Actual rating: 2.5/5 ⭐️

I was excited to read it right after Wish of the Wicked, especially after the open ending, but unfortunately, Spell of the Sinister turned out to be quite disappointing.

It picks up right after the events of the first book, and there’s a lot happening. The story is packed with events and conversations between the characters. They travel across the Queendoms using magic, so there aren’t many idle moments for them. What I enjoyed, though, is that the whole story felt like a mix between a fairy tale and a soap opera.

The book features both Farrow’s and Bari’s POVs, written in the first person. Bari’s POV was much more engaging, as it allowed us to learn more about her, Amantha, and South, and I appreciated their growth arcs. In contrast, I didn’t particularly enjoy Farrow’s plotline. She and Hecate came across as quite flat compared to how well they were developed in Wish of the Wicked. Hecate’s gift felt too convenient and yet useless.

What I enjoyed most was that, despite being on opposite sides, both parties were respectful of each other, which effectively portrayed the typical political intrigue of royals and the affection of the Entente sisters. However, because of this, there was a lot of telling, and the storyline felt a bit confusing. I read an uncorrected proof copy, so this might be different in the final version.

In the end, this was a quite enjoyable read all the same, but I don’t think I’ll ever reread it.

If the first book was a good recommendation for anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy, I’d say this second installment is more suitable for younger readers than adults who enjoy YA.

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

Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books | Bloomsbury YA for the eARC!

Spell of the Sinister is the follow-up to Wish of the Wicked and final novel in the A Fairy Godmother series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, so I was very excited to be picking up the second. In Spell of the Sinister, Danielle Paige provides a satisfying conclusion to the series. This is perfect if you enjoy young adult fairytale retellings!

This is perfect if you like:
• magical siblings
• revenge
• reimagined fairy tales
• brewing conflict
• character driven while still full of action
•good guys misbehaving
• dark themes
• YA magic

I was super excited to read this follow up to Wish of the Wicked and overall I enjoyed it! It’s essential the fairy godmothers origin story and I enjoyed the numerous POV!

Spell of the Sinister is the sequel and final book in A Fairy Godmother, it starts right where the first book ends, the first book is about revenge, magic, and secret identities, a very original retelling of Cinderella, this second one is more about the consequences, and it doesn't feel like a retelling any more, the magic is a bit in the background. It has two points of view: Farrow and Bari, are on different sides, they were friends in the first book, but now their ideas, alliances, and priorities have changed.

It's a slow-paced story with tension and political drama, the first book was about sisterhood and this one is more about finding your way, both characters are finding their purpose and following what is right. It's an original retelling about fairy godmothers turning their backs on humans.

It’s YA, but it's not a pretty retelling, it has its dark and complex elements, with grey characters, the humans and fairy godmothers are not perfect, there are villains on both sides.

Read it if you like:
Duologies
Fairytale Inspiration
YA kind of dark fantasy

Spell of the Sinister changes everything that we know about fairy godmothers! I had so much fun reading this Cinderella retelling. There is an array of characters and it was interesting to see which sisters were on Farrow or Bari sides. The rivalry and revenge between the sisters was addicting. For me, the highlight of the book was the granting of wishes. Being able to see how wishes could change the outcomes.
This duology is great for fans of young adult, magical adventures, touch of romance, fantasy, and fairytales.

What happens when fairy godmothers don’t just grant wishes—they make the rules? ✨

Spell of the Sinister is a fantastic sequel that dives deeper into the characters we’ve come to love (and some we love to hate). This book focuses so much on internal struggles—what makes a family, the bond of sisterhood, the pain of loss, and the search for belonging. Bari and Farrow’s POVs give us such a rich perspective, especially when we get to see the same events through their different lenses.

I loved the blend of magic, drama, and heart that Danielle Paige brought to this story. If you’re into fairy tale retellings with a darker twist, this one’s definitely worth checking out!

“My magic was completely dormant unless it was in fulfillment of another’s desire.”

I loved the idea behind Spell of the Sinister, or “the Fairy Godmother’s origin story”. It was such a delight! I loved the many characters, all in different shades of greys, as much as their interactions. The large sorority, the conflicts between them linked to their personal goals and not by “jealousy” or only rivalry was a change we don’t often see in fantasy. I also loved the idea behind the book that happiness can be found in many ways and not only in the traditional fairy tales' ending.
I have to say that I usually prefer when there are less POVs but in this case it was completely justified, as we follow a group of women of power and not only some protagonists about romance. It took me a little while to be accustomed to that, but once it was done I really enjoyed the mix of POVs.
The world building here is mostly political, and a lot based on dialogues. It’s a personal preference, but I like when there are more descriptions to immerse me into the world (scenery) created by the author, but I know it’s not the general opinion. That being said, every character truly has their own voice, and it wasn’t a problem to follow, and it also felt a great duology to be adapted on the screen. The choral cast with a lot of personalities, the magic, some “transformation” scenes, would indeed make (IMO) a great movie/TV show.

