A Curse So Dark and Lonely

4.5 stars

This is such a beautiful book. I was expecting it to be a cliché, to be honest. But IT WASN'T.
This book has a lot of amazing things in it, starting with the fact that the main character, Harper, is suffering from cerebral palsy. For those of you who didn't know:

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. - Wikipedia

Harper is among the “lucky” ones, she has a limp which makes it harder for her to walk. But that didn't stop from becoming a badass princess. I love how she overcame her disability and how she becomes a warrior. I admire her so much for everything that she's done, for not giving up on her family just because she met a gorgeous prince from Fairyland (or Emberfall, haha).
At first I really thought that she was going to fall in love with Grey. I wasn't even sure what to expect from this book, but it was a really good retelling of “The Beauty and The Beast” (except it didn't have the huge, gorgeous library the Beast had :( sad reacts only).

Rhen is an arrogant prince who thought that he was entitled to anything and who thought that anyone should bow to him just because he was a prince. That was before Harper arrived in Emberfall and before she made him see things so differently. I loved their relationship throughout the book and how they started to trust each other.

I won't say anything else and I will keep it spoiler free, but if you want a great retelling, be sure to check this book out! I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens, because this one left me with SO MANY unanswered questions.