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 Doomed Bride by C.K. Beggan
A cursed treasure.
A relentless hunt.
A doomed bride who won’t go down without a fight.
Treasure-hunting pirate Jax the Bluebeard has fallen under a curse that only his bride can break. Each of his wives has failed and been doomed by the curse, filling Jax’s days with death and hardening his heart. Yet the curse compels Jax to keep searching for new brides that can win him the deadly treasure he desires.
Fortunately for Jax, he just raided the ship of a cunning sorceress. Unfortunately for him, she just might be the woman of his dreams.
Sofie, a fairy godmother of the realm, is fleeing the kingdom after cursing a newborn princess. All she wants is to return to the safety of her wintry homeland. Instead, Sofie is tricked into becoming Bluebeard’s next bride…but not before she curses him to endless slumber if he pricks his finger on a splinter of wood—a true challenge for a man who lives aboard an empire of wooden ships.
Can Sofie beat the curse of Bluebeard’s wives and save herself and Jax? Or will these two villains do anything to avoid the warm feelings growing in their hearts—even if it means dooming each other?
Falling for the Doomed Bride combines the villains from Sleeping Beauty and Bluebeard’s Wives in a no spice romantasy adventure where the characters trade both kisses and curses. Falling for the Doomed Bride is the second book in the To Win a Dark Heart series which retells fairy tales 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
C.K. Beggan writes portal and romantic fantasy for new and young adults, as well as paranormal romance and spicy romantic fantasy for adults. Many of her books feature chronic illness/disability or chronic pain representation. She lives in Ohio with her intrepid dog.
Website | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | Facebook | Pinterest | TikTok
My Review
I liked the premise and the cover from the moment I saw it.
The book delivered on the promise – and more. Rich worldbuilding, vivid descriptions, forced proximity, from different worlds, enemies-to-lovers, pirates, magic, curses, betrayal… This book had it all.
Most importantly, I liked the characters. I found them believable in the roles they’ve been cast by society (Sofie a villain because she had to balance the magic others so frivolously used; Jax a heartless monster whose wives die mysteriously after he marries them because of a curse). I also found them relatable in their struggle to do the best they could with what they had.
Everything in the book had a reason to be there, even if it only mattered later. The Bride’s story is tragic, and fits into the folklore of how a creature such as herself is created – which I really liked finding in this book! The ball was my favourite scene, the pirate island my favourite setting, as it added another layer to the pirates.
An enjoyable romantasy. Highly recommended. I’ll read more by this author.
*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.*