Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of Her Dark Enchantments.

I love a good fairytale retelling and this one was a very entertaining take on Sleeping Beauty with bits and pieces of other fairytales scattered in. If you love retellings then be sure to pick this one up.

This is heavily Sleeping Beauty inspired where it basically is the background of Maleficent before she truly turns evil. There are hints of Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel within the story, making it even better. I really enjoyed this read! You see the main character starts off as a sweetheart and slowly becomes more badass and in charge of herself. I thought the author did a great job of twisting things together and I was entertained the entire time. If you like books where women find their true power and stand up for themselves, then you must read this! And the magic in this world was cool too.

I love retelling and this one, based on Sleeping Neauty, did not disappoint. This was written beautifully and Myrabelle stole my heart. Would definitely recommend!

I admit I was drawn in by the cover, but I’m so glad I was, or I would have missed a fantastic book and engaging read. The narration was brilliant, I thought it really added to the tale and I loved the magic system, the romance, so emotional, I felt so much for Myravelle, no spoilers but I just thought it was touching and well done. An amazing, heart wrenching and beautiful read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'd like to start by saying I went into this blind, thinking it would be a basic fantasy romance with dark/gothic elements. I was right about the dark gothic fantasy aspect but this was a very unique book (though it also executed the retelling aspect very well). As someone who usually guesses every plot twist in a book, I was completely blindsided by every part of this book. It honestly felt like I read 600 pages instead of under 300 with the amount of events that took place. By the time a plot twist happened about 80% into the book, I panicked and read a bunch of reviews to reassure myself that what I thought happened didn't actually happen and it would be fine (which led to me spoiling the fact that what I thought happened did in fact happen, which I was absolutely not expecting). I do love the fact that Myravelle has been abused, used, and done wrong her entire life and rather than taking it or "being the bigger person" she dedicates the rest of her life to revenge. I'll be honest, for a good portion of the book I was so confused by the prologue I thought Myravelle was Briar Rose, but it all ended up making perfect sense at the end. I got serious "Heartless" by Marissa Meyer vibes by the end and while I bawled my eyes out a billion times, I also screamed when she got to have her female rage moments (deceiving the god of deception is such a slay). Aside from the plot, the writing style of this book was lovely. In the first page I honestly thought the author wouldn't successfully execute it, but I was absolutely wrong. One of my favorite tropes was also included - the animal companion trope - and I loved Little Nightmare so much. Lastly, I need to include my absolute favorite quote from this book because it hit so hard.
"No one wants you here,' King Sylvain snarled. "You're a monster"
"I am the monster you created" SLAYED SO HARD THE WORLD STOPPED.

This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling that also incorporates snippets of other fairy tales throughout. It was fun catching all the other references weaved in and it was done in a very seamless manner. This author is a fantastic storyteller that writes characters you easily root for and sets up the enemies —> friends —> lovers trope very nicely. Overall, it was a really good book, it just wasn’t one I see my see remembering and gushing over in a few months (or even weeks) time.

If there's anything I love more than a good retelling it's a breathtaking origin story and this book is both, with the bonus of making you feel for the Mistress of all Evil, and Dearie let me tell you, she's evil for a reason.

Myravelle is that rare character that wants to be good, strives to be part of a family, to just have a place to belong, she's willing to do whatever it takes to not rock the boat, not only does her life depend on it but so does her mothers and the lives of all the soldiers she's supposed to be waking up.

You see Myravelle has a very special gift, actually many gifts, but what makes her valuable to King Zylvain is her healing gift which allows her to use pain to access her magic but she has to draw pain from her Canvases, men that are chosen for this very purpose, what it does to them however is a pain she carries heavily on her heart every single day.

Then she decides to change the rules and look for a Canvas that she can love, and we find Byzarien, only one problem Byzarien has a pure hatred for the Faries, with good reason, and Myravelle is a very powerful Fairy.

Through ups and downs, they find themselves, how to love, and how much they're willing to fight for the ability to live a life together.

One betrayal after another pushes our characters further and further from where they feel safe, who they feel they can trust, and into an unknown world where from the very beginning their instincts tell them something is wrong.

Love can push us to do things we don't even think ourselves capable of and this story.... it broke my heart for both of them and so many others while making me cheer as a very twisted form of retribution is executed.

If you're looking for a book to take you into a tale that gives you insight into multiple intertwined stories we all know and love, or just want a story that will prove that good and evil and so much more complicated than we think then this is the book for you.