Thank you Danielle Paige, NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

YA dark fairytale fantasy, sequel to Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige. This series is a Cinderella retelling with the fairy godmother as the female MC!

In Spell of the Sinister, we get to follow both Farrow and Bari in first person as they carry out opposing plans of action throughout the Queendoms. I enjoyed this book! I loved the dual POVs because they allowed for greater insight into the minds of more of the characters. I also enjoyed the short chapters that were like snapshots of different events happening at the same time. It kept the story fast paced and more suspenseful. The storyline was a bit predictable, but it was still interesting.

This book also had more romance than the first book in the series, which I liked. There was a fun enemies to lovers dynamic and some other sweet couples throughout the book. There are many happy endings which always makes a book better in my opinion!

If you love fates, fairytale retellings, grim fantasy, witchy vibes, romance, and happily ever afters, you should definitely read this series!

4.25⭐️
Spell of the Sinister is the second book in the Fairy Godmother Series, and is every bit as magical and enthralling as the first installment. It picks up where Wish Of The Wicked leaves off, and begins new journeys and adventures for our FMCs, Farrow & Bari.

This duology takes what we know about the fairy godmothers from Cinderella, and gives it a dark, unexpected twist. In this world, the godmothers, known as the Entente, have been betrayed by the humans they once served. Outlawed and hunted by the queen, the first book sees the Entente enacting their plans for revenge… and it’s not sparky & pretty. 😳 In this installment, Farrow and Bari, once the best of friends, find themselves on opposite side the conflict between the humans and s the Entente- as Farrow hopes to thwart some of the more sinister plans, and Bari is hellbent on revenge. The story pits once beloved sisters against each other, as they both grapple with their new roles in this dark new world.

This was an incredibly fun and engaging YA adventure, with dark themes, angst, action, magic, humor, and romance. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good dark fairytale retelling, where the “good guys” don’t always behave. Revenge and betrayal take a front seat in this twisted tale, and I absolutely ate it up..

The sequel to the first book in a twist of fairy godmothers story with a fresh take on Cinderella. Two magical sisters and a mission of revenge. Picking up where the first book left off, Cinderella and Prince Mather have both vanished and Galatea intends to take revenge against humans using the Entente (aka godmothers). Bari is sent to find a new prince and take over one queendom at a time... but things get a bit conflicted when South joins her and the feelings begin to grow. Then there is Farrow who is trying to reunite with Cinderella and Mather but there are complicated feelings as she has feelings for Mather while she also is friends with Cinderella... and she is meant to be follow the Entente rules... Bari and Farrow are on opposite sides but can they work it out or are all the godmothers doomed? This series just hasn't been for me, I found this book to be a bit boring and honestly, still not good enough to have me recommend this series to someone else. It's just that the story felt so slow and all over the place. While this didn't work out for me if you like unique fairytale retellings and inspired stories, maybe give this series a go?

Release Date: December 17,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books | Bloomsbury YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Short and Sweet Review

After the death of Queen Magrit the Queendoms have been in disarray. Galatea wants to take over each queendom one at a time and get revenge on humans for using the Entente. To do so she tasks Bari with finding a prince, things get complicated when South joins her and sparks begin to fly between them. Farrow on the other hand is trying to reunite with Mather and Cinderella but she also has to thwart all of the things Galatea and Bari are doing.

This is the sequel to Wish of the Wicked and I thought it was just okay. Bari and Farrow are on opposite sides. Bari has aligned with Galatea to get revenge on the humans while Farrow is with Hecate and trying to in a way right the wrongs that are going on. Hecate is no longer dust but in a human form which is helpful to Farrow because she finally has Hecate to turn to in a different way than before. Farrow and Hecate know that they need more power before they can stop Galatea so Farrow goes around granting wishes to get stronger. We get to alternate between Farrow and Bari’s POV and we can see that Bari kind of has a villain edit but she’s also on the fence with some of the decisions she’s making. I did prefer Farrow’s POV mainly because I found Bari to be easily manipulated and didn’t really have a motive for the things she was doing but was just going along with things. The relationship between Farrow and Bari is interesting because they’re on different sides but as Entente they still have to honor the fact that they’re sisters. There is romance in the book but I wasn’t really invested in them, Farrow has Mather while Bari is trying to figure out her feelings for South.

