Ok so from the beginning, I’ll give it a 4 outta 5! I was hooked on the unique world Sheila built, although at the start it reminded me a lot of “From blood and ash” with the secluded/celibate/white clothing/red haired/feisty-yet-listens/old aristocrat wants her super bad/fated maiden trope. It went away after a while, probably once we got the point where we were actually going to see the Wolf. Towards the end I definitely was looking forward to her female rage but I was a little disappointed….. speaking of the end I was so confused???? Like what happened? Exactly why did the village turn into chaos? And when were they ever taking in refugees?…. Plus what was the deal with the dreams that the Wolf was having? The climax was a little rushed and messy but I could struggle through it. The voices were awesome though, and did I catch that Tempe voice actor for Rowan had the same name as her “little sister” (average audiobook listener name spelling experience)? That was pretty cool. Definitely looking forward to anything else coming from this author!!!

This book was an enchanting and immersive read! The storytelling pulled me in, weaving a rich, atmospheric tale that felt almost magical. The world-building was beautifully done, and every page felt like a journey through the dark and mysterious woods. A captivating and unforgettable experience!

This was a reread of a book I already loved and not only did the audiobook make me relive the story, it even made it better! The narrators were really incredible, Aoife McMahon is the PERFECT Rowan and Dermot Magennis definitely reflected the yearning factor of the Wolf so well. The accents just gave the story a new life, both Aoife's and Dermot's accents were so easily understandable but so exciting to listen to.

I am usually bad at listening to audiobooks and get disctracted very easily but I could not put this one down. I was planning to listen to a few chapters at a time and finish it in a couple of days but once I started, I kept finding reasons to continue listening and devoured it in a day. Thanks so much for the ALC!

I absolutely devoured this story (see what I did there? 😉) But seriously, I had to force myself to turn the audiobook off last night in order to get other things done and actually sleep. I wanted to just listen until I finished.
The narrators - Aoife McMahon and Dermit Magennis - are fantastic! I of course love their voices and their accents, but they also do such a fantastic job with the story. Aoife is so good at projecting emotions with her tones and volume. Dermit has the perfect voice for a dark and broody god and manages to inflect the insecure or manic-y moments too. Wonderful casting!
The story itself was captivating. I love their voices red riding hood retelling and the fact that there’s even a direct nod to the origin tale during one of the conversations. The added facet of Hades x Persephone took this up a notch and has me hooked.
I love Rowan and all her feminine rage. She’s stubborn, and blunt, but also sensitive and deeply loyal to those she care about. Her and Wolf are a very fun combination together and I love when Charlie is around to stir things up.
I am really excited for this to be a series of interconnected standalones because
1. I love those in general.
2. I have questions even though Rowan and Wolf’s story was resolved.
I want to know where the missing red cloak is hidden and what her story might be. I also would love to get more of Cade as well as Sarai in the coming books.

Thank you for the advanced Listener Copy! The narrators did such an amazing job bringing this world to life.

I loved Song of the Dark Wood. It is a fantasy romance standalone, perfect for the fall season. With some hints of Red Riding Hood, this book follows Rowan, a red maiden raised to serve the God of Death aka the Wolf. Rowan is rebellious and questioning and is frustrated with feeling out of control with her life and her choices.

I love seeing how Sheila develops the characters and how they grow throughout the book. The Wolf, Conor, is not as evil as he's perceived, and Rowan isn't as innocent as she's perceived. We also get some really fun side characters including a few friends for Rowan, both human and demon... yes, one of her best friends is a demon, and he's hilarious. Conor even has a friend or two in the Dark Woods.

There's something so nice about a standalone. While I'm sad the story is over, I love the feeling of everything being complete. I loved this journey and can't wait to revisit it year after year.

ALC REVIEW:

The accentssssssssss. Oh my god. These voice actors NAILED THE HECK out of it.

My original review below rings entirely true, but the audio brought the entire thing to life. Full circle.

Sheila I’m so proud. Thank you for allowing me an ALC!

If you were a fan of The Lost God series, then this stand alone is for you! Sheila’s writing is so poetic and Song of the Dark Wood carried the same tone.

I love a FMC who starts off as a people pleaser because of traditions and duty, but turns into a BADASS woman that takes no crap when she finds empowerment and inner strength. I also love a broody MMC who does everything to push away the one person he can’t stay away from.

Put the two together and I’m gonna enjoy the hell out the story!

SOTDW is a gothic Red Riding Hood retelling that also gives off Beauty and the Beast vibes. There’s a singing maiden whose song brings a spooky forest to life. She also sees ghosts. So there’s that. There are even vampires, demons, and so many spirits! Oh and the big bad wolf… who feeds off said spirits.

