Author friend Lyndsey Hall is part of a multi-author collection of fairy tale retellings where the villain gets their own happy-ever-after. I decided to sign up to read the ARCs for the entire series.
About the Book
Falling for the Dark Mage by Lucy Winton
A mage desperate to escape. A stranger with a dark past. An alliance that could free them both.
Seraphina is a disappointment. The daughter of a dark mage, she is unable to cast curses and can only create three charms. The sole way she can benefit her mother’s criminal empire is as a bride.
The first attempt ended badly, with her mother flying into a rage and cursing the reluctant groom to be frozen into his Bear form. Now Seraphina bides her time, practising her Creative magic and waiting for her chance to escape.
When a newcomer arrives at the fortress, Seraphina’s mother takes a strong interest in his talents. On the run from cursing the crown prince of a neighbouring kingdom, Damario could provide her dark mages with the one thing that’s missing from a curse they’re perfecting.
Seraphina’s escape plans are jeopardised when a familiar figure from her past appears. She is determined to leave the fortress, but can she manage it in time? And will Damario give Seraphina a reason to stay?
Falling for the Dark Mage is the eleventh book in the To Win a Dark Heart series which retells fairytales as old as time, but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.
Check it out on Goodreads.
About the Author
Lucy Winton is a YA fantasy author. She loves to write (and read) stories with adventure, mystery, friendship, discovery…and a little romance as well. She lives in a seaside town in Devon.
She first started writing when she was four; hopefully, she’s improved since then. She loves trying out new recipes, daydreaming and buying more books than her bookshelves can hold.
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My Review
It has an interesting premise with this fortress filled with dark mages in the mountains who sell spells, curses, whatever on the black market. The story could’ve done with a bit more detail on how that worked.
I get that Damario could be seen as a villain by those in the kingdom whose prince he cursed to be a frog – even if deserved. But Seraphina wasn’t a villain, except for not noticing all the atrocities her mother and the dark mages committed. She’s also way too passive to be a villain by any stretch of the imagination. She’s powerful, yet never questioned why she wasn’t trained to do more than just a glorified seamstress. A bit of a blank slate heroine…
The two also fall in love because the other is the first to ever show them kindness. Yeah, that’s problematic.
But the side characters are interesting. The Bear king and his wife are endearing. The foreign mages and shifters (called something different in the story) are interesting in their powers. The things they do and go through move the story along.
I think the story would’ve been stronger, and more enjoyable, if the main couple weren’t loved-starved teenagers who wanted to run away from abusive homes, but young adults who knew what they wanted and went after it – even if it meant going through a fortress filled with dark mages. Technically faultless (plot progresses well, interesting worldbuilding, interesting antagonist and side characters, spelling and grammar didn’t pull one from the story, plot issues get resolved) but it felt more like fleeing from trauma than falling in love.
A good story if you forget that it’s supposed to be romantasy, not just fantasy.
*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.
Do you enjoy fairy tale retellings and no-spice fairy tale mash-ups? Have you read anything by this author?
*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*