A Curse So Dark & Lonely - Review

Book Review:
Title: A Curse so Dark and Lonely
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

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 Lacy. 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.


(I'm writing this review two whole months after finishing the book, because student life is crazy, so don't expect much from this review. I'm trying my best!)

A Curse so Dark and Lonely is honestly such a refreshing take on Beauty and the Beast. I was expecting your typical sweet, sugar-coated fairytale (which is perfectly acceptable) but I was surprised with a deep, semi-dark, meaningful novel that I absolutely fell in love with.

It's been too long for me to write a proper in-depth review (I'M SORRY) so here are the many things that made me love this novel so much;

• The writing is brilliant. I've never read a book by Brigid Kemmerer before, but I'm definitely going to be reading more now because it was so easy to fall into the flow of the novel. This is a fairly long book (almost 500 pages) but I read through it so quickly. Once I started reading, I didn't want to stop.
• Disability rep - the main character, Harper, has cerebral palsy, which I don't think I've ever seen in a YA novel before, so that was really nice to see. However, I can't really comment on how accurate the rep is, as I know the effects are different for every person and I'm not completely knowledgeable on the condition. (So if you know anyone who has cerebral palsy and has reviewed this book, please let me know!)
• We also have some LGBTQ+ and POC rep from the side characters, with Harper's brother being gay and his boyfriend being black - they didn't have as much page time but whenever they were in a scene, they were simply adorable
• The three main characters made this book for me! Rhen, Harper and Grey were everything !! They're not perfect. They make mistakes. They have some attitude problems and some entitlement issues (*cough* Rhen *cough*) but the difference in them all from the start of the book to the end is outstanding. So. Much. Growth.
• Like I said previously, this is a refreshing take on Beauty and the Beast. So many novels have retold this fairytale, but this one really manages to stand out for its originality. You can 100% tell its a retelling, but at the same time it really stands on its own. The perfect balance between the typical trope and new plot twists.
• This book was actually funny at some parts, you know, in between all the angst...
• Now, I know I've already said I loved the characters, but Grey gets his own point because I loved him the most! I don't think I've ever loved a secondary male character more that the main character (and I really loved Rhen too), but here we are. Grey just shone on his own. He was mysterious and intriguing and I just wanted to know everything about him! I loved how loyal he was to Rhen. I loved his relationship with Harper. To put it simply, I just loved him. GIVE ME HIS BOOK ASAP!

So yeah if you couldn't tell, I really liked this book.
To sum up, ACSDAL is a refreshing take on a much loved fairytale mixed with some addictive writing and lovable flawed characters.

4.5 Stars
Goodreads