A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling written by Brigid Kemmerer. It is told from two point of views. The first is Harper, an 18-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. The second is Rhen, the prince who is cursed to relive the same season over and over again and turn into a different kind of beast at the end of each one until a girl falls in love with him. When she believes she is saving a girl from attack, Harper is whisked away into Ironrose. Even as Rhen tried to win over Harper (who will NOT have it), a nearby kingdom threatens war and Harper must masquerade as a princess to give confidence to the people of Emberfall (Rhen’s kingdom).
I did like this book, but it was pretty stereotypical. Harper’s character was definitely the “I’m different from the rest. I won’t fall in lo- sh*t” type. However, I did like that Brigid made her home situation less than ideal and added in her disability. I also like the new take on “the Beast”. Rhen wasn’t always some ugly monster in the story. In fact, he was human most of the time. Another thing was that Harper knew about the curse (not all of it, though). She knew the requirements and she truly wanted to help him, just not in the way he expected from her.
Overall, I did like this book. I would recommend to any fan of fairytale retellings in general, but it was also a great fantasy book in which a powerful girl overcame challenges thrown in her face.
Overall, I would give this book…
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
The Fiction Feature 