If it isn't evident by this point I loved this book.

Thank you so much to Quill and Crow Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Her Dark Enchantments is a mix between different fairytales by Rosalyn Briar. This book certainly has some trigger warnings like bullying. The main charachter, Myravelle, never fit in. Her mum is captured in a tower to spin gold, while she has to drain her male canvasses to death for her healing magic. She is seen as a witch and no one loves her, until Byzarien comes along. He sees the beauty in her, but can he convince others to see the same?

The Wicked Fairy never asked to become a monster…

The prologue starts with a scene of Rose Briar and it takes places many years after this book. This book is all about Myravelle and Byzarien. Myravelle is a strong character who just needs some love. She wants to be a good fairy and not a monster. There is a lot of character development in this story which I really loved!

Rosalyn Briar has a really nice writing style and knows some great worldbuilding. Due to the prologue of this book, I have the feeling there is more to come. Therefore I really hope this book will be part of a series in the future. I really enjoyed reading Her Dark Enchantments and give it a 4,5 star rating.

An incredible book that grips you from the very beginning and won't let go even after you finished reading! Excellent characters with genuine motivations, that are both complex and relatable. An enemies-to-lovers romance that will make you swoon. All whilst encompassed in a high-stakes game that will keep you turning pages. An excellent read that I cannot recommend enough!

Memorable Quotes:

“For the day had ushered in only deceit, confusion, and change.”

“Embers danced against the inky night, only to rain upon the soldiers as dead, white ash.”

“Scars still burned strong.”

“Only magic can conquer magic.”

“Scars running deeper than his skin.”

“They deserved something beautiful.”

“If those I help live on then maybe a part of me will as well.”

“Their whispers sent white frost curling into the air, to gods Byzarien wasn’t sure still cared for them.”

“Never give into the darkness.”

“Dreams of unspeakable things faded, but left haunting whispers.”

“And doubt was a dangerous thing. One ember of it could burn down a life’s worth of morals, duty, and beliefs.”

“What kind of monster doesn’t feel pain?”

“What would we be if you didn’t hate me so?”

“Once spun, forever changed.”

“Fate, is a funny thing, is it not?”

“What was a heart for, if not to be stitched to another?”

Thank you to Rosalyn Briar, Quill and Crow Publishing House, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, let's take a moment to appreciate how amazing the cover of this book is. That is what instantly hooked me. I didn't even read the blurb when I requested it.

Second, this book was okay. The retelling of Sleeping Beauty was something that I didn't think I would like, but I did. But at points, this book was really slow and I started to lose interest. There were also parts where I felt like I was reading the same things repeatedly. I did finish it. I gave it 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Received April 19th.
Started off loving the narrator, found the beginning to drone on, stopped in the middle (pg. 103). Not sure if it's a mix of knowing where the story is going so early on, or that I had to fill in the gaps for myself. Magic was so-so for me, nothing out of the ordinary and could have been explored more.
I'm left with a swift romance with no where to go but down. In the future I'll pick this up and restart with a fresh mindset. When that happens I'll comeback with any updates, should there be any.

I went in with no further knowledge about the book, besides knowing it was a dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty. My expectations were therefore high, but after finishing it, I was positively surprised.

We follow Myravelle, a half-fairy forced to supply the king's army with her magic in the fight against other fairies. For this, she uses "canvases". One of these canvases is the soldier Byzarian. At first, appalled by her magic, he slowly falls for her, and the story begins.

At the beginning, I was a little confused because I was waiting for the universally known characters to appear. I don't want to give away too much, but this story is not necessarily about Sleeping Beauty. Also, the first half of the book really takes its time to establish the characters and their motivations. I was wondering if we would spend the entire book in the army camp, but as soon as Myravelle and Bry begin their quest, the story picks up. Especially towards the end, it basically accelerates. At first, I thought the pacing was off, but as I finished it, it clicked what Briar was going for, and I really enjoyed the story as soon as I knew what it was about.

I can only recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a well-written dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a little twist

“The Wicked Fairy. The Mistress of All Evil. The villain of Sleeping Beauty goes by many names, but where did she come from?

Myravelle Spinner grew up in a tower with only spiders, spindles, and stone walls for friends while her mother spun gold for the king. She wondered why her mother refused to teach her fairy magic until one fateful mistake led Myravelle to become the healer in the king’s Sleepy Wood Company…”


I was very excited to read this book! I have loved previous books by this Author and was keen to see what fairytale she would tackle next.
On Her Dark Enchantments we get a combination Of sleeping beauty and rumplestilskin which have the ingredients for a great story. And overall I really enjoy the story and the direction it took. But especially the start was a bit too slow for me and while Myravelle felt like a real person, Byzarien fell a bit flat in places. The ending made up for a lot and I love the choices made there.

