This is the sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely, only I didn't realize it was a direct sequel - I thought this was the sort of book series where each book was a take on a different classic fairy tale. But no! This book focuses on the former guardsman Grey, who has a Secret, and then a new character named Lia Mara, who is the firstborn and yet not heir to the rival kingdom, basically. And for Reasons they all unite and are sort of acting against Prince Rhen and Harper, but sort of not, and Harper's brother and his boyfriend are still sort of trying to get back to the real world, and I'm kind of mad about how much I enjoyed this book and how much I want the next book in the series, because the cliffhanger at the end of this one was extremely effective. I also think the storytelling and worldbuilding was a lot better in this book, especially once we got past the beauty and the beast direct parallels and the narrative became more of its own thing. I find YA fantasy series that have no set number of books in them to be a frustrating experience, but on the other hand this one got me, so well done.
Grade: B
Grade: B
