A Curse So Dark and Lonely: Book Review

Plot summary: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Harper is minding her own business, or her brother’s business anyway, when she witnesses somebody apparently trying to kidnap another woman.

Unfortunately, her attempt to intervene gets her grabbed instead, and transported to another world: Emberfall.

Here she will meet Prince Rhen, heir to the kingdom, and cursed to repeat a single season over and over again. He will only be freed if a girl falls in love with him. But all Harper wants is to return home.

My thoughts on A Curse So Dark and Lonely

I love Beauty and the Beast, beyond all reason, so this book was an easy sell for me! A Curse So Dark and Lonely is by Brigid Kemmerer. It’s a YA fantasy rewrite set in the fictional world of Emberfall, and also our own world. Harper starts the book in Washington DC, before being kidnapped by Grey and brought to Emberfall.

There, Prince Rhen is the victim of a terrible curse. Made to turn into a lethal beast at the end of each season, unless he can get a girl to fall in love with him. It hasn’t been working well for him so far. He’s killed his entire family, his guard (other than Grey) and a not insubstantial number of the people who live beyond the castle’s grounds.

To make matters worse, the witch who cast this spell has told Rhen that this is his last chance. And Harper seems the least likely girl yet to fall for him. Prickly, suspicious and aggressively independent, she has no interest in being a princess.

For another fairytale retelling review, check out my thoughts on Cinderella Is Dead!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is hugely character driven

The book is based around the development and relationships between the three main characters. Harper is brave, seems tough but has some surprisingly idealistic moments. She wants to help people and, unlike in some stories where you just get told over and over how good and selfless the protagonist is, we see her go out of her way to help others several times in the story.

Prince Rhen is kind of broody, but not off-puttingly so, at least as far as I’m concerned. His experience with the curse brought out a more calculating side of him, which makes sense. I liked that that seemed to come from a place of responsibility to his people. He wants to be able to take care of them again, and if that means manipulating somebody into falling for him? Then that’s just what he has to do.

Then we have our third main character, Grey. Commander of the royal guard, although there’s nothing left of it now but him. He’s kind of formal and distant, and carries a lot of weight on his shoulders. He’s also more straightforward than Rhen, which makes for a nice contrast.

Of these three, Harper and Rhen are our two point-of-view characters. But I think it would be fair to say that Grey is just as important as the other two. Another point worth noting about Harper, before we move on, is that she has cerebral palsy.

Harper’s cerebral palsy

I sought out some reviews of the book by people with cerebral palsy, because I was curious about how they felt it represented their experiences. I found mixed responses, which didn’t totally surprise me.

Grace Lapointe pointed out, among other issues, that some of the things Harper was able to do seemed like they should have been more challenging, considering her disability. Also making the point that, for the most part, you could have swapped Harper out for a character without a disability without affecting the story. There were definitely moments where it was reduced to a limp. Something other characters might comment on, but not something that seemed to interfere with her actions.

On the other hand, Evie Redding really enjoyed the book and its representation of cerebral palsy. She emphasised the fact that different people’s experience of cerebral palsy can vary wildly. She also commented on a number of positives to the representation.

There were a few good points to the handling of Harper’s cerebral palsy that came up in multiple reviews. Harper never needs validation from any of the characters around her. She has a healthy sense of self-esteem and identity, and takes an active role in the plot throughout. There’s also no moment where Harper turns to magic to ‘fix’ her disability, which I know can be a concern in fantasy stories.

The way the fairytale retelling elements played out was fun

I enjoyed the way the world was expanded. There was more exploration of how the castle and the curse fits in with everything else in the book’s universe than we get in a lot of versions of Beauty and the Beast.

There was also an interesting dimension added with the threat of invasion from a neighbouring force. All things that helped to draw out new dynamics from the storyline.

It was interesting to look for the various elements of the fairytale that we’re familiar with. I definitely saw some parallel plot beats with the Disney version. It all felt very natural though, and like a good fit with the story.

The heart of A Curse So Dark and Lonely is its characters

I absolutely loved the way the relationships between the characters developed. Not just the main three either, there were some fun and compelling side characters that were introduced, who also had a lot to add.

But I think the greatest strength of the book was the way the three main characters came to understand each other better over the course of the story. The way trust developed, and alliances were forged, despite less-than-ideal beginnings!

By the time I turned the last few pages of this book, I was devastated to be leaving the characters behind. If you’re a fan of fantasy and fairytales, and you like your stories with strong character arcs, I think this book would be a great choice for you.