REVIEW

This was not what I expected and yet it didn't fail to surprise me at all. 

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is another one of those fantasy books that took bookstagram by storm. After months and months of contemplation, I decided to give this Beauty & The Beast retelling a try. And while I was entertained throughout the night, only pausing when the clock showed 5 am, I was not entirely won over by this world.

The potential of this series was evident on every page but because this was a young adult fantasy, I think in a lot of areas it failed to truly blow my mind and introduce me to something fresh. Instead, I was sucked into another love story that felt familiar. Too familiar. 

The characters and their stories seemed rather basic. Although, I did admire the sheer creativity of the beast and how its cruelty saw no boundaries. The beast killed and harrassed Rhen's people, making this story so much more heartbreaking. I really rooted for a satisfying ending when it came to this plotline but somehow it wasn't enough.

The character of Harper was initially the driving force of this book. She was kind, fierce, and loyal to her family, something that has shown through whenever she interacted with Rhen's people. However, her character seemed to lose her fire as the book progressed. I needed her to stay strong and throw herself into more training if I wanted to believe that she was able to stay in this world.

If there is one point in the book to pinpoint that withdrew me from the story, it would be the character of Rhen and the relationship he has with Harper. I just couldn't connect with their romance and there were quite a few times I found myself fuming at Rhen. He was arrogant for no reason and a lot of his actions just seemed like something a YA character does because it's expected.

I know by now it sounds like I didn't enjoy this book but you couldn't be further from the truth. As mentioned above, I devoured this book until the early hours of the morning and I just know that 18-year-old Tina would have rated this a five-star read. Because for a YA with such a popular retelling, I think Brigid did a great job. She still managed to intrigue me with the characters of Harper and Grey, and her spin on this story was admirable. That's just where it ends for me.

Rating: 3 stars

Trigger Warnings: Abduction, kidnapping, physical abuse, bloodshed

FULL BOOK DESCRIPTION.