A Curse So Dark and Lonely cover art

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

 Preview
Prime Member Exclusive

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

By: Brigid Kemmerer
Narrated by: Davis Brooks, Kate Handford, Matt Reeves
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £15.86

Buy Now for £15.86

Bloomsbury presents A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, read by Davis Brooks, Kate Handford and Matt Reeves.

A New York Times bestseller!
"Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale." – Jodi Picoult

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

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. 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.©2020 Brigid Kemmerer (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Difficult Situations Family & Relationships Fantasy Fiction Friendship Literature & Fiction Magic Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Royalty
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale: a finely-drawn fantasy world, a heroine rarely seen in fiction, and a tortured hero with a secret. I have only one complaint: I wish the sequel were already available!
Absolutely spellbinding. A Curse So Dark and Lonely expands on all the beloved themes of 'Beauty and the Beast' to create an intensely original retelling: one full of fierce new characters, wicked magic, and wondrous amounts of heart. Brigid Kemmerer doesn’t just tell a story, she builds an entire world that you will never want to leave.
I couldn't get this creative, suspenseful take on 'Beauty and the Beast' out of my head.
Slow burning, big hearted, magical fun! I loved every minute.
Heartwarming, thoughtful, and romantic: Brigid Kemmerer took me on a magical journey with this dark fairy tale about growing up, falling in love, and making impossible choices. I can't wait to see where these characters go next.
Beautifully dark, filled with wild adventure and a modern-day heroine every reader will find a bit of themselves in.
Harper is the undisputed hero . . . Avoiding disability inspiration tropes, she is a fallible, well-rounded character who fights for the vulnerable and resists being labeled as such herself despite how others perceive her. A fast-paced, richly detailed feminist epic.
This enthralling modern fable champions altruism while illustrating intimacy’s relationship with honesty, respect, trust, and consent.
Fans of Cassandra Clare, Marissa Meyer, or Alex Flinn, as well as any reader looking to sink into a top-notch story with great characters, will want to read this book.
A complex, creative, and compelling reimagining of Beauty and the Beast.
A fresh twist on an old story. . . . Fans of Sarah J. Maas will be eager for this one.
Kemmerer knows how to blend a compelling story with a swoony romance, and the love triangle that inevitably develops . . . is organic and unforced because of strong characterization.
A unique world filled with fantasy and menace . . . will leave readers anxious to see what happens next.
Kemmerer merges modern sensibilities with an epic love story in this Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Readers looking for a different sort of coming-of-age story or teen protagonists grappling with complex situations will fall in love with this romance-tinged novel.
A must-have for any YA collection. Give to teens who enjoyed A Boy Called It by Dave Pelzer or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
This book is going to fly off the shelves to all teens, but it will hold special interest for those looking for a tear-jerking romance and serious readers of realistic fiction.
A great concept, delivered in a compulsively readable package . . . romance readers will stay up late to finish this very satisfying and heartfelt read.
Explores the ideas of carving identity out of pain and the way perception colors expectations.
All stars
Most relevant
The performances on this are great and make it an easy listen. The story is Enjoyable, but not brilliant.

An easy listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
📚The narration is beyond captivating
📚 I will certainly look at your names as motivation to read a book🥳❤️
📚 The only reason I expected some of the events was because it's a beauty and the beast retelling
📚 The plot twist at the end was really unexpected and far away from the original beast story
📚 I am completely hooked into this series
📚 Kremmer's writing style is exceptionally great and you feel like you're just part of the book
📚 glad I chose this one
📚 now, let me go finish the rest of the series💎😂

I really enjoyed this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really wanted to love this book it sounded just so interesting and the fact that Harper has a disability is what really drew me in originally! I feel it was very up and down for every part of the book I did like another thing I didn't pops its head up. The writing was wonderful it was one of my favourite parts if I'm being honest but just certain parts of the plot and narration for Rhen are what drag the rating down for me. she gives such vivid descriptions of everything and it really paints a picture in my head but the constant "My Ladys" grew to be quite repetitive and really took away from the experience. The narration for Rhen was fine when he was just voicing Rhen but the voices for Lilith left a tad to be desired and I found myself cringing on the chapters when he was voicing the monster but all and all an enjoyable enough read and I have book 2 to follow.

Mixed Emotions

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Trying to be original but failing!
Every think about this story Felt un original and boring everything was so predictable
did not enjoy !
Though the voice acting was good just don’t like the storyline

Trying to be original but failing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it, but I like Grey a lot better than Ren. even at the end after getting to know Ren and getting some redemption from him. Grey is still a better man in my opinion.

Grey is a better man.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews