Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Title: Breaking His Spell
Author: Foster Bridget Cassidy
Rating: 3.5 stars
Rep: M/M romance, no sexuality stated.
Trigger warnings: kissing without consent

Fantasy/paranormal is my favourite genre, and as I only read diverse books, I am always on the lookout for more diverse fantasy! NineStar press is one of my favourites, so when I read the synopsis for "Breaking His Spell", it sounded like something right up my street.

This book follows our main character, Klint, who is a 195-year-old immortal Alma (wizard). Loosely based on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, Klint is sent to the royal palace to try and save Prince Yarling, who is under a sleeping spell. Carishina (another Alma) insists on coming along too.

Things I liked:
-I loved the world and the magic system. It was so intriguing and while a little undeveloped, I still really enjoyed it.
-Klint, our MC. As this book is told through 1st person perspective, we follow Klint throughout the whole book and I was surprised how much I ended up loving his character! Still dealing with a sad past and scared to fall in love again, Klint was very reserved and afraid, but still yearned for connection with others.
-A very fast-paced and quick read, I finished this in no time at all!
-At the beginning, I really disliked Carishina, I found her very annoying, but by the end, she definitely grew on me!
-I loved all the side characters and I really liked the relationships they all formed by the end.
-A very entertaining, take your mind off everything, short and sweet read.

Things I didn't really like:
-The main plot of Yarning forcing Klint to help another man fall in love with him became tedious and slightly annoying.
-I really wasn't a fan of Yarling. I found him to be a spoiled prince who thought he could get whatever he wanted, whenever. I know he grew and changed, but that took a long time (probably around the 65% mark) for me to start to like him.
-I felt no connection between Yarling & Klint at all. This was also very insta-love as well, which I am not normally a fan of. Their feelings towards each other were so disjointed and they just didn't feel very genuine to me.


Overall, I am very glad that I had the opportunity to read this one and I would definitely read more by this author in the future and I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes magic, diverse characters and entertaining plots.

This was another one of those cute, quick reads I had lingering on my Kindle.

Klint, who is one of the immortal Alma magicians, refuses to seek romance after his last relationship literally died cursing his name. However, when a prince falls under a spell, he and his apprentice are called to the kingdom of Terius to find a cure...and possibly love as well.

I will admit, this story was not as predictable as I imagined. It ended where I believed it would, but the development to get there was unexpected. Overall, the story’s events proceeded well, and the characters were well suited to the story.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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Breaking His Spell by Foster Bridget Cassidy
★★★★★
147 Pages
POV: 1st person, one character
Content Warning: kissing without consent (Sleeping Beauty style)


Finally! I'm so relieved. I've had a string of books lately that just weren't for me and this one broke the curse! I'm so thrilled, because I was really looking forward to reading it and it turned out to be everything I hoped it would be.

Funny. Light-hearted. Sweet. Cute. It was all those things and more. Combining some of my favourite genres together – royalty, fantasy, and a quest – I got sucked into this story of true love, magic and loyalty.

In the quest for true love, Prince Yarling makes a vital miscalculation that results in him being accidentally woken from a Sleeping Beauty curse – meant to be broken by true love's kiss – by the wrong man! I absolutely loved the idea and how everyone bar the POV character, Klint, had the potential to be a dark mage or working against the Prince. There was so much potential for conspiracy and it was fun to follow the trail to find out what threats were true and what were imagined.

I loved Klint and Yarling equally. Klint was amazing right from the start – this grouchy old soul in a relatively young body of an immortal – while Yarling took a while to warm up to, on purpose. I loved how they were forced together, by this silly, almost childish plan to make Antonio jealousy. Yet, the very childishness was charming, because it only went to show little experience these people had in love and romance. And how hesitant Klint was to repeat the mistakes of the past, as he believed them.

Overall, I really loved it. I loved the characters, the world building, and the way it all came together. It was fun, but clever as well; light but with a romantic twist, and it had a completely satisfying ending that made my heart happy. I'd read more by the author and more of this world, and these characters, in a heartbeat.

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Favourite Quotes

“Yarling took a step back and I wanted to cry out in protest. The heat of him had been so welcomed. Now I felt cold as a sunless, winter day.”

A quick, fun read with likable characters. A version of sleeping beauty where the beauty got himself into the problem. Romance is quite fast, but to be expected because of length and fairy tale aspect. Klint is a fun character with enough past to really get to like him. Yarling is a bit harder and in the end I still wasn't really won over, but it was a fun read.

A lovely fantasy retelling, which are my favourite at the moment. Wonderfully written with characters you care about , such a sweet read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a wonderful short read! All the characters were delightful and the story itself was refreshing. The prince found his love in the end, and they were perfect for eachother.

3.5/5

This was a neat Sleeping Beauty retelling, with the added bonus of LGBT+ main characters. It was short, and the plot took place within the span of three days, so it really maintained that classic fairytale vibe - however, it also added some good characterisation, interesting plot points, and The Smut™. I think the morals and messages conveyed were good, and it finished on a positive note that left both me and Klint (the main character) feeling lighter and at peace! The narrative voice was dry but sassy, and perfectly in keeping with the personality of the main character. There is heartbreak and tension, but there's also humour dotted throughout, and with the voice of the main character, it all works together very well.

At it core, Breaking His Spell is a story about two men and their love - past and present - and how sometimes you just have to take a chance and put yourself out there.

There were a couple of things I didn't like that kind of spoiled my enjoyment, though. I found some of the language was a bit juvenile considering this is a book for those aged 18+, but this is purely personal preference. For the record, I hate the word "magicked" and it was used several times right at the beginning of the book - I just find it lazy and a bit silly, like something I would say to my sister when we played pretend as young kids. There's also a lot of "My eyes did X Action..." which is a pet peeve of mine. I feel the story wasn't nearly long enough to properly set up and develop a lot of what happened within it. There were also a couple of spelling and grammar errors I noticed, however, as the version I read was an ARC, these may be fixed for official publications. Some of the things that happened came out of almost nowhere very quickly and then resolved quite suddenly, like too much was crammed into such a short book. The politics of the kingdom weren't really explored, only mentioned briefly, and therefore I was kinda like "wtf" because they didn't make a lot of sense.

Klint is a good character. After being hurt in the past, he becomes cynical to the very idea of romance, and a bit disillusioned to life in general. This gives him that "dry but sassy" voice I talked about, which by the way, I really like with the fantasy setting. He also takes his magic very seriously, and definitely thinks he knows best in all situations regarding it, so when someone calls him "amazing" he preens a little, which is great depth. Klint is generally the voice of reason, but it is shown that in matters of the heart, he tends to panic a little and can rush into things without thinking them through, which is a great contrast to how he tries to be. And he only tries to appear cold because he's afraid of being hurt once again.

I've suspended my disbelief a little with regards to how Klint is immediately super attracted to Yarling and how quickly they fall in love because this story is based on a fairytale, and it's also really short, so I guess there wasn't enough time to develop a romance in a way that's truly satisfying.

Yarling himself is a great character, but sadly I feel he didn't get as much development - a combination of how short the book was and how we're in Klint's head the entire story. He starts the story as the unconscious prince, supposedly cursed to sleep forever. As soon as he woke up, I loved him. He was a spoiled, arrogant little shit (and for good reason, I reckon). He demanded things and didn't care to think about how his desires affected others. He changed rather quickly into someone that did care about others and can feel regret, and I really enjoyed the smut if only for the fact that it showed this previously arrogant prince being shy and needing direction. I love when a character can behave in contrasting ways that make perfect sense like that!

I really wish the book had been longer, then the author would have had more opportunity to delve into things more deeply, and develop important plot points. I think it had a lot of potential, but it ultimately feels sort of half-finished? An enjoyable read, with a good mix of fairytale whimsy and seriousness, silliness and sex, and heartbreak and healing. Just wish it had been more developed!

A fun fantasy read, I really enjoyed this MM retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It was a quick read with likable characters and an intriguing storyline. All in all a very enjoyable read.

A really nice fantasy book I really enjoyed its it's was quite sweet at times I read its in a day. I would recommend it's.
I received this book from netgallery in exchange for a honest review.

*ARC received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

This was such a weird premise that I just couldn't say no. A Prince under a curse that can only be broken by True Love's Kiss that is gay? Sign me the hell up. While it was a very short read it still kept me going. There were certain parts that seemed unnecessary, looking at you sex scene, but the rest kept me laughing too much to really care. If fake dating is your thing I would highly suggest this work. Just be ready for a very rushed HEA ending that is tied up into a very nice little bow that can be seen from a mile away.

A good fantasy book, enjoyable and entertaining.
I liked the plot, the style of writing, and the characters.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Klint is an immortal magician of the Alsa Alma. Years in the past, he fell in love with a mortal and ultimately was cursed by his love as he died. Klint has sworn off love and immersed himself potions. A private audience with the head Mage sends Klint and fellow alma, Carishina, off to Terius. Yarling, the kingdom’s young Prince is under a dark spell and has fallen into an enchanted sleep. Klint sets to work to wake up the Prince with potions…but Carishina thinks he might be woken with a kiss! Let the kissing begin!

This was a fun little story. It’s clearly a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with some significant changes! Klint has been burned by love and refuses to believe that a kiss could possibly wake someone who was enchanted .. until he basically falls on Yarling and kisses him by accident. Yarling wakes and then Klint finds himself working towards a love union with Yarling and the Guard he has feelings for. Basically, Yarling tried a spell on himself that failed… so he decided to blackmail Klint into helping him. Thus begins a tangled tale of mistaken feelings, magical mysteries, and a dragon! I’m always on board when there’s a dragon.

This was a short read so there wasn’t much in the way of character development. I enjoyed the unraveling of the mysteries in the book, but I found that the ending came up so quickly that it felt a bit rushed. If you like retold fairy tales with queer characters and a dragon – you’ll probably enjoy this.