In 2021, when Tales from the Dragon’s Lair was born, I had trouble deciding which book I would review first. In the end, I went with A Curse So Dark and Lonely, one of my all-time favourite books. Now, four years later, it seems fitting that my first review in years is a series review of that same series. The Cursebreakers Trilogy by Brigid Kemmerer is still one of the very best series I’ve read!
Attention: I will be reviewing all books of the series in this post, but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you will not see any spoilers for the rest of the series (unless you want to, of course).
A tale as old as time
This story is a new retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Prince Rhen was cursed by the enchantress Lilith and forced to relive the autumn of his 18th year again and again. Not that much of a punishment, I hear you thinking. And indeed, that was only the beginning of his curse: every time winter arrives, Rhen turns in a vicious and bloodthirsty beast. If the prince manages to find a girl who falls in love with him before the season ends, his curse will be lifted. If not, it starts all over again.
In order to help him find true love, Rhen needs the help of his loyal commander of the guard, Grey. Like the prince, Grey is stuck in a never-ending autumn, but he has the questionable honour of being allowed to travel to another world to find a suitable girl. And that other world? That turns out to be Washington D.C.!
In Washington, life isn’t easy for Harper: her mum is dying, her father has debts with the wrong type of people, and no matter what she does, her older brother Jake continues to treat her Cerebral Palsy as a weakness. Weak, however, is not exactly a word that Grey would use to describe Harper. When she happens upon his latest attempt to kidnap a young woman, she immediately tries to take him out, which results in her ending up in Emberfall instead. To make matters worse, she arrives in the last season that Rhen gets to lift his curse before…well, more unpleasantness is unleashed. Will she succeed in rescuing them?
A magical world
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is a fairytale into which you can blissfully escape and which will make you swoon. As of the very beginning, I was impressed by the writing and the way the characters came to life on the page. What’s even better is that the rest of the book managed to further surpass the expectations set by its first chapter. It is, without a doubt, one of the best fairytale rewritings I’ve read and, actually, also one of the best books I have in my collection. Enchanted musical instruments, a curse, a ridiculously handsome prince, and a romance that makes you soar: this book will not simply let you go once you’ve finished it!
Just a final illustration of my appreciation: as soon as I finished reading book 1, I immediately ordered book 2 and reserved book 3 (it had not yet been published at the time) and possibly – I do not admit anything here – also bought book 1 and 2 in Dutch (the Dutch editions have the most amazing illustrations, see below).
If I could, I would give this book 10 gemstones out of 5, but since that’s simply not possible:
Recap book 1
In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!
Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)
World: : The story takes place in two different dimensions. A fantasy one, in which we explore the kingdom of Emberfall, and our own, where the story is set in Washington D.C. (or Disi as it comes to be known by the inhabitants of Emberfall.
Main characters: Rhen, crown prince of Emberfall, cursed to turn into a beast until he finds love. Grey, his commander in charge of kidnapping potential love interests from our world. Harper, a girl from D.C. who prevents Grey’s latest kidnapping attempt and who gets to be taken to Emberfall herself instead. Lilith, an evil sorceress who cursed Rhen.
Plot: Cursed to repeat the same season over and over again, prince Rhen is looking for a girl to break the spell. When Harper arrives, it soon becomes clear that she’s unlike any other girl who was ever chosen. Driven by a strong desire to return home to help her mother and older brother, Harper is relentless in her search for a way out. She soon befriends Grey, however, whom she trusts more than Rhen. She soon realises the kingdom of Emberfall is in danger, and she decides to pretend to be the Princess of Disi, who has come to join forces with the royals of Emberfall to protect their citizens. This is the start of a ruse that brings Rhen and Harper increasingly closer, until romance blossoms after all, even when Harper realises that the murderous beast that arrives at the end of each season is no-one other than Rhen himself. Lilith, however, is not about to declare defeat, and she changes the rules of the game: if Harper isn’t in love with Rhen by the end of the season, Rhen will remain a beast forever. In the end, good trumps evil, but Grey disappears right when he kills Lilith.