Overall if you love fairytale rewrites or inspired tales you will really enjoy this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and little brown books for the review copy

I love fairytales retells, but this flat a bit flat for me.
I couldn't believe get into the story and it dragged for me, maybe it was aimed at a younger audience.

We are all familiar with the story of Sleeping Beauty, but have we ever pondered on where the villian of the story came from? What caused her to have such hatred in her heart - what made her the way she was? Myravelle Spinner grew up in a tower while her mother spun gold for the king. She wondered why her mother didn't teach her fairy magic until one fateful mistake led Myravelle to become the healer in the king’s Sleepy Wood Company… Ever since, she has been used to wake soldiers from a cursed sleep. In order to do this, she must have a soldier to use as a "canvas" on which to use her magic. When it is time to choose a new canvas, the fates assign Byzarien Dumont to her. Byzarien hates fairies, ever since his family lost their home, and his brother, to a fire, set by the fairies. That same fire left him riddled with scars down one side of his face and body, and left him bitter and angry. His hatred towards Myravelle prevents their bond from taking hold, and causes her magic to fail, which angers the king. He, in turn, takes his anger out on Myravelle's mother, threatening her life. Byzarien sees Myravelle as a spider, the others call her the Wicked Fairy. She never asked for this. She never wanted to become a monster.

This book was so good. I couldn't put it down. We always read about the princesses but never about the villians, and that was what I loved about this story. It showed why she was like she was. It humanized her. I never thought I could like her or sympathize with her, but believe it or not, I did. If you are a fan of fairytale re-tellings, then you will absolutely love this. I highly recommend it.

I really loved the narration in this book, and the sweet romance between Myravelle and Byzarian. The plotline and the betrayal reveals were executed really well.

I am kind of heartbroken at that ending though? Like I really wanted a hea 😭

TWs - death in various forms, scarring and trauma endured due to an fire accidents, assault

-- ty to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Is there something better than a fairytale retelling? Yes, there is something better than a fairytale retelling. The villain origin story! In a lot of fairytales the villains are just villains. We don't learn anything about their motivation or how they've become who they are nowadays. I love it when authors accept the challenge to come up with their version of the tale. I was therefore excited when I saw this book on Netgalley and I'm thankful Quill & Crow Publishing House granted my request.

My feelings and thoughts on this book are a little conflicted and it's hard to put into word why this book in the end didn't really convince me. I think that's partly because "villain turns fully villain because of lost love" is a little overdone. I understand love, heartbreak and loss are great motivators, but to make it work the author has to convince me that the romance is real and means so much and I'm not entirely sure if the book managed to make me feel that.

I guess that's also because everything that happens is still out of our heroine's control. Not once in the story is she the one deciding what she wants. She is very much used, abused and created for a certain purpose and it feels like she never really had a chance to become anyone but a villain in the end. Which means that her motivation to do what she does and to become who she becomes still feels a little wobbly.

Which is a pity, because the author's writing style is beautiful and especially in the first one third of the book I had really high hopes for this book. I liked the atmosphere, I liked the danger and I liked how there was so much politics in this book. I think I just had expected another kind of story. This was very much a girl destined to be wicked being pushed to become wicked by literally everyone. I prefer the stories where I really have the feeling that picking another path had been possible.

However, me not entirely being convinced by this book is very much a me problem. So give the book a chance. You might end up liking it way more than I did!

I enjoyed this fairytale retelling and the dark, gothic vibe. At times, I found it repetitive and slow but I hung on and the end was redeeming. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy retellings.

I thought this book was fun for the fact that it was a different take on how the villain in Sleeping Beauty came to be. For me there was just too many twists that happened that really didn't seem necessary. This book will definitely make you more sympathetic to Myravelle and how she gets to where she is but it was just a little too slow of a read for me. The writing is great, Rosalyn Briar knows how to paint in an image in your head so that you can envision everything that is going on.

The cover and blurb drew me in but unfortunately I didn’t connect with the characters and found them to be underdeveloped and bland. The plot was okay but I expected more. The writing wasn’t to my liking either. In this case, the book just wasn’t for me. If you enjoy fairytale retellings and want to read one from the villain’s perspective you might enjoy this.