Addicted to YA discussion

This discussion will be lead by Jennifer. The discussion leader will be here to help keep the conversation going. Look out for comments and questions the discussion leader might make and respond back to them!

I just finished this and I had FEELINGS. Kind of disappointed. Kind of loved it. All I know is January 2021 is a long ways away. I read quite a lot of conflicting reviews, interested to see what people think!

Anuna wrote: "I just finished this and I had FEELINGS. Kind of disappointed. Kind of loved it. All I know is January 2021 is a long ways away. I read quite a lot of conflicting reviews, interested to see what pe..."

Omg i feel the same way, like do i love this or do i hate this lol

At first I was skeptical about the new love interest for Grey but she actually grew on me a lot. I think I like her more than Harper. Is that a controversial opinion? I’ve never liked two couples in one book series before so I’m in totally uncharted territory here

Argante wrote: "At first I was skeptical about the new love interest for Grey but she actually grew on me a lot. I think I like her more than Harper. Is that a controversial opinion? I’ve never liked two couples i..."

Same! I also like her a little more than Harper now. But I also feel like it's because we completely ditched Harper and Rhen's POV so they feel like strangers again. Especially Harper, I felt like she spent most of the book just running around quietly supporting Rhen and being sort of immobile which made her not unlikable, but inconsequential.

Argante wrote: " I think I like her more than Harper. Is that a controversial opinion? I’ve never liked two couples i..."

Did you like her more overall as a character, or did you like her more as a love interest for Grey? (Or maybe both?)


Anuna wrote: "we completely ditched Harper and Rhen's POV so they feel like strangers again."

Really good point, I think dropping Harper & Rhen's POVs was something a lot of people (myself included) didn't expect, and probably has a lot to do with why so many people felt off jumping into it.

I hated the book and considered ditching it until about 1/2 way 2/3 through. I think it was because of the lack of Harper and Rhen and how they suddenly became strangers. But after I got over my initial disappointment I was spellbound. I love Grey and Lia Mara and ship them soo hard!!
I just didn't get how rhen became so cruel
cant wait for jan 2021!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Madinah wrote: "I hated the book and considered ditching it until about 1/2 way 2/3 through. I think it was because of the lack of Harper and Rhen and how they suddenly became strangers. But after I got over my in..."

Haha I'm glad you came around! It seems like that's happening for a lot of people. Was there something specific that eventually drew you in, or did the characters just finally grow on you by that point?

I had issues with this book. I like gray and Lia mara together in the end but I found that I really missed Harper and rhen and the characters seemed so different from the first book.

Jennifer wrote: "Madinah wrote: "I hated the book and considered ditching it until about 1/2 way 2/3 through. I think it was because of the lack of Harper and Rhen and how they suddenly became strangers. But after ..."
I think it was; the relationship between Lia Mara and Grey that finally brought me around and I think I finally got used to the fact that there was no harper and rhen!!

I think the book is very controversial especially after having read the first book and then getting thrown into a new world. It was like reading a whole new plot and setting!!

Madinah wrote: "I think the book is very controversial especially after having read the first book and then getting thrown into a new world. It was like reading a whole new plot and setting!!"

Like, we knew going in that it would focus more on Grey, but WOW it was a colossal shift.

Quickly read A Curse so Dark and Lonely so I could read the sequel this month. I'm 2/3 done and I'm happy not to have to read Rhen POV anymore. I did not like him in the first but I liked Harper so it kept me reading. Grey's awesome but I don't know if I like Lia Mara yet.

Erica wrote: "Quickly read A Curse so Dark and Lonely so I could read the sequel this month. I'm 2/3 done and I'm happy not to have to read Rhen POV anymore. I did not like him in the first but I liked Harper so..."

That's a lot of how I felt as well; I was just never really entranced by Rhen. I stayed for the story, really, so the character switch in book 2 was a welcome change for me.

I'm now finished this book and overall I liked it and gave it 3 stars. It left me needing to read the next one though, 2021 is a while off.

I LOVED this book! I finished it in 3 days. Only put it down when I had to. The first book was my favorite since it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I can't wait for the final one to come out.

I really enjoyed the book and the new POVs but was disappointed that Harper and Rhens POVs were completely dropped. I wish it all four perspectives could have maintained and I think it would have made for a more complete story. I also do not like the portrayal of Rhen as some sort of antagonist, and I think having his POV could have prevented that. Both he and Harper felt very out of character to what we saw in the first novel, because Harper felt very passive and quietly agreed with everything Rhen did even when he made some ruinous decisions, which she would not have done in the first novel. However I did really like Grey and Lia Mara's story and characters and I'm happy we got to have their views as well. The plot of the book was still good and interesting so overall i liked it as much as the first.

i rlly wished more of rhen's and harper's POV was considered.
However, i just luv grey too so... :p

Sarah wrote: "I really enjoyed the book and the new POVs but was disappointed that Harper and Rhens POVs were completely dropped. I wish it all four perspectives could have maintained and I think it would have m..."
Yeah, I wonder why the author decided to completely forgo them this time. Maybe she thought switching between 4 people would get too confusing? Man, that moment in the first book though where it becomes the perspective of "Monster" was intense. We didn't really get a similar moment in this one.

Erica wrote: "2021 is a while off."
Feels like an eternity 😂

I'm reading this right now.
I don't think it's as good as the first book so far.
And I don't like that there aren't Rhen and Harper's pov except in the start and end. It was their story, it should've been in their perspective

I didn't really like this book, but A Curse so Dark and Lonely is one of my favorite books. I hope this series is just suffering from second book syndrome because the first book was too good to throw away the rest of the trilogy. In my opinion at least.