Falling for the Winged Witch ~ Review

Falling for the Winged Witch

To Win a Dark Heart #3

By Sarah Beran

Being a stepmother to children nearly your own age is not what Lindy wanted for her life. And apparently neither did her stepsons. But as a now unnecessary heir to the throne, her father needs to make way for her brother. Lindy's been trained to be a queen, and this is an excellent way to be done with her. So what if the king she is to marry is on the older side?

Lindy has an unfortunate reputation, and when the elderly king she's married to dies, she's blamed. Okay, maybe she did turn a prince into a frog, but that was years ago. She didn't kill the king, and she has no aspirations to the throne. Not that anyone believes her.

When her stepsons play yet another prank that goes too far, Lindy is left heartbroken and accidentally curses her stepsons, including the crown prince. The only way to set everything right is to flee the castle and the charges of murder being brought against her. She needs to break the curse, and to do so will take time.

As she works, she comes across another victim of her stepsons' "fowl" prank, a giant looking for his stolen goose. Yikes! But Atlas is determined to wait until the curse is broken. Yes, he wants his goose back that much. And he can't get much from Lindy. During the daylight hours, Lindy cannot speak; it's all part of the curse-breaking process. 

This was a cute mash-up of Jack and the Beanstalk and The Wild Swans. The story was a unique and engaging read. Perfect for a late-night reading treat.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

A widowed queen trapped by her past.

A giant who just wants to be left alone.

A fowl curse that could cost them both everything.

Lindy never wanted to get married or have children—especially not seven stepsons old enough to be her brothers and a doddering royal husband. Just when it seems like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the king suddenly dies, and her sinister reputation for casting curses means that all eyes and fingers are pointed at her. Rather than support their new mother, her stepsons seem determined to do everything they can to make her life miserable. When the youngest fills her room with water fowl as a prank, Lindy finally decides to take things into her own hands—and everything goes wrong.

Atlas lives with his head in the clouds, and he likes it that way. His ancestral home is hidden away so high in the mountains that it’s practically inaccessible. But somehow the secret has slipped, and he keeps chasing away unwanted visitors. After the latest break-in ends with his prized goose missing, Atlas is forced to do the one thing never wanted: climb down the beanstalk.

Unfortunately, the scoundrel who took his goose is now a swan, and the only way to get him to tell Atlas where she is is to help the witch who cast the curse in the first place. The nettlesome woman won’t give him the time of day, refusing to speak until the sun goes down. When she does, it’s to instruct him in the most ridiculous task he’s ever heard of.

But Atlas really wants to get his goose and go home, and if knitting is the way to achieve that, so be it. If only the task didn’t threaten to knit his heart to hers in the process…

Falling for the Winged Witch is a combined retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk and The Wild Swans, featuring tropes such as Unlikely Allies, Found Family, and Opposites Attract. It is the third 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.