And that’s that! Her disability is just a part of her, rather than it being a major part of the plot. While her brother may underestimate her because of it, cerebral palsy isn’t something that is even on the radar in Emberfall - at first they think she has an injury, but when she explains it to him, he allows her to define her limits and capabilities. I loved that Harper’s character HAS a disability, but that the disability doesn’t define her. Rhen and Harper both have very different character voices, so that I always knew who was speaking, and never lost track of who the narrator was. I know not everyone really likes stories with multiple POVs, but when this technique is done well I feel like I get better insight into the story. The story is told from both Rhen and Harper’s POVs, and I was all about that. But I was kind of curious to see how I’d like it, since it seemed to be the kind of book that people either loved or hated. Especially not one that has disability representation. So, as a kid, Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite Disney movies, and I couldn’t pass up a retelling. 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. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world. 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. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him.

A curse so dark and lonely book review