I enjoyed the story from start to finish, even though I was so behind on ARC reading. Thank you Sheila for giving us Conor and Rowan! Oh and the illustrations!!!!!! Screaming. They’re gorgeous.

Song of the Dark Wood is a dark and atmospheric retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, infused with Beauty and the Beast and Hades & Persephone vibes. Sheila Masterson delivers an enchanting yet eerie tale that blends gothic fantasy, divine bargains, and slow-burning romance.

Rowan, the next Red Maiden, has been raised to fulfill an ancient bargain with the Wolf, a god of death who rules the Dark Wood. But when she steps into her destined role, she begins to question the power structures around her, leading to a tale of autonomy, sacrifice, and forbidden desire. The story’s feminist themes—particularly its critique of purity culture and oppressive traditions—add depth to its fairytale foundation.

Masterson's prose is lyrical and immersive, and the world-building is rich with lore, though at times it feels slightly overstuffed. The romance is a slow burn with intense chemistry, but certain tropes (such as the age-old immortal/mortal dynamic) might not appeal to all readers. Some plot threads could have been more developed, and the pacing stumbles in places, especially toward the climax.

The audiobook narration by Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis is stellar, bringing Rowan and the Wolf to life with emotion and tension. If you enjoy dark fairytales with gothic aesthetics, morally gray love interests, and high-stakes bargains, this book is well worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Song of the Dark Wood

Gothic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with Beauty and the Beast vibes. The story follows Rowan, the next Red Maiden who has spent her life learning how to please the Wolf in the Dark Wood because of a centuries old bargain made between Gods.

Sheila has quickly become one of my favorite authors (hi, can we be besties!?👯). She writes stories that are both beautiful and devastating. Her characters are always so full of personality and substance, it’s easy to love (or hate) them. I also loved the little nods to The Lost God series in the story as well (song of the Storm Prince and his Princess 🥹). Even though this is a stand alone book, it’s part of an interconnected fairytale story and can’t wait to see what other characters we meet.

Narrated by Aoife McMahon; Dermot Magennis - These two did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. 10/10 recommend listening to this one!

~Gothic fairytale vibes
~Bargains between Gods
~Prophecies
~Slow spicy burn 🥵
~She’s mine/Touch her and die

Book is available on Kindle Unlimited and the Audiobook will be released March 18th.

5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Sheila Masterson for a copy of the ALC. All opinions are my own.

4.5⭐️

This was such a fun, dark Red Riding Hood retelling! It had such gothic atmospheric vibes. There were meddling gods and demons and reapers and wraiths. There was heartbreak and sadness. And LOTSSS of spice. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. It was so captivating and I didn’t want to stop listening!

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This was ok. It kept my attention and wasn’t terribly offensive, but it didn’t knock my socks off. I don’t really get the dark and gothic vibes that were advertised. Also, the whole 20 year old virgin falling for a centuries old being is so beyond overdone. Didn’t really get the feminine rage bit either. The FMC was repressed but also impotent for most of it and never really came into her power in an “oh shit!!” sort of way for me. It felt like a lot of interesting story lines just sort of petered out.

All in all, it was ok. Probably won’t seek out any sequels, but this felt very stand-aloneish to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC in return for an honest review.

Song of the Darkwood was a great way to revisit Sheila's beautiful storytelling. I loved the mythology and the creative music based magic system. Rowan's story addresses topics like purity culture, magical feminism, and holding on to one's autonomy in the face of religious patriarchy. "Nothing was more threatening to a man than a woman who wanted nothing to do with him." Yes, girl! Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis take Sheila's work to another level. As if I didn't love this story already, listening to it made me appreciate so much more. Thank you Dreamscape Media and Sheila for the ALC. I can't wait of readers to enjoy this! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this audio book. I read a physical copy of the book when it was published and I couldn't put it down. I feel like the narrators did a phenomenal job with this story and I am so impressed with how authentic they were. I would definitely list to both the female and male narrators again and Sheila Masterson will always be an autobuy author.

I do not frequently gravitate towards romance books, but when I read this was a fractured blend of Red Riding hood mixed with a bit of dark fairytale, myth, and fierce feminism, I was intrigued.

Rowan knows she has been trained to be next in line to be the Red Maiden. However, when Orla, the current Red Maiden is found dead in the woods, Rowan knows it is her turn to take up the mantle and usher the souls to the Wolf's Keep to pass on into the next world. However, during her time as the maiden, she plans to make a bargain with the Wolf and try to change the stipulations of the contract in order to protect the young Red Maiden who is expected to come after Rowan.

