A Curse So Dark and Lonely

I started this last year, and then put it aside for a bit. I do that. It's rarely a slight against the book, more just I like to skip around and have a variety. I loved the story, the characters, and that the heroine wouldn't be considered by many to be “perfect,” while being perfect for that moment, that situation. I adored Harper's friendships with the people she met, and her brave, empathetic heart. What took the rating down to the 3 – 3 1/2 – zone was that too much was left unfinished. I am fine with a few loose ends in order to set up the next book in a series. A thriller I just read [b:Stillhouse Lake 33128934 Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1) Rachel Caine https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495714483l/33128934.SY75.jpg 53802245] did that. I get it, I even admire it when done well, and that book did it well. This time, though, I felt that too much was unsettled, and so I felt I didn't get enough satisfaction or bang for my buck. “Fall in love, break the curse” didn't get honored ... or maybe it did? We are set up to not know that in order to, presumably, pick up the next one. The next one that already promised a lot of good stuff without this left dangling. I predict the author was going for a triangle, and I'm not here – there? – for it, to be honest. I'd prefer incredible friendships to be more the norm instead of the exhausting will they/won't they of it all. Eh, maybe I'm wrong about the trajectory.