A Curse So Dark And Lonely Review

A Curse so Dark and Lonely was a surprise read for me. When I heard about another beauty and the beast retelling, I must admit, I rolled my eyes. But my friend read it and said it was amazing and one of her favourites of the year, so I was tempted to give it a go. I finally picked it up, knowing the bare minimum of the story, and my gods, I am so glad I did. Here I was, expecting the usual Beauty and the Beast type of retelling, and I was greeted with something I never expected. A 5 star read.

This book follows two perspectives. One is Rhen, a prince from Emberfall, a fictional world. He is cursed, of course, and needs to fall in love to break it, of course. But his curse is different from the usual, he isn’t always the ‘monster’ and he is not alone, or with any living candlesticks. No, his castle is enchanted to live the same autumn, again, and again. Every season, he must try to woo a girl and fall in love, at the end of the season, if he is unsuccessful, he will turn. Then the season starts again. His loyal commander, the only surviving member of his guard, and only survivor of the effects of Rhen’s ‘monster’ finds him a woman to try to fall in love with. He is able to cross into another world, hoping to find the one there.

And that’s where he meets Harper. But not in the way you expect. Harper is from Washington DC and is standing watch for her brother, who is doing deeds that are not so honourable, but he does what he can so they can live, and so his mother, who is dying of cancer, can hold on a little longer. Harper is waiting for him to finish when she hears a girl laughing, and sees her and this man. When suddenly she notices something wrong, she thinks the man is about to hurt this girl. Harper ends up attacking him, hoping to save her, only to find herself somewhere else entirely.

I adored their first interactions, and love Harper more than anything there. She attacks them with an iron bar she has and has angered Grey like never before. And confuses Rhen a lot. From there, she learns of the state of Rhen’s world, and the curse, quickly figuring out what will break it, but knowing that it would never happen. Harper, in turn, confuses Rhen, and frustrates him, as she is headstrong and defiant. But they learn to work together in a way and try to find a way to help Rhen’s country, as things have gone wrong in the world since the curse began.

This story was amazing and original in my opinion. I loved the characters and the dynamic they had. I loved the way things did grow naturally, and realistically in some cases. I also love how Harper just didn’t care what people thought. I also love how the author created a character with cerebral palsy, I cannot comment on the accuracy of her portrayal, but from others reviews, I hear that she did an excellent job with it. Harper is considered injured in this world and limps because of the issue with her leg, but it doesn’t stop her from kicking arse when necessary.

The story became something I wasn’t expecting, and I am so glad I picked up this book. The sequel came out recently and is set to follow on from the ending of the first, which was a wild ride. A lot has gone right for some characters, and wrong for others. And it is all picked up well and developed further in the sequel. When you finish this book, make sure you have the second, or can get it, because we were hanging for the second for a long time.