The romantic aspect for me, is a slow burn/ forced proximity situation. Though I've seen some people say it's spicy, I think there are a few scenes which are intense but not all the way in the realm of the spice. I am not going to sit here and say it doesn't exist in the book, I just don't think it was as spicy as what people keep claiming.

It seems as though this will be part of an interconnected series so I am interested to see what the next story may hold.

It is a lot more steamy than the marketing is making you believe

Red maidens are charged with guiding the souls of the dead through the Dark Wood to afterlife. Rowan is about to ascend into the role, when her predecessor gets violently murdered. Vulnerable to the whims of a cultish religion, Rowan must figure out how to find a way forward that ensures her survival..

Sheila Masterson's first in the new Fable Song series was not for me, I will say this up front. But since I can see how it would absolutely land with its niche audience, I decided to give it 3 stars. Song of the Dark Wood is narrated by Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis in the audiobook version. I think overall, it was a good audiobook. I had some issues with McMahon's male voice mode but have to admit that Dermot Magennis' voice is quite pleasant if not downright attractive to listen to.

I am having major trouble with the marketing of this book. There are elements of the Red Riding Hood tale (mostly the red hood, the forest and the wolf) but I would probably categorise it more as Court of Thorns and Roses x Red Riding Hood fancfiction. The Hades/Persephone part is a vast stretch for me, something else would probably have done better as a comp.

The book centers around some very difficult topics, such as the sexualisation of women, male dominance and cults.
It is interesting how much this book is about things being done against the protagonist's will but the explicit scenes, especially initially, are not only extremely problematic but also absolutely not attractive or nice to read, even once the relationship moves into the realm of consent. As a reader of Ali Hazelwood, the thing she gets spot on is the consensual nature of even more kinky sex scenes. This novel does not.
There is quite a lot of objectivisation happening, especially of the female characters. While some queer representation is included, I think the author is trying to get Smash the Patriarchy to be the central message. Considering that most of her male characters are very one dimensional, she might have damaged her own point there.
To be fully frank, this book's middle portion reminded me of reluctancy pornography, with extensive scenes with sexual content only being briefly interspersed with actual plot. So while I love romantic fantasy or steamy romance, this was too much about the steam and too little about the romance.
To me, this just did not work, as I found myself frequently cringing or yelling at the audiobook. Rowan as a character is quite sweet, a bit naive and is not a solid judge of character.

I think Song of the Dark Wood will work for fans of the romantasy genre, especially of authors like S J Maas and Rebecca Yarros, but not for fans of Madeline Miller or Natalie Hayes.

"I have no power over anything in my life. I’ve never asked you for anything. Please, just let me make this choice for myself. Everything else in my life just happens to me, but this is something I could choose.”

✮ 3.5 out of 4 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the free ARC of this audiobook.
Rowan is the Red Maiden next in line to be sacrificed for the Wolf, the God of Death, to devour. None of the previous maidens have survived their five years of servitude, but Rowan is determined to change the bargain with the god and ensure her own survival; and save Aoife who’s to serve after Rowan.

But the God of Death isn’t what Rowan expected, and slowly Rowan learns how to free herself from others’ expectations. With the lurking pressure from the village as a deadly blight spreads and dark forces slowly growing stronger in the forest, time is running out. But with the growing attraction to the god, Rowan must make the hardest choice yet; to protect the village or to choose love.

The Red Riding Hood and Hades x Persephone theme of this book was one I couldn’t say no to. When I started getting into romantasy a few years back, I picked up For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten, because I loved the Red Riding Hood premise for a love story. It unfortunately disappointed me a lot. I knew that Song of the Dark Wood would be the redemption for the red riding hood love story I wanted, and I knew I had to pick it up.
In many regards, Song of the Dark Wood delivers the exact kind of romantasy story I wanted out of a Red Riding Hood romance. The blend with the Hades and Persephone elements makes this story exquisite to experience, and a lot of the groundwork for an amazing romance is laid out strongly from the beginning. Song of the Dark Wood might not be the most original story; a maiden chosen to be the sacrifice to some powerful man, misogynistic village leaders and a magical dark forest are all known elements, but they are delivered nicely packaged in this book, so I cannot complain; especially because it’s all elements I love when they’re present in a book.

