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A review by theinquisitxor
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
5.0
Edit: reread January 2021. In my original read of this book, I gave it 4ish stars, but this book and story has grown on me so much over time that it’s now a 5 star book for me. I really really enjoyed my time rereading it and this story is like a warm blanket on a cold night for me.
This story is about a girl, Harper, from Washington D.C. who is taken from her terminally ill mother, and older brother who is in trouble with a local group of criminals to a fantasy world where she must fall in love to break the curse on the kingdom. This is obviously a retelling of BATB, but I thought it was a fresh retelling that had its own original elements.
I have several mixed feeling about this book. On one hand I liked it, but I also recognize that it is not perfect. It is very YA, which it ok, but I feel like I am bit bit too old to really like this book as much as I should have. Perhaps me from three or four years ago would be fawning over this book, but not really anymore. I also felt that the world building was a little weak, and some of the plot concerning details about the way the world system works felt weak. For example, the explanations given to the people of Emberfall (the fantasy world) did not seem to be realistic enough. If I were a citizen, I think I would see through the lie/story easily. I also did not care too much for the villain. She feel flat and I do not like the whole idea of a 'woman scorned' to be the reason for becoming the villain.
I also don't think I connected to the characters enough to really fall in love with any of them (hehe.. get it). The character I liked the most was Harper. She was great, the way she did not let her disability get in her way (high functioning Cerebral Palsy), or how she took matters into her own hands when the men of the story were too distracted to see the real problems made her very likable, and someone to look up to. I knew I would adore her as soon as she was introduced. I don't think the book explicitly says so, but I did imagine her as a person of color. Either way, she brought in some good rep.
Many reviews claim Grey to be the favorite character, and I can see why. He was very well developed and was probably better written than Rhen. (Even though Rhen might be the weakest written of the three main characters, I still really liked him). I am a little confused on the last chapter however. I went back and read it twice but I still do not understand it entirely. I guess I'll have to read the next book when it comes out. The interactions between our modern world and the world of Emberfall was hilarious to me. There were several times that I laughed. I think any person from our world suddenly put into a fantasy world and vice versa is going to be comical.
This story is about a girl, Harper, from Washington D.C. who is taken from her terminally ill mother, and older brother who is in trouble with a local group of criminals to a fantasy world where she must fall in love to break the curse on the kingdom. This is obviously a retelling of BATB, but I thought it was a fresh retelling that had its own original elements.
I have several mixed feeling about this book. On one hand I liked it, but I also recognize that it is not perfect. It is very YA, which it ok, but I feel like I am bit bit too old to really like this book as much as I should have. Perhaps me from three or four years ago would be fawning over this book, but not really anymore. I also felt that the world building was a little weak, and some of the plot concerning details about the way the world system works felt weak. For example, the explanations given to the people of Emberfall (the fantasy world) did not seem to be realistic enough. If I were a citizen, I think I would see through the lie/story easily. I also did not care too much for the villain. She feel flat and I do not like the whole idea of a 'woman scorned' to be the reason for becoming the villain.
I also don't think I connected to the characters enough to really fall in love with any of them (hehe.. get it). The character I liked the most was Harper. She was great, the way she did not let her disability get in her way (high functioning Cerebral Palsy), or how she took matters into her own hands when the men of the story were too distracted to see the real problems made her very likable, and someone to look up to. I knew I would adore her as soon as she was introduced. I don't think the book explicitly says so, but I did imagine her as a person of color. Either way, she brought in some good rep.
Many reviews claim Grey to be the favorite character, and I can see why. He was very well developed and was probably better written than Rhen. (Even though Rhen might be the weakest written of the three main characters, I still really liked him). I am a little confused on the last chapter however. I went back and read it twice but I still do not understand it entirely. I guess I'll have to read the next book when it comes out. The interactions between our modern world and the world of Emberfall was hilarious to me. There were several times that I laughed. I think any person from our world suddenly put into a fantasy world and vice versa is going to be comical.