I received a copy of Her Dark Enchantments by Rosalyn Briar from NetGalley. I was intrigued by the book because it is a retelling of Maleficent. The story is romance, fantasy, and adventure. It follows Myravelle Spinner, a fairy who is forced by the King to be a healer in his Sleepy Wood Company.
Myravelle has had a troubled life. Her mother was kept in a tower by the King, where she spun gold for him. This is the place Myravelle grew up in. She is lonely and scared, but she has to keep working as a healer to keep her mother safe. The soldiers of the Sleepy Wood company do not like Myravelle, and Byzarien is no different. This scarred, brave, and broody soldier has a difficult history with the fairies, so naturally detests Myravelle. She picks one soldier as a ritual (her canvas) to help her heal soldiers fallen into a death-like sleep. The soldiers she picks do not survive for very long because the ritual takes a toll on them.
A friend of Byzarien is the latest one to succumb to Myravelle’s experiments which fuels his hatred toward her. The ritual to pick the next canvas is when Myravelle tweaks the spell out of loneliness, and Byzarien’s name pops up. Byzarien knows he won’t live long once he becomes Myravelle’s canvas, but he doesn’t have much of a choice. The spell Myravells tweaks are for love. The tension between these two kept me hooked. Myravelle knows the change in the spell is the reason for Byzarien being chosen, but he doesn’t like her at all. Slowly, he starts cooperating with her magic to help his friends.
The first half of the book was extremely interesting. Byzarien and Myravelle both have tragic and complicated pasts. They have this pull between them, but Byzarien thinks of her as a spider. The romantic tension and the tug-and-pull sort of nature keep you hooked. Myravells’s power has limits, and it is hinted that she hasn’t reached her full potential. I thought that Myravelle and Byzarien fall in love way too soon, especially after all the build to their relationships. When her mother is killed, Myravelle along with Byzarien runs away from the Sleepy Wood company. The next section of the story is her coming into her magic.
Myravelle’s journey to becoming The Wicked Fairy is intriguing. I knew that the love story between her and Byzarien will not end happily ever after but it’s still emotional. The second part of the novel seemed rushed to me; everything was happening so quickly. I loved the book till they run away, and I read it almost in one go. Their relationship doesn’t have the same emotional impact as it does in the first half. There are too many new characters and a lot of exposition which kind of faltered the pace of the story.
Her Dark Enchantments by Rosalyn Briar is an interesting retelling of Maleficent. It gets a dark and almost gothic-like vibe throughout the story. I liked the arc for Myravelle’s character as she goes from victim to all-powerful. Her romance with Byzarien and the elements of fantasy woven throughout the story are engaging. While I loved the first half, the second half was a bit of a letdown for me. I enjoyed reading it, and it’s still an interesting fantasy and fairytale retelling. I liked it but didn’t love it.
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