⭐️⭐️ | Meh, Won’t Recommend.
Or, I read it so you don’t have to. You’re welcome. If you’re curious to know why this one isn’t worth your time, read on for the deets:
✨Heads up! Some links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping me keep this blog running and my TBR endless! 📚
FYI: I read this as an eARC (aka an early digital copy), and as always—you’re getting my honest, unfiltered thoughts.
📖 What’s Inside:
- Single POV
- Fairytale inspired 🥧
- Hate to love
- ⛓️💥 Magical bonds
- On-page intimacy*
- 🛏️ Only one bed
- Cinnamon roll MMC
*I didn’t make it that far, so I don’t know. 😂
Book Boyfriend Meter: 🤍
No chemistry. No thank you.
✨ Vibes:
Cinderella with a dash of Aladdin’s genie.
Think cozy fall vibes, magical fairytale romance, and a pumpkin-filled twist on the classic Cinderella setup.
Honestly? The vibes were adorable.
The execution just didn’t quite work for me.
💭 My (Brutally Honest) Thoughts:
I totally got the Cinderella vibes from chapter one.
And that prologue? Instantly hooked.
The cozy fall atmosphere felt like a Hallmark movie got dropped into a fantasy world, and I was here for it.
It was cute, super cozy. It was giving pumpkin spice and magical romance.
And then we got the enemies-to-lovers setup…
Except…
Babes.
This was initially feeling less like enemies-to-lovers and more like a schoolgirl crush.
And I was sitting there thinking: Excuse me? This is NOT what I was promised.
But I held out because I knew we had to get through the setup.
That first 20% is important, babes.
THE FATED BOND:
Once I got through the setup, I actually really liked the twist on the “fated” concept.
And don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t your typical fated-mates story. The twist was genuinely interesting, and once the story got there, I thought the book became much more fun.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last.
Now, our MMC is honestly adorable.
He’s aloof, pompous, and very princely.
But underneath all of that?
Sweetie pie.
The problem was that he felt underdeveloped to me. Or maybe it was partly the FMC’s perspective.
She starts out liking him, then hates him, and then basically pulls back one layer and realizes that her hatred was misguided.
And once that happens, a huge chunk of the tension disappears.
Because suddenly he’s off the hook. He still has some things to learn, but he’s already willing to do what needs to be done. And because he learns so quickly, it felt a little too convenient.
I wanted more character development from him.
Instead, it felt like we solved his biggest problem and moved on.
And that’s where I really started losing interest.
The tension that was driving the romance disappeared once the FMC realized she had misunderstood him.
And without that tension, I didn’t feel particularly invested in their relationship.
They were suddenly just…
Happy.
Living their little life together. Which would be adorable if I actually believed they wanted something different. But I never really felt their urgency to break the spell. And if they weren’t particularly desperate to break it…
Why should I care?
THE PLOT
This was ultimately what did me in.
Around the halfway point, I realized I wasn’t really invested in what happened next. The romance wasn’t compelling me forward. The overarching plot wasn’t compelling me forward. And the characters didn’t seem particularly motivated to change their circumstances.
So eventually…
I stopped reading.
THE VERDICT
Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me at around the halfway point.
And I normally wouldn’t bother writing a review for a DNF, but since this was an ARC, I wanted to share my honest thoughts.
There were things I genuinely enjoyed. The cozy fall atmosphere was adorable, the Cinderella inspiration was obvious from the beginning, and the twist on the fated bond was interesting.
But once the initial romantic tension disappeared, I struggled to find anything that kept me invested.
This just wasn’t my book.
And that’s okay.
I’m sure there are readers who will absolutely adore this cozy little pumpkin-filled fairytale.
I just wasn’t one of them.
👓 What to Read Instead
If you’re specifically craving cozy fairytale romantasy with fall vibes, this may still hit the spot.
But if you need a romance with more tension, stronger character arcs, and a plot that keeps pushing forward try:
- A Rivalry of Hearts — rivals to lovers, cozy fantasy, fae bargains (read my review)
- Bonded by Thorns — Beauty and the Beast retelling, fae, why choose romance, cozy vibes (read my review)
- To Bleed a Crystal Bloom — Repunzel retelling, dark fantasy romance, fae (read my review)
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