A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1) in Challenge Corner

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)

Brigid Kemmerer

Start date: December 1, 2019

Finish date: December 31, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Jan 06, 2020 Vanessa Gayle 鈿旓笍 Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cover-love, romance, reviewed, own-ebook-read, fantasy, tortured-hero-or-heroine, re-imagined-tale, retellings-reimagined-adaptations, young-adult

4.5/5 Stars

There is so much to love about this book. This story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that really stands on its own. It's delightful!

This book really transports the reader into the story where they can live in it alongside the characters. It's very atmospheric and has a totally real feel to it. I liked that it was high fantasy with bits of our world tucked into it. Though it didn't explicitly state it, the reader is led to believe that they are parallel realities. Which really boas 4.5/5 Stars

There is so much to love about this book. This story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that really stands on its own. It's delightful!

This book really transports the reader into the story where they can live in it alongside the characters. It's very atmospheric and has a totally real feel to it. I liked that it was high fantasy with bits of our world tucked into it. Though it didn't explicitly state it, the reader is led to believe that they are parallel realities. Which really boasts so much originality in terms of the world-building. I really felt connected to this world while exploring the pages of this story.

When it comes down to the plot I was really impressed. I felt that it highlighted the best key elements that are prevalent to the Beauty and the Beast tale while still keeping everything else totally original and clever. All of the original concepts really made this retelling feel fresh and innovative. Everything just flowed so nicely and the story was so compelling that I was kept on the edge of my seat. I became so invested in the story and I enjoyed the twists that I didn't see coming.

The characters grew on me early on in the story. I felt such an innate connection to the characters from the very start. Harper's character was so memorable. I loved how feisty and fierce she was. She truly stood out to me in a big way. I loved her cerebral palsy representation and I applaud the author for it since I haven't seen it before in young adult fantasy. It was very empowering. Rhen was a perfect little tortured hero. I really liked that the author didn't intentionally paint him in a holier-than-thou light. He was a very flawed character that felt so very real. Grey's character jumped out at me from the very start. He is a duty-bound character that is just too damn sexy. He was cool-headed and clever and you couldn't help but love him. I actually think that he might be my favorite of the bunch. I also enjoyed the side characters. Especially Jake, Noah, and Zo. What's amazing about this book is that all of the characters are so well-developed with distinct personalities that jump off the page.

I enjoyed the romance for the most part. It was a slow-burn affair and I really liked the way that the romance forms. It felt very natural and uncomplicated. I did feel like the romance kind of copped out at the end though. He is all but confessing his dying love for her and she is all "I don't know" about it. I mean, come on! She totally knew! She risked her life to save him and she "doesn't know"? I'm not buying that. I just needed her to reciprocate his love and she didn't really do that in the end and it broke me a little.

Overall, this is probably the best retelling that I have read in a long time. There are so many retellings floating around and they can start to bleed together but this book really stands out from the rest in such a positive way. I am so eager to read the next installment of this series. I am so ready for more!

More reviews on my blog: ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

Mar 17, 2019 Tammie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-buddy-reads, fantasy, trilogy, young-adult, ya-fantasy, series-completed, owned-kindle, retellings

Fall in love, break the curse. Break the curse, save the kingdom.

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I'm pretty much always willing to read one of those, but I was a little apprehensive when I found out it had a modern day twist to it. I'm not usually too crazy about the modern day person being brought to an alternate medieval world type thing. It's been done to death, but this book ended up being really good.

I loved all the characters so much. I loved the feisty main character H ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing

I wish I could give this book 10 stars. I loved this book so much. What a fun time I had reading it. It was such a fast paced book and I loved each one of the characters. It's been a long time that I have cared for each and everyone of the characters in a book. I also love the story Beauty and the Beast and therefore love when I read a retelling of the story. It's especially nice when the author does such an incredible job with such a beloved fairy tale. I have read 2 other Beauty and the Beast I wish I could give this book 10 stars. I loved this book so much. What a fun time I had reading it. It was such a fast paced book and I loved each one of the characters. It's been a long time that I have cared for each and everyone of the characters in a book. I also love the story Beauty and the Beast and therefore love when I read a retelling of the story. It's especially nice when the author does such an incredible job with such a beloved fairy tale. I have read 2 other Beauty and the Beast retellings and I loved both of those too. I have yet to find one that I didn't love.

(view spoiler) ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2019 Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) rated it it was amazing

I am not really great at reveiws because I tend to ramble a lot.
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I was hooked from the first chapter and I could barely but it down to sleep. I love how Harper was written and I was instantly attached to her. She was really well written and she didn't let her disability hold her back. She could have let it control her and her fate but she didn't. Rhen wasn't really didn't do it for me at the start but soon he grew on me. I liked how the love between Harper and Rhen grew slow and it wasn't insta ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 12, 2020 Keri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: cover-blue, series-in-progress, 2020-12-from-my-shelves, 2020-12-authors-i-havent-read-yet

First 5 star read of the year. This was such a new and refreshing twist on Beauty and the Beast, while still being recognizable as a retelling. All the characters were so well developed and worth being invested in. They are all flawed in some way and strong in others. Minus Lilith, she's just horrific and evil, even more than expected. The relationships of all varieties developed in such natural ways and were not rushed, which I love.
The fact that it's present day is really cool, and crossing ov ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 30, 2019 Ashley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale-mythology-and-retelling, 2019-release

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2019 Estela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Very loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I really enjoyed the writing and the plot. Exceptional character development. Harper was a bit infuriating at times, but not so much that I didn鈥檛 want to read more about her.
The store develops like a slow burn, but I was left wanting more in a good way. There will obviously be a sequel with the way the ending was written, and I鈥檓 excited to read it when it comes out.

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