Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

36 reviews

amykwrites's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

sirkeili's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast, especially with the monster being something brief and yet uncontrollable for the male lead. I have not seen the retellings depicted this way, and it was heartbreaking to watch him slowly lose hope after knowing what comes next.

I found Harper to be both intriguing, but also sometimes frustrating when she takes things too literally.  She grows a lot during book, but I still found most of her troubles could be solved by trusting Rhen and Grey a lot more than she initially did (even when they proved they meant no ill will).

I think Grey was my favourite, as he seemed the most well rounded and intruguing character.  His abilities, attitude and mysterious past seem to all line up in a way that I wanted to follow along with him and see his side of the story.  He has so much to tell, and yet so much to unravel about himself as well.  Despite the rough and scatter hand of cards he's been given, Grey still shows an innate softness and care for those he holds close. 

Harper has all the aspects of a great heroine, but I feel the author hinges everything on her disability, and yet its rarely addressed in the novel.  It's almost as though it's just for the ✨ d r a m a ✨ and the "I'm not like other girls" trope (ugh), and not to really showcase how exceptional Harper is despite - and because- of it. I think if there was substance and heart going into developing her character more, Harper could really shine as bright as I know she can.  She has a spark big enough to even set Emberfall ablaze, truly.

If you need a softer, yet still slightly gritty retelling, this is a solid one. Very spunky, goofy and generally easy-going-ish book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, and Classism

anemonah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Terminal illness and Violence

saturnsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Gaslighting

mmage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Domestic abuse

loverofbooks123's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If I had to use a single word to describe this book it would be enthralling. This has become one of the best books I have ever read. Since it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I was a little skeptical about reading it but it was far better than the original.
Harper, the main character, was a delight to read. She was very different from any other female characters I have read. I have come across smart, independent and fiery heroines but Harper really made me admire her not only because of her qualities but also her flaws.

She doesn't have anyone pity her for her cerebral palsy and is eager to learn new skills - not to mention her outstanding capabilities of an equestrian.

Her emotions and practicality are so amazingly balanced. Her sheer determination to save the people of Emberfall from the curse was truly commendable.

I expected the book to end with both of the main leads falling in love, the curse lifting off and everyone gets a happily ever after. But I was glad when she said she wanted time to sort out her feelings. It was the best ending one could hope for instead of having the book end with yet another case of Stockholm syndrome.

Rhen, the hero and the Beast of our story, might be the best YA male lead I've read in a while. His character is so complex. Like he was an arrogant prince but as Grey says, never cruel. The way he's come to change his ways after being cursed was some major character development.
Grey, Freya, Jamison - there's isn't a character you'd hate except of course Lilith.
Truly, a refreshing take on a classic fairytale. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

steffilea's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

A very decent beauty and the beast retelling suitable for tweens and teens. I really enjoyed the political aspect of this book it added a lot more dimension to the world building and I enjoyed the development of the two main characters. I feel like there’s lots of room for the story to grow as lots of loose ends were left untied.

rettasbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

s_pywow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness and Death of parent

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This may be my favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling. 

First, I love having any character, but especially a MC with a chronic disease or disability. It was handled so well in the narrative; it never felt like a plot point or focus, but simply part of Harper. 

Second, I really liked the way the romance between Rhen and Harper played out. The friendship and trust is built first, then the romance begins to bloom. I liked that there was initial attraction, but it was a true slow burn. Normally I'm impatient about that, but it felt so organic and well-developed. 

I'm less of a fan of the

love triangle with Grey. At first, it felt like he was a brother figure to both, especially when Harper compared him to Jake a few times. Honestly, I would ship him with Rhen over Harper.

I do like how Grey's narrative turned out, for the most part.

Being a "halfling" human and magic user, and perhaps heir to the throne, was a big revelation, and I'm glad we saw him struggling with that in the epilogue.

I was most excited about how the kingdom and the people reacted to Rhen and his decision to start doing something for them. It helped build up the story to be worth a trilogy instead of a single book.

Even though it's off-brand for me, I like the semi-vague ending

of whether or not Harper loves Rhen, whether she broke the curse or if Grey did.

While there's still a clean ending, a resolution, it gives room for more play in the series without stirring up extra (i.e. unnecessary) drama.

Overall, I really liked it, and I'm excited to read more in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury