A Curse So Dark and Lonely

4/5 stars

“We are all dealt a hand at birth. A good hand can ultimately lose - just as a poor hand can win - but we must all play the cards the fate deals. The choices we face may not be the choices we want, but they are choices nonetheless.”

A Curse So Dark and Lonely was an absolute delight to read! This novel is a wonder Beauty and the Beast retelling that follows Harper who lives in Washinton D.C. and has cerebral palsy. Her family has been dealing with some issues including her mom having cancer and living on deaths door and her brother having to deal with the aftermath of their dad's dealings. While she is dealing all of this Harper is stole by a man named Grey when she sees him trying to take a girl. Grey then takes her instead and teleports them into a fantasy like world. Grey is a guard for a prince named Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Rhen is cursed by a enchantress to keep repeating the autumn of his 18th year until her curse is broken. This curse also turns him into a monster at the end of each season causing him to destroy his kingdom and even kill his own family. The only way to break the curse is to have a girl fall in love with him which is why Grey takes girls from our world. Harper is then thrust into a world of poltics and war strategies as the prince attempts to sway her into loving him.

I loved the characters in this novel so much. Rhen was honestly such a cute little bean and Harper was badass. Harper really defied the stereotypical role of women especially those who are disabled. I believe the cerebral palsy representation in this was accurate from what I've heard from people with the condition and it didn't define her which I really liked.She stood up for herself against people of power and did what she felt was morally right even if it risked her. There is also a guard named Grey who I also really liked. He was very complex and that developed over the course of the novel.

The atmosphere of this book is quite strong. There is explanation on how travel is able to occur between our world and Rhen's world. I think this really makes sense when adding in the fact this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I really was able to see how this book had similar ideas to the original story but it wasn't glaringly too similar.

The plot progressed quite well and I felt the pacing was very consistent all the way through. The last chapter really had me shook a little bit and there is a plot twist at the end that leads well into the next book while not leaving an unsatisfying cliff hanger. The romance is also there but not overwhelming. Also there is a slight hint at a love triangle but it's very subtle.

The writing was quite basic but not in a negative way. I feel like the writing made it feel like Harper was telling the story which made sense since it was 1st person. It wasn't super descriptive and was more like an average person talking. This really was contrasted in the dialogue specifically with Rhen since he spoke much more formal due to his prince status. The difference in their speech really showed how different Harper is then the world she was brought into.

Overall this book was really fun! I'm excited to read the sequel and see what happens to these characters.