Review: Falling for the Enchantress
Falling for the Enchantress by Lyndsey Hall is the latest ARC I completed from the To Win a Dark Heart multi-author series of villainous retellings. This book combines the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood, a combination that I have seen in another book I reviewed recently. These stories complement each other well because both take place in medieval England, and both were famously adapted by Howard Pyle in the late 19th century. This book stands apart from The Arrow and the Sword in many ways, primarily that it focuses on different villains instead of heroes. Morgan Le Fay is known here as Morgraine, who must win over Stefano, the sheriff/witch hunter for Prince John.
The dark romance in this book begins with an accidental magical binding spell that would have fit in well with last year's Tethered Hearts series. Stefano is a witch hunter, which fits well with this time period and setting, and Morgraine is in hiding to protect herself and her coven. When an accidental tragedy strikes, she attempts to curse Stefano and instead finds herself magically bonded to him. Now, the only thing either of them wants is to be released from the spell that ties them to their mortal enemy.
This book falls squarely into the "enemies to lovers" category with a witch hunter falling for the witch he's hunting. The two hate each other for a good portion of the story, but like many others in this series, they begin to see each other differently after spending time together. The witch hunt theme is an interesting element that isn't frequently featured in fairy tale adaptations, as it was a challenging time for women in history. Throughout the book, Stefano must come to terms with the problematic nature of his profession.
As far as character development goes, this book was mid-range for me. I didn't have any strong feelings for or against either protagonist. Both were living their lives and trying to play out their roles the best they could by adapting to their mistakes. There were some nods and cameos from characters in both stories, but it was not presented as a full retelling of either legend. The book works best as a historical lesson about the problematic nature of witch hunts.
Comments
The boy is a kind of outcast of the nobility because of his magical powers, but he has a big heart and only wants to protect his brothers.
There are also specific audiences for anything that falls under the category of "cozy fantasy." In those media, people tend to love kind heroes or, at most, bad boys with hearts of gold, also shy boys like the one in Sarah Beth Durst's Enchanted Greenhouse book.So I'm struck by the negative reviews from people who are clearly looking for a different kind of content.
https://www.closeddoorromancebooks.com/pages/authors She also has an Instagram page and always reviews books in any range that doesn't have explicit sexual content, from super clean to the more passionate fade to black. The account owner prefers to support indie authors rather than those who have a publishing house behind them.
You could see if sending one of your books works, because as an aspiring author it sucks not finding your audience. And you write books and dedicate yourself to maintaining this beautiful blog with lots of content focused on princesses.
Take care!