Description
Book SynopsisKing Harristan rules Kandala with an iron fist. He’s had to ever since he and his brother Prince Corrick inherited a kingdom on the verge of collapse after a deadly illness killed most of the population before a cure was found. The one thing keeping his people alive is also driving them apart . . . the cure, made from the nectar of a rare flower. As sickness lingers among the people of Kandala, a sharp divide has formed, as those who control access to the medicine live in luxury--while the rest live in suffering. The only way to keep the peace is to kill anyone who threatens it, and that task falls to young Prince Corrick. Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. At night, she and her best friend Weston Lark ride through the streets of the poorest towns, distributing food, money, and medicine they’ve stolen from the elite ruling class. Tessa has reason to hate the king: her parents were publicly executed after they were caught selling medicine on the black market. She has reason to love Weston: he saved her life when she nearly followed her parents to the same fate. She’s come to hate the dawn, which signals that it’s time for Weston to return to his home on the other side of the city, where he spends his days working in the grueling iron forge. Lately, rumors have been spreading that the cure no longer works, and people are starting to act on their worst impulses. Tessa knows that the only way to save her people--the poor--is to assassinate King Harristan. It’s a mission that is more likely to kill her than save anyone, but if her parents were willing to risk their lives, then so is she. What Tessa doesn’t expect to find is that everything she believed about her kingdom is a lie, and that tipping the balance of power will require her to work with the very people she intended to destroy. . . Set in a fantasy world startlingly similar to our own, Brigid Kemmerer's newest series illuminates the divide between those with power and those without. . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to flip the system upside down.
Trade ReviewHas everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale. * Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A SPARK OF LIGHT and SMALL GREAT THINGS, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
Absolutely spellbinding. * Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of CARAVAL and LEGENDARY, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
I couldn't get this creative, suspenseful take on 'Beauty and the Beast' out of my head. * Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of EVERLESS, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
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. * Jodi Meadows, New York Times bestselling co-author of MY LADY JANE and MY PLAIN JANE, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
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. * Kirkus Reviews, starred review, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
This enthralling modern fable champions altruism while illustrating intimacy’s relationship with honesty, respect, trust, and consent. * Publishers Weekly, starred review, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
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. * VOYA, starred review, on A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY *
