Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

14 reviews

aureolyn's review against another edition

dark sad

4.0

I really enjoyed this one. A darker retelling of Beauty and the Beast which is my favorite Disney Princess movie. Back then, I didn’t really know how to explain to others why it was my favorite or why I liked it so much but now that I’m older, I understand it wasn’t Belle but the Beast that I was connecting and relating to. Growing up was rough and I still don’t really think anyone could learn to love me cause I don’t even love me. But I digress, some things I liked in this retelling were how it fills in some plot holes on the Beast’s background and family. I think it’s also an interesting concept of how he doesn’t immediately turn into a beast and when he does, he loses himself—only to wake up to the cruel reality of what he has done as the beast. It’s so dark and so lonely! I didn’t really like the reveal at the end though and I’m not sure if I want to start the next book. I also didn’t realize until the end that the mc was a literal child and I’m a little uncomfortable about it:/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Kidnapping, and War

Minor: Abandonment, Grief, and Gun violence

prashiie's review

adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but in this story the prince is cursed to find his love before the end of the season and turns into a beast. If he doesn’t, the season starts again. An endless loop. The female main character is a girl from D.C. who tries to save a woman from getting kidnapped and gets kidnapped herself in the process. She’s described to have cerebral palsy and at first I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t know much about cerebral palsy but I was surprised to find out more about it. I didn’t realise that people with this condition still can do a lot. 

I have a lot of thoughts on Harper, but it was funny when she explains to the people of Emberfall that she’s from D.C. and the kingdom of Disi is born, lol. Other than that, Harper was exhausting and annoying, mainly because of her short-sightedness and impulsiveness.

“I don't know what's happening to my mother or my brother, but the unknown can't compete with what she's doing right in front of me.”

AND she doesn’t trust Rhen’s judgement on his OWN kingdom. Harper who had been there for one day already knows Emberfall and its people better than Rhen. And when he says that, he’s patronising her. Great. And the moment she slaps Rhen… not cool.

“She has been here one day and I am already exhausted.”

Same…. But I guess her impulsiveness, even though it was annoying, was what Emberfall needed.

My favourite character was definitely Rhen, surprise surprise! The curse has made him hopeless, but it also did a lot for his personal development. He became a better version of himself–merciful, understanding, and patient. He’s great!

But I do wonder how this curse gets broken. Is it because Grey kills the enchantress or because Harper does love Rhen but doesn’t know it herself? Or is it because Grey is freed from his oath and is still willing to sacrifice for Rhen? 

“True love is not about romance. True love requires sacrifice. A willingness to place another's life above your own.”

AND GREY IS THE ACTUAL HEIR TO THE THRONE?! I hope this doesn’t turn into a tiresome love triangle, but it probably will.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Grief, Cancer, Self harm, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, War, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Ableism

Moderate: Death of parent

onefineelephant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

9/10. I really enjoyed this book. Not gonna lie, the beginning was pretty confusing and I was worried that it was gonna stay that way. However, after only like 3 (short) chapters, it got really good. I love the alternating POV. My only slight critique of this book was that there was A LOT going on. There were multiple complicated plot points and a lot of side characters but overall, I think the author did a nice job of having a lot going on but only enough that it advanced the story in an organic way. Also, the romance was nice, though I wish the characters were aged up just a couple years (not in a weird way, 16/17/18 just seems really young to be for the maturity levels of these characters). I am always a sucker for the "he fell first" and "he fell harder" tropes. Also, as a disabled person, I appreciated how the fmc's disability was incorporated and acknowledged. Definitely recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, War, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Gore, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror and Child death

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Cancer, Cannibalism, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

qrschulte's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Enjoyable book, but I didn’t love it as a whole. And I CALLED IT!

Things I loved: 
- a protagonist with a disability who is affected by their disability but not defined by it. So refreshing that she was a fully realized person
- the Rhen narrator. Honestly, the book might have been better with just him narrating the whole thing. 
- believable reasoning for why someone from our world could ride a fucking horse

Things I did not love: 
- How whiny the Harper narrator made her sound sometimes. It made it a lot less believable it was the same character between the narrators. 
- The monster narration (so fucking creepy/scary). Could have done without that. 
- The parts where it was said Harper was “not like other girls” *cue vomiting*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, War, Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cancer, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Self harm, Classism, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Stalking

Minor: Gun violence, Child death, and Infidelity

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Violence, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, Gore, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death, Vomit, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Rape, and Ableism

annorabrady's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Blood, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Self harm, Outing, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, Vomit, War, Violence, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism

jessreadreceipts's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Grief, War, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

purplehulk713's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I thought the book had an ingenious spin on “Beauty and the Beast” and that Harper was an incredibly compelling protagonist. But I became disinterested at times when it became about war strategy and political affairs without a lot of heart into the social underpinnings of these issues. I disliked Rhen, not because he was poorly written, but because I dislike moody, noble male characters. I really wanted more Zo, who we only get to meet toward the end. Lilith is delicious. Her back-and-forth with Harper is great. The themes of choice and consequences are kind of didactic, but it’s written in a way that makes it seem natural for the characters to elucidate them. But honestly, I read the preview and I had higher hopes. I might be being too critical but I still quite enjoyed this book. Do you dare seek what lurks in Ironrose Castle?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Gun violence, Abandonment, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Death, and Cancer

amykwrites's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Ableism, Blood, Cancer, Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, and Torture

lotte5322's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and War