A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review
“Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. 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 constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.
Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? 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.”
*Synopsis taken from Good Reads.*
“Failure isn't absolute, just because you couldn't save everyone doesn't mean you didn't save anyone.”
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
A Curse So Dark and Lonely has been on my radar for a while simply for the fact that it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I know what I like. I finally read it back in March. There are a lot of facets that separate it from a typical B&tB reimagining. For one, the protagonist Harper has cerebral palsy. For two, it plays with the idea of a multi-verse, with a magical kingdom running parallel to our current universe (Washington D.C. specifically).
The positives:
I think Kemmerer built a pretty dimensional curse and an even more deliciously wicked enchantress in Lilith. I wanted to wipe the satisfaction from her face as soon as she was introduced, the minx.
The Groundhog Day elements of Rhen repeating “seasons” is an interesting twist, especially as Rhen and Grey experience the seeming futility of their efforts. Also, the monster taking on a new shape each season (even if we don’t get extensive details on their forms) is a cool concept.
I also love the double POV, and I think it serves the story, letting us into the inner workings of Rhen’s strategic, exhausted, sometimes hopeless, sometimes romantic mind as well as Harper’s problem-solving, independent, and empathetic thoughts.
Grey is a character I would die for. That’s it. That’s the review.
The negatives:
You can’t have Harper help break the curse without having her appear “not like other girls.” While I usually can’t stand the trope, Kemmerer handles it fairly well though it’s definitely prominent. I can argue to the author’s benefit. For example, it’s implied that Rhen and Grey have never picked a disabled/differently abled/neurodivergent girl to break the curse before, instead choosing only the conventionally attractive (not to say that conventionally attractive people can’t have, y’know, depths).
With this being a YA-geared book, the bloodshed and gore and general kingdom-in-turmoil can only go so far. Realistically, the extent of Rhen’s self-loathing could be even more traversed, knowing the horrible details of the killings of his family and the ruination of his people through war and starvation. In general, this is a complaint I could apply to a lot of YA, though I completely understand keeping things at PG-13 considering the primary audience. Enjoying YA as an adult is a luxury I don’t want to take for granted and have tarnished by more excessive violence and/or sex.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this first installment, and I’m looking forward to finishing the trilogy.
