STARRED REVIEW
February 20, 2019

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

By Brigid Kemmerer
Review by

A great choice for readers who swoon at Beauty and the Beast narratives and who relish a story that ends in the thick of the action.

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Each season, for 327 years, Prince Rhen of Emberfell faces a curse. The terms? Find a girl to fall in love with him, or turn into a ferocious beast who destroys everything in its path. And every season his devoted guard commander Grey—the only member of the Royal Guard to escape the murderous beast—travels to a parallel world to bring back a romantic prospect for Rhen. Every year, Rhen fails, which brings endless amusement of the enchantress who cursed him. Every time the beast is killed, his enchanted castle resets and a new season begins. But in this final season, Rhen’s death will be permanent.

Harper lives in Washington D.C. Cerebral palsy has twisted her muscles, her mother is dying, her father is absent and her brother has violent debt collectors at his heels. When an accidental encounter with Grey transports her to his magical world of Emberfell, her first goal is to find a way back home. Soon, though, she comes to care for Emberfell, and she and Rhen concoct a plan to protect the land from an invading foreign power. She’ll pretend to be Princess Harper of “Disi,” an ally with an army ready to push back the invaders.

As politics swirl and violence erupts, Harper also finds herself slowly falling for Rhen. But will her love be enough to break the spell in time? A great choice for readers who swoon at Beauty and the Beast narratives and who relish a story that ends in the thick of the action.

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

By Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury
ISBN 9781681195087

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