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Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, has been cursed by a powerful enchantress to constantly repeat the autumn of his 18th year. He’s been through hundreds of seasons, and what once seemed like a petty joke has quickly turned into a nightmare. Every season a new girl is brought to the castle in hopes she can break the curse. Every season the beast comes hell-bent on destruction.
When Harper tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world against her will. Life has never been easy for Harper, but being trapped in another place away from her family is a curse all her own. Her father is gone. Her mother is dying. Her brother is in danger.
A prince? A curse? A monster? What does any of that have to do with her? Saving a kingdom in trouble is not her problem. Getting home is. But there is more at stake for the people of Emberfall than she originally realized.
As Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, he begins to feel hope, not just for breaking the curse, but for saving his kingdom and becoming the king his people have needed him to be all along. But even if he can save Emberfall from the beast, can he rescue them from the powerful forces encroaching on the border?
A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a twist. It has all the elements of the fairy tale that I love — sacrificial love, courage, mutual respect — and I enjoyed seeing the diversity representation with Harper having cerebral palsy, but overall I found it to be missing something.
Perhaps I was expecting too much with all the hype and it being a fairy tale retelling (Fairy tale retellings are some of my all-time favorite books!). Or perhaps the gritty modern mix made it lose some of its fairy tale charm for me.
Whatever the reason, I did still enjoy reading this book, and I will probably still finish the series, but my expectations to LOVE it aren’t high.
Rated: Moderate (though it borders on mild), for a surprising amount of blood and violence. There are only a handful of uses of mild language and the name of Diety. In a photograph, someone gives the camera the finger. Rhen is an arrogant womanizing prince at first. It’s obvious that he’s slept with women, including a seductive sorceress, though the references are never detailed. Minor side characters are in a same-sex relationship. Thieves threaten to kill children and take a woman and her young daughter for sport. Characters kiss.
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