Overall, this book was good but not my favorite. I did like seeing how each side was trying to achieve their goals but ultimately I thought Farrow had a better storyline than Bari did. I would recommend this book if you’ve read Wish of the Wicked just so you can feel like you can have some closure, otherwise I think I would skip it.

“Happily ever after. Just like in the stories.”

Picking up where Wish of the Wicked, a Cinderella retelling, leaves off, Spell of the Sinister follows the fairy godmothers, also known as Entente, who have been fighting for revenge after being taken advantage of by humans. Implicated in the fairy godmothers' struggle, friends Bari and Farrow experience rising tensions between them when their loyalties and priorities begin to differ. Bari finds herself on a mission to find a new prince to take over the queendom in Prince Mather’s absence, while Farrow seeks to find Prince Mather and Cinderella before Bari can succeed in her endeavor. As Farrow grows closer to Mather, however, the drive for vengeance starts to seem insignificant. Meanwhile, Bari, enacting Galatea’s plan, grows closer to South as she continues her mission.

Spell of the Sinister is a solid sequel to a promising concept that offers a unique perspective on a classic fairytale. In particular, I enjoyed Farrow’s characterization and development as she begins to challenge the views Hecate and the other Entente instilled in her. When it comes to her relationship with Bari, it was refreshing to see the difference between this book and the first. Their relationship changes throughout the story, but when tied back to the themes of sisterhood, platonic and romantic love, and how “happily ever afters" can be achieved even after embracing differences, it certainly fits well. While my main strife with the last book was that it tried to address too many aspects of world-building that only made it more complicated than it needed to be, I felt like that wasn’t as much of an issue in Spell of the Sinister. Though still action-packed and plot-heavy, the sequel seemed to be more internal and character-focused. Some of the dialogue felt out of place and unnatural at times, which could, in part, be due to the fact that I listened to the previous book on audio but read this one. Regardless, the phrasing of some sentences seemed to be trying too hard to not sound modernized, like when Galatea says “this situation is fraught for you” but later says “this will be difficult.” If conveying the same idea, why is the verbiage so different? Despite these minor issues, Spell of the Sinister is a strong conclusion to the series.

#SpelloftheSinister is the sequel in the A Fairy Godmother series where we find the the godmothers aren't as sweet as we have always been led to believe. the Entente is a group of magical being known to us at Godmothers, but most have no love for human beings. After Hecate is burned and turned to a being only made of ashes things get even more complicated for Human, Rook and entente alike.

Farrow finds herself only able to weild magic as long as it is in the form of a wish, Galatea has taken over the Queendom and has a plan to dethrone all the human Queens and place those of the Entente on the throne. Vital to her plans are Bari and Amantha her daughters both with different powers but not all plans go as they are supposed to and both Bari and Amantha find themselves faces a magic far great than their mothers.

I want to thank #Netglley for the chance to read #SpelloftheSinister by #DaniellePaige in return for a fair and honest review.

Dnf at 40%

Upon realizing this was the second book in this series after the random beginning I knew I wouldn’t understand it that well hence my lower-score.

From what I read so far I can agree that this has potential to be a good Cinderella fairytale retelling twist and a sequel to the first one, however this does read more so middle school level young adult and isn’t the perfect fit for my reading preferences.

This is the second book in the Fairy Godmother Series. This is a delightful sequel and an excellent twist on the fairy godmothers, as well as a great Cinderella retelling.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. This is the second book in a new series, though Netgalley and the publishers aren't presenting it that way. Once I realized that, I had to pick up the first book so I didn't feel lost. I really enjoyed the first book, and once I got to this one, I liked it even better than the first. I loved the fresh take on the classic fairy tales, and the character twists.

Gorgeous cover art and what seems like excellent world building.
DNF at ~5% because I did not realize that this was a sequel and I need to have read the first one (nothing in the title or marketing here on NetGalley indicated a sequel, so I was very confused when I started reading).

Spell of the Sinister is the second book in the Fairy Godmother Series which turns the entire idea that those godmothers are sweet beings just waiting to grant wishes to downtrodden humans right on its head. The Entente, as the group of magical fairy godmothers are known, have been ill used by humans and are out for some revenge. Farrow and her mother Hecate have one plan, while Bari and her group have another. The book is exciting and engaging. There is mild violence and scenes of peril, sweet romance, but nothing to keep this from being a nice middle grade book.

I received an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.