I don't know why he couldn't just go back and pretend??? But that's probably just me lol.

Laura

A Curse So Dark and Lonely was an all-right novel, it was refreshing to read a ya fantasy book about princes again. 

It is a beauty and the beast retelling though, so it was very easy to predict the ending, but the plot still gave a twist to the original story.

Maybe it was just the middle of the night when I finished this book, but I did not understand the ending (especially with Grey??) I don't know why he couldn't just go back and pretend??? But that's probably just me lol.

Megan

I enjoyed this but I don’t think I’ll continue reading the series. Prefer it as a standalone instead.

Sarah

I'm not really a "twist on a fairytale" kinda gal but this book surprised me and made me so giddy at some parts. And omg THE CLIFF HANGER??? Time to purchase the rest of the series.

Manda

AHNA

I am so head-over-heels with this book! The way this book threw me off with the plot, the characters, the twist. One of my favorite book! I'm so thankful I found this book 😭🙏

Hannah DCamp

3.5 stars

I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings, and this one did a really decent job. I also weirdly seem to not hate love triangles like The World at Large does, and the one in this book in particular I thought was actually great. (view spoiler)[I would've loved to see Grey and Harper as a couple; I felt like they had more chemistry? Not that Rhen and Harper didn't work fine together, but I think I liked it because Grey never said anything or did anything about it (because guard things), and Harper seemed unaware of what was going on. There was no drama or tension which was nice. (hide spoiler)]

Harper was great, and she's genuinely one of the best female protagonists I've read in a while. She was strong because her background had forced her to become so, and she demonstrated that (we didn't just hear how great she was, we saw it). She made some mistakes, as one might in a world/culture different from one's own, but she was genuinely capable, and I loved seeing the CP rep - but Grey was my favorite character. He was single minded and dedicated and disciplined and super interesting. (view spoiler)[I only have one complaint, and that is that I'm not sure the ending made sense? I'm intrigued by the idea of him being the true heir, but I don't think I understand why he's going into hiding. He's been dedicated to Rhen and Emberfell his entire life, and as far as he knows Rhen doesn't truly suspect another heir exists, much less that it'd be Grey. He acted like someone was going to track him down, and interrogate his mother to try and find him. That doesn't track for me, and it doesn't make sense with the character? (hide spoiler)]

I was expecting this to be spicier, so I'm pleasantly surprised to tell you that it wasn't particularly spicy at all! I always appreciate when characters attempt to get to know each other without jumping straight to making out*; this is so much healthier. Be friends first! Gain trust! Communicate (they needed to work on this a bit, but they did okay)!

*I am too old for this nonsense. I feel genuinely weary.

The part where she offered to stay up with to help him feel safe made me tear up, so clearly I'm doing great.

Tatiana

I read this book in one sitting.

What a fantastic Beauty and the Beast retelling with a modern-ish twist to it! I have to admit I was a bit skeptical going into the series due to the major hype it received, but I believe it is well deserved.

The characters and plotline is gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down. Hence why I am writing this review at 3:30 in the morning.

I did end up giving it 3 stars overall just because the writing style is not my favorite. I did find myself cringing at some chapters due to the plot becoming too cheesy or just simply the way it was written, namely how towards the end Harper is pleading in every single sentence. Like come on girl. During these scenes it really took away from the story and I found myself remembering I was reading which is always a bummer feeling

Overall though, A Curse So Dark And Lonely was well worth my time and I am excited to dive into the sequel, and the third coming out in January!

this is a standalone book yes that is what I believe

Sophia

i’ve had this series for a long time and i have been so scared to start it. But today i braved it and picked up the book. And i think i clearly didn’t want to put it down. I honestly have no faults with it. It was fast paced, the plot occurred quickly and nicely, i felt myself becoming emotional and falling in love with the characters so quickly it was unreal. Towards the end i kept thinking to myself that it reminded me of the cruel prince, which is never bad because i absolutely adore that trilogy. I’m so mad at myself for not picking this up sooner.

someone gifted this to me like a year ago and i took so long to read it because i had absolutely no expectations for this. but it was actually quite good, the story was entertaining and the characters were likable, although i sometimes wanted our mc to end up with the guy she wasn't supposed to be with tbh. it's a beauty and the beast retelling but it still managed to be different enough to not be boring. also the epilogue left me so confused and staring at the ceiling for a solid minute.

kristin :)

Melissa Palmer

Great YA fantasy book. First in a trilogy.

becky oh

Ok, this is actually better than I expected(?!) 
-The retelling of the beauty and the beast was soooooo good, although the beast bit can be quite weird to the one I knew as well as the beauty(u'll know why the beauty is quite different to the BELLE we knew)
-the romance was a little not there for me. I mean, ok, there i romance in this book but not that high quality of romance I wanted it to be. maybe be n0t at THAT high reach.
-There is some love triangle between some boys (Oooh, exciting!) 
- The tension is there, only... it's not a page turner as I though it might be
-I basically liked it AND got a bit sad about it.

But the conclusion is that I liked and disliked it at the same time. This is a contemporary fairy tale and romance series, which I was okay with it but I usually don't read contemporary romance books because it's just...not there, the reading&tension&romance level dosen't reach the top and get over it. But I would like people to read it if you are bored and need something to read but otherwise, if you have just read a series/a book which u totally liked, than don't read this because it might spoilyour hppiness. But I liked it! 

One star taken awy for this book review because it wasn't at the level I wanted it to be.

Oh how I love fantasy. Recently, I've been reading everything except fantasy, and read many average books, with no attatchment at all. I contemplated not even reading this book at all, and just returning it to the library, but the minute I picked it up, I just kept telling myself what a fool I would have been if I didn't read it. 

What a book. I'm so excited to continue this series.

surtified™

Oh how I love fantasy. Recently, I've been reading everything except fantasy, and read many average books, with no attatchment at all. I contemplated not even reading this book at all, and just returning it to the library, but the minute I picked it up, I just kept telling myself what a fool I would have been if I didn't read it. 

What a book. I'm so excited to continue this series.

A classic YA beauty and the beast story, but with a few twists. This series has been on my shelf for quite a long time and I finally decided to pick this up. 

I flew through this book - partly because it was easy to read and partly because I couldn’t put it down. I am a sucker for fairy tell retellings and I almost always love them. This wasn’t my favorite book ever, but I did enjoy the story and the writing style. I’m interested to see where the story goes from here.

Tace

A classic YA beauty and the beast story, but with a few twists. This series has been on my shelf for quite a long time and I finally decided to pick this up. 

I flew through this book - partly because it was easy to read and partly because I couldn’t put it down. I am a sucker for fairy tell retellings and I almost always love them. This wasn’t my favorite book ever, but I did enjoy the story and the writing style. I’m interested to see where the story goes from here.

Nessa Luna

Love me a little sobbing session after chapter forty-one. (view spoiler)[Cancer fucking sucks yay (hide spoiler)]

nienke

4 / 5 stars
Book 5 of 2022

"My lord, I did nothing. I sat down and asked."

Okay, I have to be fair. This book has been on my shelf for such a long time. I should have picked it up earlier if only I had known that I would enjoy this book this much. 

For once, I was not annoyed by the different points of view. It was very much needed since both leads needed to have some 'character development, which also came! 

Why am I always a sucker for the second male lead (no triangle love!), if only... 

And the plot twist at the end of the book, I did not see that coming. Need to read the second book asap.

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

This was an ok Beauty and the Beast re-telling, but the ending kind of made the protagonists' struggle to break the curse pointless. This was more about finding trust after betrayal, especially on an intimate level. There are two antagonists-the enchantress and the Queen of Syhl Shallow-who encourage sexual harassment, plus there's a scene where the Queen's army attempts to rape a mother, so there are some heavy topics discussed that might trigger some readers.

This book once again proved me that I love fantasy books

Katherine

Colleen

3 Stars
 
*A solid but predictable fairytale retelling*
 
I don’t read a ton of YA, but I am a sucker for fairytale retellings. Even though they are mostly disappointing, I still find myself optimistically trying them out. 

Admittedly, Beauty and the Beast is not my favorite fairytale. And it’s probably the second most commonly retold fairytale (after Cinderella). I’m not sure exactly what caught my eye about A Curse So Dark and Lonely, but I decided to give it a go.

