Hello Patrons! 🙂

I finished this book on Thursday but of course this weekend was crazy so please bear with me.

I don’t read a ton of fantasy, so I went into this book skeptical. Originally I heard about A Curse So Dark and Lonely from Regan over at PeruseProject on Youtube, and when I saw it at my library I snatched it up. I was totally prepared to DNF after the first few chapters. I was pleasantly surprised though and ended up devouring it.

Synopsis:

For a super brief synopsis check out my most recent library haul.

Rhen is prince of Emberfall and is cursed to live out his eighteenth year forever, until he finds someone to fall in love with him. He is also cursed to turn into a monster at the end of every year. (That makes the first part a lot harder).

Harper is a girl living in DC and is trying to take care of her mother who is dying from cancer after her father skips town. Harper is kidnapped by Grey, Rhen’s personal guard and taken back to Emberfall.

Harper, Gray, and Rhen then must not only deal with Rhen’s curse but also the impending threat of invasion by a country to the north.

What I Liked:

Rhen was angsty and broody (for fairly good reasons I would be broody too if I had to relive being 18 300+ times too, not even counting the whole turning into a monster bit). I also liked that he turned into a monster, and wasn’t just a monster all along like in the Disney version.

I really liked the CP (Cerebral Palsy) representation in the novel. Harper has CP but is a total warrior princess and I was here for it. I found she was smarter than Rhen at times, and was quick on her feet to get out of danger.

Lastly, GREY! Grey saw both the good in Rhen and in Harper when they didn’t see it in themselves. He was incredibly kind and understanding, as well as passionate and loyal. He and Rhen’s relationship is part father and son and part mentor/men-tee, whereas he and Harper’s relationship is like friends. Something happens in the end of the book where he is separated from Rhen and Harper, and I am really excited to see how Kemmermer reunites the three characters in the second book.

What I Didn’t Like:

The pacing toward the end of the novel was funky. Several chapters could have been thumbs-down-hand-outline_318-41753 removed entirely. (When Rhen becomes a monster). The book is over 400 pages so this could’ve helped with the resolution of the plot.

Harper’s brother Jake and his boyfriend are stranded in Emberfall after Grey is taken from them (he’s not dead he’s just elsewhere), something which I hope is rectified in the sequel which comes out in January. I think it’s bad luck, but I know this plot twist is why there’s a sequel.

Lilith, the demon enchantress who curses Rhen, and Karis of Luran the queen who wants to invade Emberfall, are both kind of bitchy. Like unnecessarily. To the point of just being annoying. Harper was so well fleshed out that it’s interesting that the villains weren’t up to the same standard.

My Final Thoughts:

If you are a fan of re-tellings, or a fan of lite fantasy I suggest A Curse so Dark and Lonely. It’s just dark enough to seem realistic but fantastical enough to not be boring not confusing. If you like strong female main characters and brooding male main characters read this book. (Also if your into chunky books this was a good one too). I rated A Curse So Dark and Lonely a 4.75 out of 5 on Goodreads. The sequel A Heart So Fierce and Broken comes out on January 7th, 2020.

Let me know in the comments below if you read this book and if so what your thoughts were.

hark a vagrant I am currently reading The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandie Colbert and Hark! A Vagrant! by Kate Beanton. I am not very impressed by Birdie Randolph it feels like any other generic realistic fiction YA novel. I am currently loving Hark! A Vagrant! which are a compilation of Beaton’s web comic by the same name. I have the second book in the series and will be reading that very shortly. Be on the lookout for my thoughts very soon!