Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beauty and the Beast is intrinsically a difficult story. At its core, no matter how it's dressed up, it's about a monster forcing a young girl to live with him. That's partly why I love the retellings; I love seeing the ways different authors come up with to get around that problem. This version is now my favourite. Brigid has dealt perfectly with all the worst parts of the original story and left a beautiful fantasy in its place.

I'm very much looking forward to reading the follow up; although this could stand alone, there are strands left untouched and I'd love to read more. Maybe even more than one, Brigid? :D

(There's one spot where a single paragraph of Harper's POV sits in the middle of Rhen's section, which did throw me a little.)



Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.



"Your Highness, if I may ask..."

Rhen finally looks away. "You may."

"Do you fear providing enchanted food to your people?"

"I fear not feeding them more."

My heart flutters, just the tiniest bit, and I have to remind myself that he does nothing without intention, that all of this is part of a plan. A means to an end. A good end, that will help his people, but a calculated effect nonetheless. He's playing a role. Just like I am.

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Review: The Dreamers

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shades of Stephen King, in both the lyrical descriptions and many interweaving characters, in this novel about a strange plague hitting a small town. I was riveted, following along as they try ... and many ultimately fail ... to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy. It's always fascinating seeing how different people react to situations like this and I didn't see anything that rang false to me; all the reactions seemed very probable. I'll be watching out for more novels by this author as I think there are many successful novels to come for her.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


The first cemetery, long since closed to new arrivals, is packed with the dead of the Spanish flu. Some say their ghosts still roam the mansions on Catalina Street, now shabby and subdivided for students. The people of Santa Lora had known it was coming, that flu. They'd heard word of it traveling west from town to town. They tried to block the one road into town, but the sickness got in anyway, and then it spread through the town like news. Twice as many people died of that flu here as in the next town over, leading some to suspect, back then, that Santa Lora was cursed.
The idea still sometimes surfaces in certain superstitious minds. Whenever a teenager drowns in the lake or a hiker goes missing in the woods, some in Santa Lora wonder if this is a land destined for catastrophe. What if misfortune can be drawn to a place, like lightning to a rod?

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Review: Fir

Fir by Sharon Gosling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why do the Red Eye books insist on making me afraid of everyday things? Dolls in Frozen Charlotte and Charlotte Says, exams in Sleepless and now snow! Between this and Whiteout I'll be lucky if I get any sleep in the snow storms predicted for the end of this month. At least my house is not built on ancient forest ground. I hope.

I do wish I knew what happened at the end, but c'est la vie.

I'm definitely on board to read more Red Eye. I mean, I can still sleep some nights right now, so...

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Review: Paper Avalanche

Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing, heartbreaking book. Ro's pain and frustration are palpable, and while it makes her unlikeable in spots it never makes her less than understandable. I have no idea how she dealt with things for as long as she did. She's a hero in my eyes.

I'll be recommending this to everyone I can and putting Lisa Williamson on my must read list. Fantastic.

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Review: Help Me: One Woman’s Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Can Change Your Life

Help Me: One Woman’s Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Can Change Your Life by Marianne Power
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun, slightly cringey in spots read. A lot of reviewers are saying that they were inspired to change their lives after reading it, but I wasn't. It's a good read and I like some of the insights, but the rest of it's not for me. I guess I'm not really a self-help kind of person. I'm in awe of Marianne's honesty and openness, though; it must have been a very tough book to write.

A good read, not life changing but certainly enjoyable.

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