Books in series
#1
Falling For the Trickster
A Reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin
2026
Rumpelstiltskin meets The Goose Girl.
_An opportunistic maid.
A manipulative faerie.
A gilded deal that binds them both._
Ottoline has had enough. After years of enduring Princess Gertrude’s cruelty, the maid’s patience snaps during their voyage to the foreign kingdom of Orcage, where the princess is to marry the crown prince to settle a royal debt. There, she crosses paths with a silver-haired, silver-tongued man with a penchant for deals and deception.
Cunning and ambitious, fae nobleman Lord Roderick von Ravenstock offers Ottoline the opportunity of a to switch places with her tormentor and claim the life of a princess.
With a snap of his fingers, she is set to live the life she had dreamed of at the glimmering court of Orcage...until its superstitious king demands she fulfill her kingdom's debt by turning everything into gold.
Trapped by her own masquerade, Ottoline turns to Roderick again, and he offers to save her, in exchange for a kiss.
One kiss. One favor. One step closer to ruin.
As the king’s demands escalate, so do Roderick’s bargains, each adding another layer to his plot against the royal family, and drawing her deeper into a deadly game of magic and court intrigue. But when the king’s greed spirals beyond control, Ottoline has no choice but to escape into Faerie where she falls from one monster’s grasp into the next.
Risking his plans, Roderick saves her and, as she recovers under his watchful gaze, the forced proximity begins to crack their defenses, revealing who they are underneath their roles as the trickster and the fraud. Villains in the lives of others, but heroes of their own stories.
Together, they plot one last con to bring the king to his knees. But nothing ever goes to plan, especially when hearts are on the line.
Falling For the Trickster is the first book in the To Win a Dark Heart series which retells fairytales as old as time, but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.
#2
Falling for the Doomed Bride
Bluebeard's Tale
2026
A cursed treasure.
A relentless hunt.
A doomed bride who won't go down without a fight.
Treasure-hunting pirate Jax the Bluebeard has fallen under a curse that only his bride can break. Each of his wives has failed and been doomed by the curse, filling Jax's days with death and hardening his heart. Yet the curse compels Jax to keep searching for new brides that can win him the deadly treasure he desires.
Fortunately for Jax, he just raided the ship of a cunning sorceress. Unfortunately for him, she just might be the woman of his dreams.
Sofie, a fairy godmother of the realm, is fleeing the kingdom after cursing a newborn princess. All she wants is to return to the safety of her wintry homeland. Instead, Sofie is tricked into becoming Bluebeard's next bride…but not before she curses him to endless slumber if he pricks his finger on a splinter of wood—a true challenge for a man who lives aboard an empire of wooden ships.
Can Sofie beat the curse of Bluebeard's wives and save herself and Jax? Or will these two villains do anything to avoid the warm feelings growing in their hearts—even if it means dooming each other?
Falling for the Doomed Bride combines the villains from Sleeping Beauty and Bluebeard's Wives in a no spice romantasy adventure where the characters trade both kisses and curses. Falling for the Doomed Bride is the second 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.
#3
Falling for the Winged Witch
A Villainous Twist on Wild Swans and Jack and the Beanstalk
2026
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 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.
#4
Falling for the Crystal Fae
A Villainous Twist on the Snow Queen and Aladdin
2026
A vengeful queen.
A sorcerer chained by magic.
A truce with power to destroy the realms.
Khiona once ruled her fae kingdom with an icy fierceness—until humans twisted her magic into a prison she could not escape.
Andar once collected enough power to control the cosmos, but he was bound so he could only use it at another’s bidding.
Alone, Khiona and Andar were captured, safely removed from society and trapped in prisons as unique as the villains themselves. But when an earthquake brings them together, they both devise ways to use each other to achieve their ever-distant dreams.
Complications arise when those dreams do not align with each other and new feelings interfere with old agendas. Will the most powerful tyrants known to fae finally bring the world to its knees? Or will they destroy themselves with their own opposing plans—especially when none of those plans included falling for each other?
Falling for the Crystal Fae is a fairytale novella that combines fantasy elements of The Snow Queen and Aladdin. Set after the events in each of these stories, it is brimming with new adventures, dangerous dragons, redemption, betrayal, and a no-spice, sweet romance love story.
Falling for the Crystal Fae is the fourth 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.
#5
Falling For the Pirate
A Little Mermaid and Peter Pan retelling with a twist
2026
A siren with no song
A lost boy who accidentally grew up
It was supposed to be the perfect story… not her reality.
Vera is a screenwriter at the end of her rope. She has always wanted to write a story that will bring a villainous twist to two of her favorite fairytales, but if her producer asks her to make one more edit to the script, she might just lose it.
