A Curse So Dark And Lonely Readalong: Day 3

I love the castle setting but there’s something so cozy about the inn that is allowing better and more important communication. I still don’t see Harper with Grey (what’s wrong with me!) However I feel like there’s some kind of serious foreshadowing happening with Grey teaching Harper these defense skills with the dagger and now the knives. Is she going to have to use these new skills to save her family back in DC? Also, I need more info on this mysterious queen and the beast time. How long is he a beast. Is he really violent or is he bewitched to be violent? Why can’t you look him up right before the change until it passes?
Also, is this book a stand alone? I have no idea how we are going to fill in all the missing pieces and tie up all th loose ends by the end of this book!

These chapters seem to fly!

New theory Rhen fell in love with one of the girls to break the curse but she fell in love with Grey. Now Rhen is kind of protective of Harper so it doesn’t happen again.

I still think a Grey is hiding a big secrect. There is just something about him that does not seem honest to me.

Roll on tomorrow’s chapters!!

Ah so Harper sees Rhen as more manipulative and Grey as simply more down to earth and live for now then move on.

Ha. Had to laugh that Harper got shown up a bit when she finds out Rhen already compensated the innkeeper. She is quite judgemental (as we all have a tendency to be).

The fake kingsmen turn up at the inn.

We find out Rhen’s full name and it’s Vincent Aldrhen. Vincent. Like Ron Perlman’s character in the B&tB tv series!!!!!!

Harper’s dealings with loan sharks and bluffing comes into play here. I love how impressed she is with Grey’s knife flick and how Rhen quickly catches on and goes with her con.
And then he says he will be joining her in her room. The scandal.

He picks up on her having noticed his snub. He has a little spark of hope.

The hair tuck ? and then her “you’ve had three hundred girls to practice on” ?. He really is in awe of her tho and I can see why. I felt for him then. So intrigued why Grey is so loyal though. What’s the sitch?

Who is Karis Luran? Queen? Anything to do with Lilith? Ah of Syhl Shallow another country. And she’s pretty ruthless too. Gulp.

The scene with Scary Grey in the stables and he says As you Wish. ? swoon. He does the pool table move!

Lilith shows up and goads Rhen some more making him even more jealous of Harper and Grey. She knows about the invasion but does nothing. She lets on she senses other magesmiths exist. Could one break the curse? Is Grey one?

She teases that she will keep his monster theme on a leash. Definite Amarantha vibes there.

Then comes up with a plan for Grey to train up a fake guard. Grey thinks it’s because Rhen is jealous of him and Harper – he has a point but also Rhen has motivation again to care for his people. Harper has pulled him out of the castle. Whoever said love of his people might break the curse may have a point.

I forgot how ill Harper’s mum is. That must be so tough for her knowing that time is limited. She also sees that the loan shark threatened her to get Jake to do what he wanted. She screams as the battery dies and Grey comes bursting in and then Rhen finds them and they go outside to have words. Harper’s emotion builds and she directs her hate at Rhen slapping him then locking him out. Oops.

Grey gives him the cards and says to try asking. They bond over their love and loss of family. She hugs him. He’s like. What is this. That’s such a Jude/Cardan moment.

She pushes him to consider if he came close to loving/being loved by any of the other girls, and shows him immediately why not.

She is desperate to go home and asks for them to bargain with Lilith. I can’t see that going well.

He tells her his plan of keeping her ruse up to save his people and she agrees. He gives his word to let her go home if Lilith agrees that. Freya is going to become her lady in waiting.

How much danger is ahead?

I was starting to think that Lilith and Karis Luran were one in the same but then Rhen asks her and she denies it… She could be lying but I’m not sure.

I really loved the knife throwing scene with Harper and Grey, I really like them together! Again, sorry Rhen!
I do like how we see Rhen’s reaction to them when he is watching them, it’s a real sincere moment and for him he to realise that his feelings weren’t the same as the other girls that have come before Harper.

When they are playing cards, there is so much foreshadowing but I really like the way they made up and the hugging and the planning was all really lovely.

I’m confused about Harper’s feelings towards both Rhen and Grey. I firmly believe she doesn’t have romantic feelings for Grey (I wish she did though), but she was still conscious about how close she was to him. Taking a breath would put her against him.
And with Rhen, one minute she wants to hate him, the next she blushes all over the place. Her feelings are obviously conflicted but she is still sure she won’t fall in love with him.

Enjoying how the relationship between the characters is progressing. While I think Harper and Grey are more believable together currently I really like how Rhen is portrayed. He has spent years living under this curse because of his previous bad choices and I love how his care for his people now and his hyper-analysis of situations. I also like how Harper is spurring him into more action and out of his analysis-paralysis. 🙂

So I don’t dislike this book and feel that I could read it in one day, yet it feels like it’s missing some sort of wow factor. I’m not fully connecting to it or feeling invested in the characters, even though I like the characters and the relationships between them, mostly. It is possible that it’s just my current mood (tired and brain dead) at the moment that’s effecting how well I’m connecting to the book so it might be worth a reread at some point. Now, please read on for some unconnected paragraphs (because I’m lazy) around my thought on these chapters.
I am enjoying the conversations between the characters, there is some good relationship building there, although maybe a little quick for my liking with the relationship building between Harper and Rhen.

I’m not sensing romance between Harper and Grey but that may be because my brain is staying true to Beauty and The Beast (the knife throwing scene could indicate blossoming romance but I don’t get that impression), and because I’ve had enough of love triangles. I would actually love Harper and Grey to end up great friends as I think YA needs more brilliantly strong m/f friendships. But I guess we shall see as the story progresses.

I do get the idea that it’s not just about Rhen getting a girl to fall in love with him but also for him to fall in love. The idea mentioned the other day about getting his people to love him is a really interesting one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was also part of the way to end the curse.

So, during the season which Rhen has been told will be his last we see the start of an invasion from another kingdom. Now it could well be that this has been going on for a long time and it’s just not been known because Rhen hasn’t been leaving his castle, but the two story lines could also be linked in some way (Lilith maybe). Another option could be that the storylines are coincidently fitting neatly together as they often do in fiction.