Waiting on Wednesday: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

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A Curse so Dark and Lonely

Written by Brigid Kemmerer

496 pages

Published by Bloomsbury

Publication date: 29th January 2019

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

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Why I can’t wait to read this:

• I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings – I am always willing to give them a chance!
• Beauty and the Beast is a perennial favourite for me and I think that there is a lot of scope to do something different with the story. I am excited to see which direction this book takes!
• Harper Lacy sounds like an interesting character – someone who has had a lot of hardship and been underestimated, but has developed skills to survive and possibly even thrive.
• I am both slightly jarred and intrigued by the mention of a ‘magical’ kingdom in the first paragraph of the description, then the mention of Washington D.C. i the second. I am curious to see where this story is taking place and how these two very different places overlap and interact.
•  I love the thorns, brambles and vines on the cover. It looks menacing and I like how the text interacts with the tree branches.

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What do you think?

Does this sound like the kind of book you would enjoy?

Will you be reading this or do you have any other anticipated releases you would recommend to me?

Let me know in the comments!

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See some other Waiting on Wednesday posts here:  When the Mountains Roared, The Exact Opposite of Okay, To Kill a Kingdom, Starfish, The Gloaming, The Smoke Thieves, The Way You Make Me Feel, The Queens of Innis Lear, Legendary, Nyxia Unleashed, Bright Ruin, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, Empress of All Seasons, Tempests and Slaughter, Grim Lovelies, The Glass of Lead and Gold, Storm Witch, The Way Past Winter, The Gilded Wolves, Fierce Fairytales, Descendant of the Crane. Dragon Pearl, Last of Her Name. The Familars. A Pinch of Magic, A Witch Come True, The Winter of the Witch. Once Upon a River.

While you’re here, why not check out my reviews of The Hazel Wood, Tangleweed and Brine, Sanctuary, The Pretender or The Gilded King?

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Thanks for reading!