The story gets off to a rough start. It’s told in present tense (which I hate in novels). It also switches between multiple POV all told in first person. I won’t lie, that’s an almost certain recipe for disaster. After realizing that was the format for the story, I set the book aside for a couple of weeks and almost abandoned it. I really only revisited it because I wanted something light and easy after that leaden lump known as The Priory of the Orange Tree. Anyway, back to the writing: multiple POV all in first person is a terrible choice. It makes it hard to distinguish who the narrator is at any given time. Yes, the chapter header always indicated who was narrating. But since the characters are together for most of the book, it means the narration is often switching sides on the same scene. It was easy to lose track of who was talking. And when you add the present tense writing on top of that, my rating is definitely going to drop a star. A lot of people aren’t bothered by that, but it decreases my enjoyment so tough luck.

The basic story is in line with what most people are familiar with: selfish prince is cursed until someone falls in love with him. In this case, the prince (Rhen) lives in a country called Emberfall and is cursed to repeat the fall of his eighteenth year over and over until someone loves him. Each season a new girl is magically brought from somewhere else to fill the role of potential lovebird. Unlike the traditional story, the prince is his usual handsome self up until the end of the season – then he kind of goes werewolfish, turns into a monster, and kills anything in sight.

The heroine (Harper) gets pulled from our modern world into Rhen’s world. At least Kemmerer made her heroine something other than the stereotypical bombshell. Harper comes from a poor family with a deadbeat dad and a dying mom. She also has cerebral palsy. So at least she wasn’t the stereotypical prissy princess. I liked that the story featured someone viewed as not “perfect” by other people. It did have a bit of a trying-too-hard vibe at first, but Harper’s gumption totally grew on me. Her sections were more enjoyable. Rhen’s narration was never as convincing. 

One thing that annoyed me is that Harper is never really described. The symptoms of her cerebral palsy are talked about often. But other than repeatedly mentioning her dark, curly hair, there is no description of what she looks like. Rhen’s looks are described in detail. Maybe the author was trying to emphasize her personality over her looks. But call me crazy, I like to be able to picture what characters look like. There is a difference between not focusing on looks and not describing looks at all.

Harper was a bit too accepting both of being kidnapped and of being transported into another dimension. Overall, the story did a good job of making the kidnap bits slightly less icky. But the root of the story is still kidnapping and well, that’s creepy. There’s a reason this was never my favorite fairytale.

Once I got into the story, I did enjoy it more than I expected. The middle part was great. I liked that the story involved bigger political issues in the kingdom rather than being entirely romance focused. But the romance was still corny and there ends up being a love triangle. Yeah a YA story with a love triangle… such a cliché. There were also some things left unexplained particularly about the magic. 

Still, I enjoyed most of the story. Until the ending which felt like it was throwing a bunch of stuff out there just to justify having a sequel. Apparently it is going to be a trilogy though. I first added this to my To Read list before it was published, and I thought it was going to be a standalone. So it was disappointing to have an unsatisfying ending. I don’t know what could take another two books to complete. While I enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely overall, I’m not sure I’ll still be interested by the time the sequels role around.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Takecia Bright

At the start I fell in love with Grey because he didn’t underestimate Harper and respected her. I didn’t like Rhen as much because he was complacent. But that’s what was so good about this book was that you saw Harper chip that away. Each chapter peeled away a layer from Rhen and you got to see how much of a toll everything was taking on him. When Lilith came to sabotage his internal and external accomplishments Harper was still there reminding him what he was working so hard for. 
The dynamics between Rhen, Harper, and Grey almost seemed like a love triangle but it wasn’t and I’m so glad for that. The love Rhen developed for Harper was so intimate and sweet that I just wanted more of it. You get to see how much he cares for her closer to the end of the book. I really enjoyed reading this book and I hope you will too!

Faith Kitowski

OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO GOOD. I CANT BELIEVE I WAITED SO LONG TO PICK IT UP. i will definitely be getting the next one. i love rhen <3 and of course harper too

Susan 

I have not want to read a book so much in a long time. I didn't want to stop reading! Some of the reviews had me skeptical about this book plus it being free on Kindle. I am so glad I gave it a shot!

Is it the best book? No but the story line and characters had me hooked! I really enjoyed everything about this. The retelling of beauty and the beast style story was very well done. 

I honestly screamed when I realized the book was over. I wasn't expecting that twist. I'm almost nervous to finish the series as I don't know of they will live up to this book!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

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