A review by thereadinghammock
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

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

3.5

I would not have picked this book up on my own; a coworker lent it to me when I asked to borrow some books for jury duty and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed the characters, the banter, the plot, the worldbuilding. But I did not expect to get sucked into the story as much as I did.  Kept telling myself, "Well if I don't like it by the first 100 pages, I'll just stop. Well if I don't like it by chapter 30, I'll give it back to [coworker] the next time I see her..." then I was halfway through the book and needed to know how it all played out.

I enjoyed how much Harper and Rhen goaded each other through most of the book, the "it's all just for show......right?" until almost the very end. I also appreciated that Brigid didn't shy away from the fact that there was definitely a spark of something between Harper and Grey, if for no other reason than he expected absolutely nothing from her since she had to fall in love with Rhen to break the curse.

Bit of a plot twist at the end there with Rhen's legitimacy as heir to the throne tossed in. A bit of political intrigue does a story good.
Spoiler But then to find out that Grey has been the true heir to the throne THE WHOLE TIME AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT HIMSELF?!?!?! Talk about a plot twist (that we probably should have seen coming, but still)
.

Not sure if I'll be rushing out to grab the sequel, with the stacks of other books I want to read, but I enjoyed the story and the characters and my time with this universe.
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