A widowed queen trapped by her past.

A giant who just wants to be left alone.

A fowl curse that could cost them both everything.

Lindy never wanted to get married or have children—especially not seven stepsons old enough to be her brothers and a doddering royal husband. Just when it seems like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the king suddenly dies, and her sinister reputation for casting curses means that all eyes and fingers are pointed at her. Rather than support their new mother, her stepsons seem determined to do everything they can to make her life miserable. When the youngest fills her room with water fowl as a prank, Lindy finally decides to take things into her own hands—and everything goes wrong.

Atlas lives with his head in the clouds, and he likes it that way. His ancestral home is hidden away so high in the mountains that it’s practically inaccessible. But somehow the secret has slipped, and he keeps chasing away unwanted visitors. After the latest break-in ends with his prized goose missing, Atlas is forced to do the one thing never wanted: climb down the beanstalk.

Unfortunately, the scoundrel who took his goose is now a swan, and the only way to get him to tell Atlas where she is is to help the witch who cast the curse in the first place. The nettlesome woman won’t give him the time of day, refusing to speak until the sun goes down. When she does, it’s to instruct him in the most ridiculous task he’s ever heard of.

But Atlas really wants to get his goose and go home, and if knitting is the way to achieve that, so be it. If only the task didn’t threaten to knit his heart to hers in the process…

Falling for the Winged Witch is a combined retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk and The Wild Swans, featuring tropes such as Unlikely Allies, Found Family, and Opposites Attract. It is the third book in the To Win a Dark Heart series, which retells fairy tales as old as time, but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.

Published
January 30, 2026
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To Win a Dark Heart

The series

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In this shadow tinged collection, familiar fairy tales tilt just slightly off their axis. The stories linger where old legends rarely pause, inside the thoughts of characters who usually stand at the edges of the light. The series, To Win a Dark Heart, follows figures shaped by curses, broken loyalties, and the kind of longing that thrives where magic and danger meet.

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Each novella steps into a different corner of enchanted lore. You might cross paths with a witch who guards her solitude like a shield, or a fae whose heart has hardened after centuries of betrayal. Their worlds are textured with quiet forests, forgotten ruins, and spells that hum beneath every choice they make. The romance that grows within these pages leans more toward tension than sweetness, the kind that builds slowly as trust becomes more dangerous than any curse.

There is a constant thread running through the series, even as each story stands on its own. Every tale asks what happens when the so called villain is no longer reduced to a single role. When their motives, griefs, and fierce hopes are allowed room to breathe, the line between hero and monster begins to blur. That shift creates a mood that readers of dark romantic fantasy often crave, the feeling that something ancient and meaningful is unfolding just out of sight.

The author’s voice carries a quiet intensity, using atmosphere rather than spectacle to draw you deeper. The emotional pull comes from characters who are guarded yet vulnerable, powerful yet lonely, each of them navigating a world where magic is both temptation and threat.

For anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings with a darker pulse, morally gray characters, low spice romantic tension, and immersive settings shaped by myth, this series offers an experience that feels both familiar and new. It hints at danger, desire, and the possibility that even the most guarded heart can be won, though never easily.

If you step into these stories, expect curses that tangle with fate, secrets that reshape old tales, and romances built on fragile trust rather than perfect endings. The shadows do not swallow everything. Sometimes they reveal what the light never could.

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I loved this twist on Wild Swans and Jack and the Beanstalk and how well the two were blended together. This was my first retelling for Jack and the Beanstalk but I have read several for Wild Swans since it is among my favorites. Atlas & Lindy (Belinda) were great characters and I enjoyed their banter and seeing how protective Atlas was as he saw through her armor. I was glad to see the princes learn their lesson and to appreciate and care for Lindy as the story progressed and the end was so fun. I look forward to reading more books in this multi author series as well as from Sarah Beran in the future.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from the author through the To Win a Dark Heart ARC Team and am voluntarily leaving a review. 

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