Fantastische fairytale retelling

Spirits and Pacts by Erin Halbmaier picks up five years after the events in the first book and I was very eager to read this sequel, as I just loved Songs and Spun Gold. The mashup of (in this case) two fairytales, Rumpelstiltskin and The Phantom of the Opera, is just wonderful.

Katy and Axel are married and everyone is waiting for an heir. But we know that Katy does not want a child due to the bargain she made with a magic wielder (do read the first book, because else you’re missing a lot). But some nobles in the Court are taking things into their own hands and want to name a successor and they stop at nothing to get what they want.

At first, I found the story a bit slow, but when a curse gets lifted, things are going fast and at that point I could not stop reading. Secrets are coming out at that point and magic is once again in the world. I loved that part a lot, as there were many answers I had reading the first book.
Katy and Axel are great characters and you can feel all the emotions, you really feel for them. I cannot say too much for spoilers’ sake, but there is one new female character I loved very much. She is fierce, determined, goes where she likes and at the end of Spirits and Pacts we get a glimpse of her, she’ll definitely will star in the next book in this fantastic series and a book I want to read!

The writing style in this second book is flowing and the book is easy to read. I loved reading it a lot.
So, if you love fairytales and retellings, this is definitely a series you have to read. It is filled with magic, romance, betrayal, danger, mystery, curses, unexpected twists and turns, with a flowing writing style and great characters.

Highly recommended!