However, when she wakes up in the world of her script, she begins to think she has already lost it. Forced into the role of her main character, a vengeful siren by the name of Moira, Vera finds herself having to live through the story of the Little Mermaid… but as the villain of the tale.
Struggling with how to get by with fins is bad enough, being doomed to get her heart broken in a love triangle of her own making is worse. But none of that compares to the fact that by some twist of fate, it seems her producer James is also in this story. And he is filling in the role of the notorious Captain Hook. James blames Vera for the fact that he is currently missing a hand and being hunted by a monstrous crocodile. He is also not too happy that his nemesis is a childlike force that is creepy beyond all reason.
Now Vera finds herself having to get herself and her producer back home safely as she struggles to survive her own story and not fall in love with either her producer or the guy she made up. But as the plot progresses, she starts to wonder if she should have been kinder to her own characters.
And maybe she should have written a happy ending after all.
Falling for the Pirate is a retelling that combines elements of The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan. With a unique portal fantasy twist this villainous tale tells the love story between Captain Hook and the Sea Witch. Full of pirates, sirens, stressed screenwriters, and sea monsters this swashbuckling romantasy is the fifth book in the To Win a Dark Heart series which retells fairytales as old as time, but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.
#6
Falling for the Mad King
A Fairy Tale Villain Mash-Up
2026
A witch without magic. A king without a heart. A wonderland falling apart at the seams.
Ellie Strife never cared about getting caught as long as she got her revenge. But after she fails to cast her second curse on the king’s twelve daughters, she is banished to the Mad Lands—a place where logic ceases to exist, flower vases sprout legs, and the unexpected becomes the norm.
Rylan Rhapsody, the unpredictable King of Hearts, is a man who hides more than one secret behind his smile. Chaotic, charming, and powerful magic of his own, Rylan is just as likely to make you lose your mind with his babbling alone as he is to make another ridiculous decree.
After getting his heart stolen from him, quite literally, Ellie must help him get it back. She needs his heart to restore her stolen magic. Rylan needs her cunning to save Wonderland from falling into a state of destruction.
What begins as a reluctant partnership spirals into something unexpectedly love. But when their adversary makes their move on the chessboard, only one of them can pay the price. And in Wonderland, even love demands a sacrifice.
Falling for the Mad King is the sixth book in the To Win a Dark Heart series which retells fairytales as old as time, but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.
#7
Falling for the Sorcerer
2026
Once upon a time, he would have burned the world for her
But she ran away from their happily ever after.
Now they must find a way to work together if they want to break twin curses.
Gothel was once the most eligible maiden in the Empire. But when her little sister is endangered, she has no choice but to steal her away. Abandoning the man who claims to love her, Gothel dedicates herself to raising her sister in an isolated tower where no one can ever find them. Her enchantments further protect them from any intruder. Or so she thinks . . .
Rothbart was once the most feared sorcerer in the land. But when his gamble to win the hand of the woman he loves backfires, he's left with nothing but a broken heart and a feathered prince in need of a guardian. Swearing off love, Rothbart has no choice but to exchange his plans of world domination for an honest trade to support the family he never asked for. At least he never has to see Gothel again . . .
Everyone's plans go out the window when their teenage charges cross paths and trigger twin curses. Now Gothel and Rothbart must find a way to work together if they want to save their families. If they can put their bitterness aside, they might just be able to survive their joint quest. But resisting falling back into love? That is another matter entirely.
Falling for the Sorcerer is a retelling that combines elements of Rapunzel and Swan Lake. Part quest and part awkward-family-road-trip, this no-spice romantasy is brimming with magic, humor, and swoony second-chance kisses. It is the seventh book of the To Win a Dark Heart series retelling tales as old as time, but this time it's the villains' turn to get a happy ending.
#8
Falling for the Wolf
A Villainous Twist on Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella
2026
A woman who betrayed her family
A rogue hiding a hairy secret
And a blackmail arrangement with unexpected consequences
After her stepsister marries the crown prince, Tasia is shipped out of the country to live with relatives she’s never heard of before. Blamed and scorned for her role in that debacle, Tasia struggles to make a new life for herself amongst a community that doesn’t care for outsiders. But even that is less nerve wracking than her weekly trips through the woods to deliver a basket of “goodies” to the sinister old woman known only as Grandmother.
Mitch helped a naive girl travel through the woods once before. After having his heart viciously yanked out and stomped on, he’s not doing that ever again. When Tasia comes along, all innocent smiles and no sense of self-preservation, he vows to stay far away. But she stumbles upon his furry little secret and he reluctantly agrees to play protector in exchange for her silence.
