First Impression Friday: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Hosted by J.W. Martin:

• Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.
• Did you think you’d love and ended up hating it? Or did you think you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you exactly right? 

Synopsis:

“Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. 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 constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? 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.” 

 

What I think the plot will follow:

Part 1: Harper’s life, family and world in a present American city.

Part 2: Harper discovering and adjusting to the fantasy realm.

Part 3: Angst but then HEA with Rhen and Harper <3.

What I assume about the characters and their relationship:

Harper: I think she will be a tom-boy, an only child, and it won’t mention her parents in detail. We will get an explanation of her cerebral palsy, but it won’t be an “extreme [sic]” case of the disability. She’ll be able to pass essentially as an able-bodied female teen. I don’t think it will tackle her disability as a core narrative plot, but simply to reflect more representation 🙂 (Just like gay characters don’t have to revolve their dang story around being gay: we aren’t mono-dimensional beings!).

Rhen: I think he won’t have much of a character arc. He’ll just be the typical brooding YA love interest. I don’t think he’ll top Tamlin for being the best re-imagining of The Beast.

What I predict the ending to be:

A Happily Ever After (HEA). Apparently there is another book, and it focuses on a different couple. I’m unsure if that couple will also re-imagine Beauty and the Beast (I doubt it!). I think Rhen and Harper will get married at a super young age and enjoy being in the fantasy world together.

What I think I’ll rate it:

4 stars. I’m a sucker for Beauty and the Beast, but it won’t top ACOTAR for me.

 

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Have you read this book? Please link your review if so!

I won’t read them until after I’ve completed the read, as I don’t want spoilers! 😛