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A rich, romantic, thrillingly full-on reimagining of Beauty and the Beast
Masterfully melding the contemporary world with a richly evoked fantasy realm, this is a fairy tale re-telling of the finest order.
Harper has lived a tough life, what with her mom being sick and her brother forced to take on their absent father’s violent debt collection work. She has cerebral palsy but “can move quickly when I want to”. She’s a fighter too, so when she’s snatched by a stranger and deposited in Ironrose Castle, in the heart of a parallel realm called Emberfall, her captors are thrown off-guard. “Most of the girls Grey drags from her world won’t touch a blade or a bridle,” Prince Rhen observes with admiration. And Rhen has seen plenty of girls in his time. Blighted by a curse inflicted by a spurned enchantress, he’s forever fixed at the age of eighteen until someone truly falls for him. This curse has seen his kingdom all but disintegrate and many die and, if he fails with Harper, Rhen will be “condemned to spend eternity as a monster.”
With Harper adamant she’s not going to fall for him and Rhen certain the curse will never be broken, they make a pact: “I’ll help you save your country and you’ll help me get home,” Harper agrees. The road ahead is paved with pulse-quickening perils, alongside Harper’s tortuous conflict between love for her family and doing the right thing in Emberfall, not to mention her growing feelings for Rhen. There’s a tangible frisson between them, but is it love? As time ticks on and the powers of the malevolent enchantress heighten, worlds collide to take the stakes even higher.
Replete as it is with romance, relatable coming-of-age conflicts and all-out action, fans of Cassandra Clare, Marissa Meyer and Sarah J. Maas will relish this novel, the first in the Cursebreakers series, and its cliffhanger climax will leave readers aching for the sequel.
Fall in love, break the curse.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall, is cursed. Forced to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he can only be freed by love. But at the end of each autumn he is transformed into a beast hell-bent on destruction, and after so many failed attempts, his kingdom and its people are barely holding on.
Harper's life has never been easy, but she's learned to be tough enough to survive. She won't let anything hold her back, not her cerebral palsy or her mother's deteriorating health. But when she is sucked into Rhen's world, nothing is as it seems. Powerful forces are standing against Emberfalll ... and it will take more than a broken curse to save it from utter ruin.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale: a finely-drawn fantasy world, a heroine rarely seen in fiction, and a tortured hero with a secret. I have only one complaint: I wish the sequel were already available! - Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper
An intensely original retelling. Full of fierce new characters, wicked magic, and wondrous amounts of heart, Brigid Kemmerer doesn't just tell a story, she builds an entire world that you will never want to leave - Stephanie Garber, Sunday Times bestselling author of Caraval
I couldn't get this creative, suspenseful take on Beauty and the Beast out of my head - Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless
Slow burning, big hearted, magical fun! I loved every minute - Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
The Beauty and the Beast retelling I've been waiting for. The world Brigid has crafted is so beautifully dark, filled with wild adventure and a modern-day heroine every reader will find a bit of themselves in - Alexandra Christo, author of To Kill a Kingdom
Heartwarming, thoughtful and romantic: Brigid Kemmerer took me on a magical journey with this dark fairytale about growing up, falling in love, and making impossible choices - Jodi Meadows, co-author of My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane
ISBN: 9781408884614
Publication date: 29/01/2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback
| ISBN: | 9781408884614 |
| Publication date: | 29th January 2019 |
| Author: | Brigid Kemmerer |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury YA an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 496 pages |
| Suitable for: | YA readers |
| Genres: | Fantasy / Magical |
Brigid Kemmerer is the author of Letters to the Lost, More Than We Can Tell, and the YALSA-nominated Elementals series and the paranormal mystery, Thicker Than Water. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska, though her parents quickly moved her all over the United States, from the desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, with several stops in between. Brigid is now settled near Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and children. Author photo © Nicole Daacke Photography
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