What seems like a simple arrangement soon becomes complicated as enemies from the past begin cropping up in unexpected places. When Mitch and Tasia stumble onto a villainous plot with far-reaching consequences they must choose between looking out for themselves or risking everything for faceless strangers. With lives–and possibly their hearts–on the line, how will two recovering villains decide what to do? And will their choices be compatible? Or just another betrayal?
Falling for the Wolf is a retelling that combines elements of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Set after the events of each of these stories, this no spice romantasy is the 8th 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.
#12
Falling for the Huntsman
A Villainous Twist on Snow White and Hansel & Gretel
2026
Two villains. One shipwreck. A queen’s betrayal that could ruin them all.
Alaric, the infamous huntsman who once saved Princess Sereth, has built a brutal whaling empire without her crown or favor. Feared, powerful, and as untouchable as the sea, he’s the kind of man no one crosses. But when a mysterious ambush leaves him shipwrecked, he wakes in the care of a quiet woman who seems to loathe him on sight.
Malia has spent years in exile, her name twisted into legend after two lost children fled her forest home and never returned. She lives with pain and guilt, hidden far from the queen’s reach… until the sea tosses a wounded whaler onto her shores.
He’s sharp edges and control. She’s soft silence and secrets. But the more time they spend together, the more their guarded hearts begin to unravel. And when the truth surfaces—about the ambush, the queen, and their own pasts—they’ll have to decide if love is enough to survive what comes next.
Falling for the Huntsman is a lush, romantic retelling that weaves together Snow White and Hansel & Gretel. After betrayal, exile, and near-death, a ruthless whaler and a reclusive witch are forced together on a faraway island, where old wounds burn and forbidden feelings spark. Perfect for fans of slow-burn romance, cozy danger, and villain redemption arcs, "Falling for the Huntsman" is the twelfth book in the To Win a Dark Heart series, which retells fairytales as old as time—but this time it’s the villain’s turn to get a happy ending.
Authors
Jes Drew
Author · 36 books
Jes Drew is the author of the Cursed Fae of Orphydice Manor Series, the Sunset at Dawn trilogy, The Samurai's Student saga, the Ninja and Hunter trilogy, the Howling Twenty trilogy, the Kristian Clark saga/The Man on the Run series, the Castaways trilogy, The Dystopian Takeover trilogy, Summers of Yesteryear series, The Clockwork Faerie Tale Novellas, the Legends of the Master Spy series, The New ESE Files series, Tales from Parallel Worlds, Genie and Serena, Accidentally on the Run, This Side of Heaven, and The Death of a Hero. She has three degrees, including a Master of Arts in Behavioral Counseling. Also, she has about five million houseplants (and counting—the plants and not the degrees . . . unless she relapses). She is still debating if having a fae husband is worth the hassle. Sign up to Jes' newsletter to read Entreaty of Shadows for free! https://mailchi.mp/ddd429767392/untit...
Nicki Chapelway
Author · 25 books
Nicki is a twenty-something author of swoony romantic fantasy. She has been writing since she was eleven and has since published several works. She enjoys creating stories with twisty-stabby faerie romances, retellings that take a darker turn, and epic fantasies in worlds full of monsters and magic. Nicki lives in Ohio where she spends far too much time watching TV, playing video games, and sleeping. She listens to music basically all the time, and adores obsessing over mythologies, her shows, and her slew of fictional boyfriends. When not writing, she can usually be found at her desk with either a paintbrush or a pen in her hand. Subscribe to her newsletter and receive two free books! https://mailchi.mp/b6ec5f4a74a5/subsc...
Lucy Tempest
Author · 12 books
As the spawn of Trekkie comic book nerds, the importance of storytelling is an integral part of my being. Spinning tales since I learned to speak, now my books can take others through my adventures and necessary escapism. I live with one foot in Florida with my family and two spoiled cats, and the other firmly lodged in fantasy. Follow me on Bookbub Join my VIP mailing list by clicking HERE!
Sarah Beran
Author · 23 books
Sarah lives in sunny southern California with her husband, two small children, and dog Pippin. An elementary music teacher by day, when she is not writing or devouring books she spends her free time running, making music, or playing make believe.
Anabelle Raven
Author · 7 books
I write heart-pounding, fantasy adventure books with sweet romance (no spice)!
C K Beggan
Author · 10 books
C.K. Beggan writes portal and romantic fantasy for new and young adults, as well as paranormal romance and spicy romantic fantasy for adults. Many of her books feature chronic illness/disability or chronic pain representation. She lives in Ohio with her intrepid dog.
