A Curse so Dark and Lonely: Brigid Kemmerer

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. 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.
(Goodreads)  

I waited three months to get this book from the library. And it was definitely worth the wait.
This is a retelling of the beloved tail, Beauty and the Beast. Though the story is familiar to all, this story is anything BUT ordinary. 
The inclusion of disabilities viewed in a positive light was an amazing part of the story. It never held the heroine back from accomplishing her goals and it wasn't this constant thing to pity her for. It was just there. 
I struggled getting into the book at first, I felt like the pacing was a bit off, but then you hit a point that the flip switches and you are just hooked. Once I got to that point I could not put the book down!
Everything about Harper's bravery, the way she viewed each problem was just so... different? I guess you could say? Her decision making keeps you on your toes, and she just so proactive in the best way possible. She really seemed to brighten Rhen when he was just to hopeless.
But what really got me was the ending. The ending was not something I ever would have anticipated. In the original tale of Beauty and the Beast, whether you watch the Disney version, or read the original story. It always end with Beauty saving the Beast with her confession of love. And in Kemmerer's spin of the tale is completely different because no one truly knows who really broke the spell. Was it Grey, the amazingly loyal Guard Commander, Rhen the Prince fighting against the curse, or Harper the supposed Chosen one the beauty to the beast. No one knows, because Harper admits that she's not really in love with Rhen, and that absolutely blew my mind.

A Beauty and the Beast story without the true love??? What?!?! Now Harper, Jacob, AND Noah are stuck in Emberfall because Lilith is dead. Grey is missing, and they are now royalty pledged to help Emberfall with an "army"
And then it ends
what. the. hell.
Can the next one come out already and end my suffering?!?!
Until next time readers <3

Love Kat 

Cruel Beauty: Rosamund Hodge

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
(Goodreads)

 So after reading and loving A Court of Thorns and Roses Cruel Beauty was recommended to me because of how amazing the story is. How strong the female character is, and the wonderful spin to the classic Beauty and the Beast.
Honestly? I was incredibly disappointed. The story in itself was incredibly interesting, it was rich and complex. It was dark and mysterious. The plot definitely had moments that it would drag on for pages and pages fully admit to skimming over these parts. And there were parts that were so intriguing I wish we could have learned more about it cough everything involving the world inside of a world plot and the labyrinth castle. Overall I'd give the plot a solid 3 since it was a pretty slow book that was super boring at times. But what really ruined the book for me was the character of Nyx, there was just something about her that I truly could not stand. She was kind of boring, and extremely self righteous. She was annoying, and her sister was equally annoying to. But the sister at least had the redeeming quality of actually loving Nyx and actually trying to save her even after all the hurtful things she said. 
But the real kicker was the ending. After Nyx fell in love with the beast and figured out that the shadow man is also part of him (I fully admit to loving the shadow man in the beginning, but once she saved the beast and he became nice I totally switched sides.) which took me forever to figure out too. He set her free, the world went back to how it was supposed to was when the plot took a turn for the weird. Obviously no one remembers because book logic's, but Nyx vaguely remembers something. More like she remembers missing someone. And now the castle is just an old myth about a cowardly king and she goes to find him because she knows there's more to the castle. Well she finds the king and the old ruler people things and bargains for the kings life. blah blah blah they argue it's weird...
And then...... the book ends..... Like that's it. There's really no closure and the book just had a weird ending.
Overall, not my favorite book. It was just weird and not the good kind of weird 
Anyway 
Until next time reader <3

Love Kat 

The Language of Thorns: Leigh Bardugo

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price.
(Goodreads)

So these are just short stories, but they are absolutely incredible. Bardugo has taken ordinary stories and made them her own. Honestly I bought this book because it was pretty, I didn't really know what it was about. But boy was this an amazing book. The art is absolutely incredible and it truly enhances the reading experience.
Honestly my favorite story was the little mermaid reimagined, it was just to rich. It was beautiful. And just so creative. They all had their own little "moral of the story" feeling. But it wasn't overwhelming. It was just perfect.
Honestly I loved these so much more that I had originally thought I was going to
So please, read these short stories. Enjoy the stunning art, and maybe you'll learn something from these stories. I certain did.

"We are not made to please princes."

Until next time readers <3 Love Kat

A Court of Thorns and Roses: Sarah J. Maas

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
(Goodreads)

This is seriously my new favorite book, I am in love with this book. The book, the characters, the world... This book is absolute perfection, by having such imperfect characters. I do admit that I actually didn't want to read this book. I found it interesting, but I never had the motivation to actually read it... Until a friend of mine legit forced me to read it, and it was absolutely incredible.
Feyre is just such a strong character, she is human and imperfect. She makes mistakes, she gets mad at her sisters. But she is strong, she is real and just so human. I just love her so much because of her imperfection.
Feyre is then taken by Tamlin who says she has broken a sacred treaty by killing one of his people. Now Tamlin is an interesting character, there is something about him that calls to Feyre's need for safety, to be taken care of and not have to worry when her next meal is going to be. Now this is a love story so of course there is going to be love.
Feyre's strength during the trials, is honestly incredible. She suffered through all of this for the love of her life. AND HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO GET THEM OUT WHEN RHYSAND GAVE THEM THE CHANCE. *cough* What was interesting though, was how passionate Rhysand was compared to Tamlin. Rhysand is just this stranger and he was the one to convince everyone to give a small bit of their power to see if that would bring her back. I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. And I hope Rhysand is in it. He's an interesting character. Excuse my rant... Anyways, Sarah J. Maas does an incredible job in making these characters human, she made me feel exactly what Feyre was.
That moment when Feyre is just about to break, she just can't do this anymore, she doesn't know how she will survive... And suddenly she hears music in her head. The most beautiful song she'd ever heard. And it helps her survive, it helps give her the motivation to survive. That, that right there makes me cry every time I read it.
Ms. Maas delivered an excellent book of love and trials, with a mixture of beauty and the beast and badass women.