Book 2: A Heart so Fierce and Broken
Summary & Evaluation(click here, contains spoilers)
At the end of book 1, Rhen, Harper, and Grey finally succeed in defeating Lilith and lifting the curse. But as Grey disappears with the dying enchantress, he learns a terrible truth: he’s Rhen’s older half-brother and therefore the true heir to the throne. Afraid for his newfound brother’s reaction and unwilling to endanger his claim to the crown, Grey decides to flee. Assuming a new name, he finds a job as a stable hand and tries his best to fly under the radar of the Royal Guard he once prided himself to belong to.
For Rhen and Harper, the disappearance of their friend is only the start of their problems. A neighbouring kingdom threatens with war, unless Rhen agrees to break off his engagement to Harper and marry Nolla Verin, the youngest daughter of the bloodthirsty Queen Karis Luran, instead. A stalemate that can only lead to more lives lost.
Eager to avoid more bloodshed on either side of the border, the Queen’s oldest daughter, Lia Mara, decides to try and take matters in her own hands. Much more diplomatic than the rest of her family, she reaches out to Grey and asks for an unlikely alliance. But is he willing to turn against the Prince he was once sworn to protect?
An unexpected tale
Although this series started out as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, there aren’t any elements of the original story in this second book. That was to be expected of course: the curse is broken, the Beast is a handsome prince once more and they lived happily … okay maybe not that last part.
What did surprise me, however, was the narration of A Heart so Fierce and Broken. I had expected the story to be told from the point of views of Rhen and Harper, but only the first and the last chapter are told by them. The other chapters are written from the perspective of Lia Mara and Grey. Grey was a fan favourite as of the start, so it’s not that weird, but still, I personally wouldn’t have minded a bit more quality time with Rhen and Harper.
Nevertheless, once I got over this initial slight disappointment, I devoured the story just as much as I did the first one. Those two are quite endearing: Lia Mara is a strong heroine, without being a cliché. The last thing I need is another 16 year old girl who manages magic better than even the most experienced wizard or wields a sword stronger than any seasoned warlord. Lia Mara is powerful and effective, but in a realistic way. She dares to doubt and fail, she dares to feel. I quite liked her, more than I liked Harper. Grey is quite a pleasant character too. Not as dashing or fairytale prince like as Rhen, but he’s very down to earth and basically a good guy. He reminds me a bit of Fitz from the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. That’s not fully a compliment, because I’ve always been annoyed by the stupid things that Fitz does, but he’s a no-nonsense decent sort of chap.
Thanks to the title, the book had me fearing for my heart the entire time. I won’t deny that it was on the verge of breaking a couple of times, but I got away without any tears. Isn’t that a feat. I was so relieved that book three was already waiting on my desk when I finished it though. I would not have been able to bear it otherwise. 5 gemstones out of 5 again!
Recap: Grey, knowing who he really is, decides to flee and take on a new identity as a stablehand at a tourney. Here, he meets a boy called Tycho, who he soon befriends. His peace isn’t long-lived, however, as soldiers realise who he is and take both him and Tycho prisoner. Brought before Rhen, Grey decides to keep his secrets to himself and not reveal that he himself is the heir Rhen is looking for. Rhen, driven by his fear of magic, decides to have both Grey and Tycho flogged. They manage to escape, however, thanks to Grey’s magic, and Grey forms an alliance with Lia Mara, the oldest daughter of the neighbouring kingdom. At the end the book, Grey and Lia Mara give an ultimatum to Rhen. Surrender, or they will take the kingdom by force.
Book 3: A Vow so Bold and Deadly
Summary & Evaluation (click here, contains spoilers)
While Rhen struggles with coming to terms with his newfound half-brother, he also desperately tries to hold on to his throne and to the bond he shares with Harper. But doubt has seeped into their relationship, and it becomes increasingly hard to fight for whatever trust remains between them.
In Syhl Shallow, life isn’t straightforward for Lia Mara and Grey either. Adjusting to their new positions has been a precarious balancing act and the looming fight with Emberfall never allows them a moment rest.
As the deadline nears and old dangers re-appear, can they find a way forward without any blood loss? Or can trust, once broken, never truly be repaired after all?
An amazing finale
After the sudden change in narration in book two, I was curious to see what Brigid Kemmerer would pick for this conclusion. Honestly, I think she tied everything together beautifully by switching between the four main characters in this final book. The writing style also remains fluent and while this book has little to nothing to do anymore with Beauty and the Beast, the story remains magical.
