A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (The Cursebreaker, #1)

by Brigid Kemmerer

A New York Times bestseller!
"Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale." - Jodi Picoult

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse.


It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was 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 barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But 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.

Reviewed by bestmessever on

4 of 5 stars

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This was probably the most interesting take on the beauty and the beast story that I have read yet. Our Main character Harper has cerbel palsey but she doesn't let that define her. She saves a girl who was obviously drugged from being taken by some guy by hitting him with a crow bar. (Yes she really is that b*tch) She ends up being taken instead to the Kingdom of Emberfall where she learns there is a curse done by a enchantress scorned. Harper is desperate to get back home to her brother who she was lookout for when she was taken, their mom is dying of cancer and Harper just really wants to get back to her. Our Prince Rhen is charming, amusing, and a little abrasive at times, he has one loyal guardsmen left Commander Grey who I really came to love throughout the book. His unwavering loyalty in all things is beautiful and inspiring.

I adored this book, it had a lot of diversity and it was very beautifully written. It is beauty and the beast but feminist and darker. It is definitely worth checking out. I gave it a 4.5/5 stars. 

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 14 January, 2019: Reviewed