Review: Falling for the Wolf

Falling for the Wolf by Megan Charlie is the next ARC I read from To Win a Dark Heart, which brings together villains from different fairy tales. This book combines "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood" with slightly more focus on the latter. The story involves a werewolf, but his transformations have little to no effect on the plot. The espionage and criminal activity make the book feel more like an urban fantasy than a fairy tale. Overall, I thought this book was okay in comparison to the other ones I've read so far in this series.

Tasia is exiled to a foreign land after revealing a secret to a prince and is forced to deliver goods for her extended family. Her poor sense of direction makes this a difficult task for her to follow without a guide, so she seeks the aid of Mitch, who she later learns is a werewolf. Mitch takes an instant dislike to Tasia's family, who are manipulative and abusive. He continues to aid Tasia until an even more dangerous secret is revealed. Now, they must work together to prevent an act of terrorism fueled by a magic obedience-inducing drug.

This book seemed a bit too realistic for my tastes, despite the fairy tale setting. The magical elements seemed to serve as more of a placeholder to make it fit into the series than true worldbuilding. It reads like a fantasy version of a drug ring scandal with a minor love story on the side. Taasia and Mitch get along well enough, but they were too busy trying to stop the over-the-top villains to focus much on their relationship. Like many other books in this series, the fairy tales they came from are used more as backstory for their characters than as a major element of this story.

The main story took a while to unravel. It wasn't until after Tasia met Mitch that the reader learns her role in the "Cinderella" fairy tale, which, in some ways, was more interesting than the experiences she has here. Mitch's wolf transformations don't play a very important role in the book either, aside from giving Tasia an opportunity to get to know him better. It isn't until practically the end of the book that the true wicked plot is revealed.

Compared to the other books in To Win a Dark Heart, Falling for the Wolf is middle-of-the-road. The book blends a few basic elements of "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood" into an urban fantasy tale of espionage and crime. While Tasia and Mitch's story is engaging, the fairy tale connections feel more like a backdrop than a driving force. I recommend looking into other books from this series before diving into this one.