I have loved these four characters dearly (especially Rhen) and it was so interesting to see how everything came together. I really liked the interactions between Rhen and Grey, and, strangely enough maybe, between Rhen and Tycho*. Not convinced by Harper’s brother, Jake though. He’s a bit too much of an overprotective brute if you ask me. But that might also have something to do with his (somewhat understandable, I admit) crappy attitude towards Rhen.
I could not predict the outcome and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Would this book break my heart or not? I won’t tell you 🙂 But I can tell you that it was once again an amazing read!
Once again: five out of five gemstones!
* Note: In hindsight: Am I psychic?
Notes on The Cursebreakers Trilogy
Age Category: Young adult, suitable both for a younger teen audience and for adult readers.
Representation: Main character with a disability, main characters with PTSD, and LGBTQ+ supporting characters
Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)
Book 1: Very mild. Warnings for attempted suicide, cancer, PTSD, and debt collection.
Book 2: Mild. Warnings for torture, PTSD, and betrayal
Book 3: Mild. Warnings for torture and PTSD
Do you want to discover more?
If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores:
Amazon.nl: Hardcover Edition
Special editions
Fairyloot included A Curse so Dark and Lonely in their Young Adult book box of February 2019. This book had rather limited special features, as far as I know it only differs from the normal edition in that it has a ribbon bookmark. It did come with an author letter though. They also published a special edition of book 2 and 3 as well, with an author signature and a signed bookplate respectively. Both sequels also came with a ribbon bookmark. In my experience, finding these books on the second hand market isn’t that straightforward. Nevertheless, they don’t tend to go for large sums (expect to pay around € 30 for each).
If you are as much into this story as I am, you might want to check out the different exclusive chapters for A Vow so Bold and Deadly that are available on the market. There’s a chapter from the point-of-view of Tycho that could be acquired when pre-ordering and then there’s the Waterstone’s Exclusive Edition with a chapter narrated by Lilith. As much as I cannot stand her, it’s a very good chapter and definitely a must read in my opinion.
Although the Dutch editions are not really a special edition, I feel like I need to mention them anyway, because of their stunning artwork on the endpapers. A must-have for every collector:
Spin-off
Although A Vow so Bold and Deadly is the final book of the Cursebreakers Trilogy, a spin-off series is currently in process. Up to now, the first two books (Forging Silver into Stars and Carving Shadows into Gold) have been published. This series is set four years after the conclusion of the trilogy and follows new main characters (including Tycho).
Similar to this
If you liked the Cursebreakers Trilogy, and if you are into fairytale retellings, you should consider reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas, which is inspired by various fairytales and folk tales like Beauty and the Beast, Tam Lin and East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Warning: heavily addictive (and not finished yet!). You can read my (spoiler free) series review here.
I would also recommend Among the Beast and Briars by Ashley Poston. Strangely enough, I have not been able to find any online “proof” that this story was also based – although less clearly – on Beauty and the Beast, the entire book just screamed “Belle” at me. Not my favourite read of all time maybe, but definitely worth checking out and proud to have it in my collection. You can read my full review here.
As I mentioned above, I was reminded of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb while reading this story, more precisely thanks to Grey’s similarities to its main character, Fitz. Fitz is a royal bastard trained in the art of espionage and assassination. Thanks to this training, he is allowed to stay close to the royal family, even though he can never really be part of it. Bound by duty and honour, Fitz is confronted with difficult choices between his love, his family and his friends. These books were the first fantasy books I’ve ever read and they will always have a special place in my heart.
Brigid Kemmerer also has another fantasy series, Defy the Night. I couldn’t have been more excited when I received my Fairyloot edition thereof and realised that this is actually a Robin Hood retelling. My dream has come true. I have loved this legend since I was a young girl and it will forever have a special place in my heart. Combined with Brigid Kemmerer’s magical writing, this must be a win, right? My review can be read here.
If you love stories set at court and political intrigue, then you might want to check out the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. This trilogy tells the story of Jude, a human girl abducted into the Faerie world. Fighting to find her place in her new reality, Jude manages to obtain quite the role at court. But will she be able to protect herself and those she loves in this world of trickery and mischief? I made a series review about this marvelous story. Don’t worry though if you haven’t read book one yet! All other books are hidden in spoiler tabs so you don’t have to read any spoilers if you don’t want to!