Title: A Fable of Desolation and Do-Overs

Series: Dungeons and Legends #3 (standalone within the series)

Author: Sydney Winward

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

There is only one do-over. But with no more second chances left, even the smallest mistake could be their downfall.

Quest Objective: Turn back time, defeat the enemy, and don’t lose her in the process.

There is only one do-over. But with no more second chances left, even the smallest mistake could be their downfall.

When the world as they know it ends, Lirael Vannis must turn back time to try to change the fate of the future. The catch? He only gets one chance, and changing the future is much harder than it seems. Their only hope?

A runaway elf who has a running list of tally marks as a wanted criminal.

Shaelis Ethoril might be a wanted woman, but at least she has good reasons for the things she’s done. But after getting tracked and chased for years, she wants nothing to do with the war with the monsters expanding across the corners of the map. It will take a miracle–or a weasel–to get her to agree to such a sacrifice.

As the situation becomes dire, Shaelis and Lirael must come together to stop a common enemy, all while fighting a love that could doom them all while they’re at it.

Will they succeed in defeating a powerful enemy? Or is the future destined to repeat itself? – summary from Goodreads

*I received an ARC from the author, and all opinions are my own.

A Fable of Desolation and Do-Overs is an interesting book with Fae, romance, and monsters!

I did really enjoy this book, and it was a fun read. I am not familiar with the tale it is inspired by. This book was inspired by Koschei the Deathless, so I am going to look into this a little more.

I was very intrigued by this world. It was very fascinating, and I love how the author was able to set this up in a such a short period of time. I really hope that the author has other books that take place in this world, or that she will write some in the future. I would love to get to know the Fae and the kingdoms more in future installments.

The characters were interesting and I enjoyed their growth, namely Shaelis’s, throughout the course of the book. I also liked that the majority of the book was told from Lirael’s perspective. I did enjoy Shaelis’s POV, but I liked Lirael’s a little more.

Lirael was an interesting character. I loved how he was able to joke around but was still serious and caring. He was caring enough to help those that hurt him, as well as admitting when he was wrong. He felt like a real character, which I liked. Shaelis was also interesting, though I think a little more of the story could a have been focused on her, because I feel like I didn’t get to know her a lot. I did like what we got to see, and she was an intriguing character. She was very stoic and closed off, but she also joked around and cared for those around her. She also had the most character growth throughout the book, and I liked how everything played out.

The romance in this book was sweet, but felt very rushed to me. I loved Lirael and Shaelis together, but it could have been slowed down a little. I think dedicating a little more time to developing this relationship would have made it even better.

There was also an animal companion in this book! It was a mischevious little weasel, Skitter. I loved this character and her inclusion in the story. She did cause some problems, but she was definitely one of the highlights of the story!

The storyline was super intriguing, and I really enjoyed how everything was set up. This book was inspired by RPGs, and I could see that in the monsters and how they manifested. The category system for the monsters was also reminiscent to RPGs. The time travel component was very interesting, and I liked how Lirael responded to this. I love that it wasn’t swept under the rug, which I have seen in other things, but something that affected Lirael and he was emotional about it.

This was my first book by Sydney Winward, and I really liked it. I enjoyed her writing style and how she wrote certain parts of this book, as well as the worldbuilding. I am definitely going to read more of her books in the future!

A Fable of Desolation and Do-Overs is an interesting fantasy novel with monsters, Fae, redemption arcs, and wonderful world-building!

A Fable of Desolation and Do-Overs releases on September 26, 2026.