Category: Fairytale Retelling

Dealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte Stein

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Fairytale Retelling, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Rom Com, Romantasy, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Dealing with a Desperate Demon (The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures, #2)Dealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte Stein

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures, #2

Release Date: October 7, 2025

Nancy is a bookseller with a troubled past and a heart of gold who has practically given up on ever finding her happily ever after. But when the town misfit, Jack Jackson, enters her store to get a book, but runs off without it after a minor mishap, Nancy decides to take it to him. After a very awkward and confusing meeting, Nancy realizes that Jack needs help navigating dating and life in general. She offers to help him win his dream girl and tries to keep herself from falling for him herself.

Jack, the demonic son of Satan, is portrayed as a grump with a surprisingly gentle heart, struggling to live up to his father’s evil expectations. His awkwardness in the romance department is both endearing and comical, making him something of a cinnamon roll hero.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, the blurb gave me hope of a grumpy/sunshine trope with steam, magic and Beauty and the Beast feel. Well, this story definitely has a Disney-like “Beauty and the Beast” vibe, with humor and warmish love scenes that results in a fun, if somewhat chaotic story. And while I found the premise intriguing, the execution left a lot to be desired, the pacing is uneven, slow in the beginning, rushed in the latter half and disorganized in between. I thought the book was a bit wordy, and yet oddly, both the characters and the world building felt undeveloped. Overall, it was a light, fun paranormal romance with likeable characters and a happy ending, but it is not a book I would read again. This is the second book in the series, and I don’t know if I would have felt different about this book if I have read the prior installment, but I don’t feel like I missed anything by not reading it.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Magic & Manners by Melissa Constantine

On By TracyIn Fairytale Retelling, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

Magic & Manners (Curtsies & Consequences Book 2)Magic & Manners by Melissa Constantine

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Curtsies & Consequences #2

Release Date: June 9, 2025

After suffering from a heartbreak due to unrequited love, Lady Diana Yarborough of Wills gets a second chance at love when she and her mother are invited to spend time with Prince Travers of Tull. But when her mother gets ill right before they are supposed to leave, she thinks she will have to cancel. But her mother insists that she must go, so she sets out for the Kingdom of Tull with just a handful of servants and a mountain of luggage. But her hopes of an idyllic visit are blown almost as soon as she arrives – to a bay full of dead fish and no royal escort awaiting her. She learns that the prince and his aunt the Duchess are not in residence and there is not another ship leaving for weeks! She checks into the Rutledge Hotel (which would have been lovely if not for the aforementioned dead fish) and plans to leave just as soon as she can. But upon arriving she runs into Sir Jordaan, a knight she met last spring who is at the hotel recovering from a sleeping sickness, a man who is as infuriating as he is attractive and who is completely wrong for her. But her return to Wills won’t happen any time soon, as she is caught up in a mystery involving the prince, fairies, a witch, shapeshifters and of course the one man she absolutely shouldn’t be thinking about…

Sir Jordaan Van Dine is the youngest son of the very powerful Baron Van Dine and a knight in service to the Duke of Lower Miser. Last spring while helping his friend Sir Robert find a missing princess, he somehow contracted a sleeping sickness and has been unable to stay awake for more than a few hours a day. He seeks out the help of Caris Mourne, a powerful witch and she has concocted some potions that help him stay awake, but they still don’t know what is causing the sickness in the first place. The arrival of Lady Diana perks up Jordaan, but falling for her is a mistake, she is from a royal house, and he is the fifth son of a baron, nothing but heartache can come from loving her.

I read the first book in this series and was disappointed because I was expecting an adult romantasy and got a YA fantasy story. So, with that in mind, I entered this story with entirely different expectations, which enabled me to enjoy the story a bit more than the previous book. I did like the story and enjoyed the banter between Diana and Jordaan, as well as the barbs traded between the secondary characters. The mystery played out nicely and the author gave readers more than one twist to keep things interesting. The same issues I had in the first book were in this book in the form of title errors, unanswered questions, no spice at all (not even a kiss) and no definitive HEA. Overall, with my lowered expectations, I did like this book more than the first one, but I am not sure I will be reading the rest of the series. This is the second book in the series, and while the books can be read as standalone titles, I think reading them in order might give the reader a better understanding of the characters.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *