2019 5 Star Read #6 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Published Jan 2019 by Bloomsbury YA

Format Read: Print ARC received at Book Expo 2018

Description from Goodreads:
Fall in love, break the curse. It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

My Review:

This was one of those times I kicked myself for not reading a book sooner! I had this book for nine months before I sat down to read it, and I did so because the buzz got SO huge, I couldn't take it anymore... and I get why.  This is a STELLAR Beauty and the Beast retelling. 

The re-imagining of how the curse worked was so well done and my heart broke for Rhen (the Prince) and what he went through over the decades that he battled the curse.  The true friendship that developed between Rhen and Captain Grey (my favorite character, for sure!) was steadfast and inspiring.  The friendship that develops between Grey and Harper, our heroine, plucked at all my heartstrings.  

And Harper, if I could have created a heroine that I would root for until the very end, it is HER.  She has cerebral palsy, but never, ever lets it stop her from achieving her goals. She is smart. She is a fighter.  She is brave, and loyal, and so kind.  This is the "Belle" that modern girls can follow.  

If you like fairytale retellings at all, give this one a shot. Please.  I CANNOT wait for book two, A Heart So Fierce and Broken. 

Mini Reviews: The Lunar Chronicles Edition (with a Gold Star!)

I FINALLY got the chance to catch up with the Lunar Chronicles series, which is one of my favorites! I love how Meyer manages to combine the soul of the original fairy tales with some fantastic new science fiction elements creating a whole new world that manages at once to also feel familiar.

Cress 
by Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles, book 3

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has... (Description from Goodreads.com)

I loved how this particular addition to the series managed to add yet another set of characters and their own back stories to the mix, but still managed to feel completely cohesive. That's tough to do!  Each portion of the story, no matter how far it seemed to stretch from Cinder's central, pivotal story line, still felt vital and I was kept right on the edge of my seat. Well done. 

Full disclosure: Book Purchased for my own Personal Library 

Fairest: Levanna's Story 
by Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles, book 3.5
Prequel to Cinder

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. (Description from Goodreads.com)

I was completely and utterly enthralled with this book. I LOVE to think about how the villains of stories came to be the people they are when we see them interact with our heroes and heroines. Levanna's story was utterly compelling - learning her history and actually feeling sorry for her - having to remind myself about the things she goes on to do...Just wow. I actually want to give this novella a shiny Gold Star!

Full disclosure: Audio book received from AudioFile for Review/Book Purchased for my own Personal Library 

Anxiously Awaiting... Winterspell

Winterspell 
by Claire Legrand

Publication date: Sept. 30, 2014 

Description:
The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly nothuman. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

Oooh! This one sounds dark and delicious.  I can't wait.  

Check out more info here.