Title: The Tales of Arcana Fortune

Series: Standalone

Author: Hafsah A. Jawad

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Seven nights, Seven tales

Young healer Serena Rose has always dreamed of fairytales, but the chances of finding true love living alone in the a cottage by the wood are… slim. Instead, she spends her days chasing down mischievous woodland critters, brewing tonics, and taking care of her family’s ancient records of fairytales, many of which have been outlawed in the kingdom of Lumina where she resides.

However her quiet life is upended when she is approached by a dark haired stranger searching for a book in her family’s collection, The Tales of Arcana Fortune. In between searching for more information on the book, and fighting their budding attraction, they accidentally free a malicious immortal sealed with an ancient spell.

Cursed to be trapped in a different fairytale each night, Serena must find a way through her trials all the while trying not to lose her life, her freedom, and her heart. – summary from Goodreads

The Tales of Arcana Fortune is a unique fantasy with deadly fairytale trials, magic, romance, and fae!

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I was so excited for this book, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. It was still good, and I did enjoy it.

I loved the storyline- it was unique and new. I loved the fairytale trials, and how the classic tales were twisted to fit into the story. The author did an excellent job of this!

The main characters, Serena Rose and Grim, were a lot of fun. I enjoyed the grumpy x sunshine relationship as well. Serena was a very friendly and kind person, but she also had her moments of doubt and anger. She was very well rounded. Grim was an interesting character, and a nice parallel to Serena. I actually quite enjoyed him, though I do wish we got to dive into his character and backstory a little more. It felt a little rushed.

The romance in this book was sweet. However, I felt that it was rushed. There was some instant attraction, which is fine, but they fell in love rather quickly. I think there could have been a little more time dedicated to them getting to know each other.

The worldbuilding and the magic in this world was super unique and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked how the Fae and spirits were woven into this story. It brought a new perspective, and I am excited to see where this goes if there is a future book.

There was some grief and loneliness exploration as well. I thought this was well done, and I appreciated it.

There were some comments about religion that I didn’t love. It was part of the story and a fairly minor part of the story, so I was able to brush it aside, but I thought I would mention it in case someone else has an issue with it.

There was a lot of curse words in this book. This isn’t something that I typically come across in the books I read, so it was something I noticed. There was also a fade to black scene. I think this book is 16+.

The Tales of Arcana Fortune is an interesting book with amazing world-building, romance, and twisted fairytales!

Quotes:

“‘From today on Serena Rose. If I lived a hundred lives, I would find you in each one, just so I could dedicate it to you. From now until I am but a note upon the wind, I am yours.’”