When I reached the last 10% of this book, I did wonder how all of the things happening had been squeezed into this book. There was simply too many elements that the story tried to fit in, compared to the length of the book. Polishing the plot a little and removing some of the elements or simplifying them wouldn’t have hurt this book at all. Instead it’s almost drowning in all it’s trying to be, which hurts the enjoyment of the book.
My biggest problem with this story was the sexual assault threats looming around Rowan. In theory I don’t mind when a book presents a nasty older man who’s an absolute unworthy piece of shit as a threat, but the amount of space it took of this book absolutely hurt my enjoyment of it. It didn’t make the bond and trust between Rowan and Connor (the God of Death) seem genuine, and it didn’t feel like a natural progression of their relationship. The book is, however, labelled as dark and I was aware of this when starting this book. This might, however, be someone else’s cup of tea, and if so, this book will deliver.

I did get the audiobook version of this book, so it would feel wrong to not mention the narrators; Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis, both of whom did an amazing job with the narration of this book. They both fit their characters nicely, and made it that much easier to immerse myself in the whole story.

If you love a good romantasy story and wants something that feels very classic romantasy, while also presenting some dark elements, then I think this story might be for you.

A big thank you to the author, Sheila Masterson and NetGalley for the chance to listen this ALC!

I give this 3.75 stars. Sheila Masterson has beautifully written this unique and interesting story. It is a dark and spicy little red riding hood retelling with Hades and Persephone vibes. Rowan is a red maiden who’s suppose to seduce the big bad wolf(aka a grumpy God of death named Conner) to save the dying wood and keep the people of Ballybrine safe.

The narrators for this ALC were Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis. I think they done a great job and their voices suited the characters. They were able to capture the personalities and emotions of the characters well. It did feel a bit like listening to someone read a book to a child at times when other characters voices were imitated. But it’s a LRRH hood retelling so 🤔 it also worked. I was able to stay engaged in the story.

The main characters were good strong characters with some growth. The demon, vampire, witchy and god side characters were also great. They were useful and played important parts to the story. The plot was lost a bit at times but, it’s not a complicated fantasy so it was still easy to follow and wasn’t confusing. I would have liked the magic system and lore to have been more in depth. I found those things very interesting and unique. The pace was a little slow to start but, well paced for the rest of the story. I loved the relationship and banter between Rowan and Conner. And the spice… so good! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I’d recommend this standalone as a good, quick read. If you like dark and spicy fairytale retellings with feminine rage, a unique magic system, angsty romance and a happy ending this is a book for you.

I DNFed this book at about 20% because some of the content had made me a little uncomfortable. Paused to read reviews to see what others had said about the book overall and decided to not continue given that it felt like SA would continue to show up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the cover of this book looked really cool. I’m glad I was able to listen to the audiobook otherwise I don’t think I would have finished.

The book was very odd and disturbing. I definitely think there should have been trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. I won’t be listening to this again.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Sheila and Dreamscape media for the ALC!

Publication Date: March 18 2025
Rating: 🐺

#SongoftheDarkWood
#NetGalley

I can't believe I didn't realise this was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling - it's actually a little embarrassing how long it took me to figure that out, especially considering the girl in a red cloak on the actual cover. So this a fairytale retelling with a darker twist, featuring a strong FMC and a slowburn romance.

I really liked how this was dual POV and I thought that both narrators did a great job in bringing the characters to life. If you have the option to listen to the audiobook, then I'd highly recommend it! (But it's also on kindle unlimited too!)

I saw a review on goodreads that said something about the main character being weak and giving her power to a guy, which honestly, are we even talking about the same book? Rowan, the FMC, is such a strong character - we literally follow her progression from being someone being trodden all over to someone who takes no shit and has so much power. If you also have an issue with men thinking they have power over women and their lives, then you'll feel the same rage that Rowan does and it will make your blood boil. But seeing how they're dealt with makes it all worth it, trust me.

The ending was perfect, particularly the epilogue - it felt right and earned after the events of the book.

I really enjoyed this, and I definitely want to check out more works by the author because I just loved the writing, the worldbuilding and the characters in this.

I fell in love with Rowan and Conor when I read Song of the Dark Wood and absolutely loved hearing their story again with this audiobook!

This book is narrated by Aoife McMahon Dermot Magennia. The casting for Rowan and Conor is perfect! Their voices are exactly how I heard these characters in my head. A well casted audiobook and completely change the feel of the book and these two captured the story perfectly!

Sheila has such a way with words and her writing flows so well. When you add that with the pairing of narrators, you are transported into the story and completely entranced.

The story itself is a little red riding hood retelling but let me tell you, you will definitely want to be caught by this big bad wolf. Conor comes off as dark and brooding and I was all there for his angsty energy. Couple that with Rowan’s rage and they are a formidable pair. Their tension and chemistry is palpable through the book and when it snaps it is absolutely amazing.

This story deals with loss, love and tragedy. There are some difficult topics that Sheila tackles but she does it so well and creates a story layered with intricate characters and a compelling Sorry arc.