BOMM Indie Authors Archives

Married by Wind (Arranged Marriages of the Fae #1), by Angela J. Ford (Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Retelling; September 9, 2022)

Note: I received an ARC and this is an honest, voluntary review.

Married by Wind is my definition of cozy fantasy. With a unique take on the tale of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and djinn, the story is pleasantly familiar as we see two characters on a romantic collision course undertake a dangerous journey through the desert.

I was so pleased to see this series start out with a second chance love story. This made the characters’ feelings very believable despite the brevity of the story; they had three months together to develop feelings before the story even began! Note that the marriage is more of necessity due to circumstances, rather than an arranged one, and you shouldn’t expect the spice you may be familiar with in Angela J. Ford’s other romantic tales.

Another caveat: If you’re expecting fae from this story (as I was, based on the series title), you’ll only encounter any in a roundabout way. Instead, Married by Wind focuses on deities, sacred places and a cursed lamp. I did wish Vinn’s character, who has a long backstory that’s mostly just alluded to, was more fleshed out, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

My rating:

 4/5

To learn more about this series, visit arrangedmarriagesofthefae.com.

To learn more about this author, visit angelajford.com.

As the author of 16 titles and counting, plus a new series of retellings called Entangled with Fae, Tessonja Odette should be on your radar, especially if you loved books like The Cruel Prince or A Court of Thorns and Roses. I adored her first book in The Fair Isle Trilogy (To Carve a Fae Heart…my review can be found here), so I was thrilled to find out her new series ventures back into Faerwyvae.

From what I’ve read of Odette’s work, I’d describe it as crowd pleasing fantasy with a sharp bite. There is romance to be had and swoony moments, but they are hard-won by the protagonist.

Tessonja Odette was on my “author TBR” for a while when, for the second time, a book of hers fell in my lap through a Book of Matches Media tour (there’s one happening right now, in fact, for A Taste of Poison—see my Instagram for giveaway details for a contest through Book of Matches Media, which ends August 28, 2022 at midnight PST). I clawed my way out from my endless TBR pile to read this one. Once I started To Carve a Fae Heart, I wondered what had taken me so long!

While my summer of ARC reading has prevented me from getting more than a chapter into A Taste of Poison, her latest, you can be sure I’ll be returning to Faerwyvae as quickly as possible.

To learn more about this author, visit tessonjaodette.com.