This is cute but not a great fit for me. I didn’t feel invested in the characters; I was curious about how the curse would be broken, but when it came down to it, I didn’t fully understand what happened.

Re: my cozy rating… This is set in an enchanted castle and the hero is an adventurer and pirate, but it has cell phones and references to modern, real-world people and places.

This is the story of a fairy-tale princess trapped in a castle of ice waiting to be rescued by an unlikely prince charming. The Christmas tree that gains new ornaments each night at the stroke of midnight is an interesting idea. However, this story lacks sophistication and the characters are a little one dimensional. You sympathise with the princess being trapped and the young man does his best to treat her like any young woman, but nothing is achieved, there is no real development. It is pleasant and inoffensive but nothing special or memorable. ( )

A spoiled princess is cursed to relive her birthday and has lived hundreds of years watching people who've stumbled into the castle turn into ornaments at midnight each night until Lance invades the castle looking for the Eternal Bloom.

Lance has a bounty on his head and hopes if he can find the Eternal Bloom and sell it he can save his neck. He's a bit immature, brash, bold and is confident he can free himself from the castle. Even when things look dire he's a positive influence on the princess treating her like no other had before.

This is a very likeable read but it is also confusing. I really enjoyed Lance and Marigold as a couple. However, at times Lance and his friend talk in such a way that the story comes across in a more historical fantasy, with magic and spell casting, especially when Lance buys a ship to travel and explore the world and then it talks about computers and cell phones and events that are clearly from the current technological time period. This interrupted the flow and pulled me out of the story several times Why would he buy a ship? why wouldn't he fly or drive?

I voluntarily received this book for an honest review. More of my reviews can be found at https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/

( )

Kissed By Magic, a novella by Erica Ridley, was original published under the title Let It Snow in 2013 with the name change and re-issue in 2019. It's a cute version of a fairytale mixed with a Syfy adventure. I know that sounds strange but believe me when I say it works. I've given, rare for me, 5 stars for originality mixed with an enjoyable read. The hero is an anti-hero who turns into a hero by the ending. Our heroine is 600 years old and a little proper, till she's really, really not. When 2 pieces of a puzzle click together it looks and feels right. Lance and Marigold click. I had fun with this story, it made me smile.

#EricaRidley #KissedByMagic #Mayhem&Magic ( )

This is not normally the kindof book I would ever give a second glance. It just isn't the kind of book I like to read. Therefore, I am surprised that I really liked it. I picked it up because I like Erica Ridley and so I thought I'd give it a try.

The plot was a fun idea. The characters were delightful and the Happily Ever After was worth the wait. This is a fun, fast read.

I received an advanced copy of this book. ( )