She’s a barmaid who doesn’t believe in fairy tales. He’s a prince cursed to live one.

Aren Bellamore has no interest in being anyone’s princess. She’s too busy running the Raven’s Beak tavern, fending off unwanted marriage proposals, and dreaming of escape. But when a brush with death and a dangerously handsome stranger upend her life, Aren finds herself bound to a bargain that could change everything.

Prince Dietan has carried the cursed Rings of Fate ancient weapons of devastating power since childhood. The magic is killing him, and the enemies are closing in. To make the journey to reverse his curse, he needs a bride to hide his secrets. Aren wants freedom. Pretending to be his fiancée should give them both what they want.

But as their perilous journey pits them against political schemes, monstrous Kilandrar, and a growing attraction neither can deny, the line between make-believe and destiny begins to blur. And the fate of two kingdoms may depend on whether a cynical barmaid and a cursed prince are willing to risk their hearts.

You can tell early on that Rings of Fate is meant to be light, cozy, and funny. It’s not the kind of story that wants you to take it super seriously, and I appreciate that in a book! Often we see really complicated fantasies that require note taking and laser-beam focus. I’ve even found myself throwing my hands up in the air and not even trying to remember everything and hoping I’ll understand what’s going on when I need to. Aside from the intense amount of names (people, places, etc.) I found Rings of Fate very easy to follow. You do need to be a bit patient, though, as the beginning was kind of slow. I enjoy books that don’t make my brain hurt and don’t require a ton of concentration and memorization because, let’s be honest. There’s a LOT going on in the world right now, much of it stressful and scary and upsetting, so having a book that’s easy to escape into for a little while is a gift. It’s light on the magic and worldbuilding, so you can jump in and be just fine not really knowing where or when this book is taking place.

Rings of Fate gives you a very slow burn romance that reads like a fairytale, with fast-paced action (at times) and some funny moments. Early on, a drunkard is forced to buy the entire bar a round of drinks because he didn’t follow the rule of not proposing marriage to the barmaid, Aren. She clearly takes no crap. She’s a surly and grumpy Cinderella kind of character, who works herself to the bone so her perfect twin sisters have everything they need. She wields a frying pan as a weapon (literally), and talks back to those who cross her. She’s independent and rough around the edges. I grew to appreciate her as a character, even if I didn’t have warm fuzzies towards her because she loves to talk about how she’s not like other girls, and identified with the jaded feelings she has towards certain aspects of her life. Then you’ve got Prince Dietan, who is softer and more emotional. He’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders (again, literally), and he brings a certain depth and vulnerability with his backstory. I liked the two of them together, although I wanted more chemistry. The banter between them was fun at first, but the relationship didn’t get the attention I wish it had been given as far as development goes. All of a sudden, bam. Love. I wasn’t entirely convinced. The journey was interesting, but became monotonous. This would have been the perfect time to develop their relationship like I’d hoped, but not a lot happened during this time. I enjoyed the characters they met along the way and it would have been fun to learn more about some of them. I really loved Dietan’s friends. They made the story for me!

There are some things that gave me pause. We are clearly not in our world, but all of our swear words are there and slang like “family jewels” when referring to Dietan’s genitals. Aren says “as if” at one point. That threw me off a little. Aren refers to her sisters as “my girls” a million times, and each time it felt strange to me. Their dad is still living and, while she is the sole breadwinner for the house and helped raise them, I found “my girls” to be an odd thing to call them. She also does literally use her pan as a weapon, defeating some evil monstrous… cloud of wind(?) who siphons the life out of people and can raze an entire village with a hard bonk to the head. It felt too easy.

I did like parts of Rings of Fate, and I’d recommend it to those looking for a lighter fantasy adventure. If you’re looking to dip your toes into the world of fantasy romance, this might be a good place to start. It was fun and easy to read, and sometimes that’s just what I need. I’m curious about what’s going to happen next, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book.