Rating: 6.5/10
I chose to read A Curse So Dark and Lonely (and avoid reading The Stand), to fulfill the "Start a series" prompt from my TBR jar this month! I don't know exactly how I feel about this book. I did enjoy the story, I just may have some qualms with the characters and the plot. I read this one in two sittings, so I must've enjoyed it at least a little bit (which is true). I liked that the protagonist was handicapped. Harper had cerebral palsy which I found to be a super refreshing addition. Perfect protagonists get old very quickly. I thought Kemmerer's writing style was very digestible, yet not simple. I enjoyed the characters and their plights, though I definitely had some qualms. Let's begin this review the way I begin all my reviews: with a summary.
If you haven't heard of A Curse So Dark and Lonely, then you may be excited to hear that it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It isn't exactly a modern retelling, and its not exactly a historical retelling, it's a mixture of both. In more medieval times, Prince Rhen of Emberfell has been cursed to relive the season of his 18th birthday until he can find someone to fall in love with him. The problem is, that on the last day of the cycle, he turns into a horrible, bloodthirsty beast. In this form, he attacks and kills anybody around him with no mercy. The following day, the cycle restarts in Ironrose Castle and Rhen must try again with another girl. If not to save himself, then to save his kingdom and his people from the beast. On the first hour of the first day of each cycle, the captain of the Prince's royal guard, Grey, can travel between worlds. He has been given the ability to travel into modern society so that he may find a girl to fall in love with the prince. When Harper sees Grey kidnapping a girl, she reacts and attacks him. This is what ends her up in Emberfell. Now, Harper has to fall in love with Rhen or the curse won't be broken. If the curse isn't broken, there will be consequences for Emberfell. But Harper doesn't want to be forced to fall in love, she wants to go home. Bad things are happening and she needs to be there for the sake of her brother and her dying mother.
First of all, let me really begin my thoughts by stating that I really enjoyed the way the author went about retelling Beauty and the Beast. This feels like an entirely new story, even though we know that it technically isn't. The way that it occurs in a cyclical pattern, with the same season being recycled is just fascinating. I also really like that the beast has no true form. When Rhen changes into the beast, it's different every time. Of course it's still deadly, but at least its something different for once, right? He's tried to woo hundreds of girls, just so that the curse can be broken. Which, to me at least, seems more fun than a prince sulking in a creepy castle and waiting for some girl to randomly come to him. I also liked the meeting of the past and the present. While its a little strange, I like that Grey collects girls from modern times and not only brings them to a different universe, but to a different time period as well. There was no shortage of amusement from the juxtaposition of the different time periods. In terms of dialogue, Kemmerer did an excellent job. She was careful to keep the character's tones true to their time period throughout the book. There was some excellent dialogue between the characters in general. Most of the characters felt well-written. The way that Kemmerer set scenes was also done very well. I feel like this is all really well-done considering the book is told in a first person narrative that switches between Harper and Rhen.
I do have some thoughts regarding the protagonist, Harper. The fact that she was diasbled because of cerebral palsy was a very interesting touch. As I said earlier, perfect protagonists are annoying. You don't see many protagonists (especially in Young Adult books) that are living with disabilities. It felt like it was mentioned the perfect amount in the book as well. Harper wasn't walking around feeling sorry for herself, because one of her legs didn't work properly or because she could be slow to do things occasionally. But we also didn't forget that, at times, it could hold her back. It was just something that she learned to deal with, she made the best of her situation. In short, it wasn't the focus of her character, but it was an attribute worth mentioning. I liked that she didn't back down from a challenge, and she wasn't always good at everything (cough, other YA fantasy writers take note, cough). Of course she was kind of reckless, but thats a trope that I can handle. In short, I think she was a great, well-written protagonist. She had real human emotions, and she had real human troubles. She felt relatable, which isn't something most YA authors can say about their protagonists.
My problem with Harper wasn't really anything that she could have controlled. It's her backstory. The other day I was watching the TV show Solar Opposites on Hulu, and everything had come to a head at the end of the episode. A lot of big stuff had happened all at once. One of the characters had become skeptical. He said that it was too much to have really happened at once. He insisted that if he made a list, this would all be a lot of stuff. It would have just been too big of a coincidence for it to all have just happened at once. And that is exactly how I feel about Harper's backstory. It was way too contrived. Like if you put her circumstances on a list, that list would've been intense. Like gang activity from her brother, nasty debt, cerebral palsy, mom dying of cancer, dad ran off, loan sharks trying to kill them. It's just too much. Like, I felt the same insistence to go back home could have been accomplished from just having a mom dying of cancer. The rest felt so forced and just completely unrelatable. Like, pick a lane.
Also, in terms of characters what do we really know about Rhen? He's the main love interest and like yes, he's sad and yes, he used to be a jerk. But what now? I would've liked some more out of him. More personality and more thoughts. I know more about Grey than him. We know his backstory, but he has really just become a caricature of his circumstances. He is just kind of existing to serve a purpose. He's dwelling so much in the past, that he doesn't have much of a personality to speak of. He's barely a character at all.
Potential mild spoiler here
I also didn't like that, there had been like over 300 cycles and like NOW Lilith is like, "Okay, this can be your last one. Then you'll be a big beast forever." That added a lot of unnecessary pressure to the story. I would've preferred it if Harper had just potentially been another link in the chain. Like listen, we know how Beauty and the Beast ends. I won't say for sure what happens. But I don't think making this his final transformation really changed anything. I can really see it being changed and not affecting the way the story reads at all. Like the war would've still been there, potential failure, the urge to go home, etc. It just didn't add anything to the story except like false urgency. Because they never talked very much about this being the last cycle so who cares? Does it change much?
Potential mild spoiler over
The long and the short of it is, this was an alright book. It's not the best thing I read this year. Clearly, I have a problem with some of the story building and the way the plot was initially defined. Other than that, the writing was very well done, some of the characters were good, and the story was fun to read. Kemmerer really took the original story and ran with it; she made it her own. The bones of the premise are there, but the flesh surrounding it is totally original and interesting. It's an exciting read that will keep your attention to the end.
I'm not sure how I feel about the sequel. I've heard some pretty disappointing things, and I'm not sure it needed a sequel. It could've done fine as a standalone if that last bit hadn't been thrown in. I'll probably end up reading it out of curiosity, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about it. I guess this is my way of saying that I'm not particularly excited about it. My interest is piqued, though I am weary.
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