The Unblessed Witch

Unmarked #3

by Miranda Lyn

ONE WITCH’S BLESSING IS ANOTHER’S CURSE.
In this captivating holiday novella following the events of The Unbound Witch , Marley, a witch burdened by a dark history, possesses an extraordinary gift—the power to hunt shattered hearts with her enchanting magic. With every Winter Solstice, a relentless pursuit commences, as she begins a quest to help a wounded soul, invoking the Spirits of Past, Present, and Future. Though Marley abhors her magical abilities and the role she must play, the goddess does not care.

She unknowingly hunts down Atlas, now stripped of his shapeshifting powers and consumed by an unyielding resentment towards magic. Their fates intertwine, and Marley finds herself irresistibly drawn into the pits of Atlas' haunting past, challenging his deeply ingrained fear of commitment. Bound by magic, they must stay together as Atlas embarks on a perilous royal mission.

As their connection deepens, Marley and Atlas unwittingly become entangled in the shadows of Marley's own haunted history, setting off a race against time that pushes their limits to the edge. Will Atlas summon the strength to redefine his destiny? Can they rise above the weight of their individual burdens and forge a shared future?
Prepare to be spellbound by the poignant twists and turns that shape the interwoven fates of Marley and Atlas in this loose retelling of Charles Dickens' timeless classic, "A Christmas Carol ."

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Witches, Fantasy Romance, Novella, Holiday

180 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Blood and Promise was the debut new adult, high fantasy, fae novel for Miranda Lyn. She grew up smack dab in the middle of the United States with nothing to do but dream up stories of fantastical creatures and powerful heroines. Now married with three children of her own, an idea sparked a buried passion within her to follow a dream and teach her children that anything is possible if you’re willing to work hard for it.

Reviews

[Books_and_Crafts · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enchanting tale with a bangin' slay ride.

[Selma Z L · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐
What in the "A Christmas Carol" was this.
Still better then the second book.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in this series. Even though this was a quick read it was very heartfelt for Atlas and the story of his life and how he came to be who he was in such a strong character. Rather heartbreaking at times and I did shed a few tears.

[Tralyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series! Being on Miranda's Street Team, I was fortunate enough to get to read an ARC of The Unblessed Witch. This might only be a novella but it is powerful. With its nod to A Christmas Carol, it also spoke to my love of holiday ghost stories. I loved this story!

Miranda writes stories that pull you in and make you fall in love with the characters. Her worldbuilding is fantastic and you feel like you could really live there. There is magic, mystery, mayhem, and romance. Enemies-to-lovers, found family, forbidden love, and perfectly witchy, this novella has something for the fantasy lover in all of us.

Marley has a gift, one she must see through every Winter Solstice. She finds the lost soul and the Spirits of past, present, and future do the rest. Till this year, that is.

Atlas is the lost soul that Marley is to help this year. Something goes awry and she gets more than she bargains for. They are both dragged onto a journey that neither wants to go on.

I love Marley and Atlas! Their banter, sparky comments, distrust, and vulnerability with each other makes you want nothing but happiness for them both.

Parts are edge-of-your-seat intense. Parts are funny. Parts are swoony. And, yes, parts will break your heart. This story is so good!

It's bittersweet knowing this is the end. But, it was an amazing ride from the very beginning. This will definitely be one of those cherished regular rereads.

I highly recommend The Unblessed Witch, after reading books 1 & 2, to fans of witchy, dark fantasy romance, spicy romance, forbidden romance, found family, A Christmas Carol vibes, and enemies-to-lovers.

[KB · Rating 5 out of 5]

This holiday novella was warm and fuzzy and heart wrenching and beautiful. Miranda has such a way with words, she makes you feel all the things and I swear she delights in the heartache! Our story follows Atlas, who we met in the previous duology. He’s sarcastic, chaotic and oh so fine! He masks his hurt and loneliness with humor and women he won’t commit to. Unfortunately for him, he has to face his heartbreaking past in order to have a future. Enter Marley, a cursed and lonely witch in her own right. Their introduction is meant to save Atlas but ultimately, could save her too. We also get to see where some of our friends from the previous stories have ended up!

What you can expect:

Banter banter banter (Atlas🫠)
Curses and witchcraft
Warm, cozy holiday vibes
One sleigh
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Facing past demons

I can’t recommend this series enough! I seriously never want it to end! The witchy vibes, banter, relationships and magic just suck you in and make you never want to leave! Be prepared to be equal parts swooning, heartbroken and enraptured by this series!

[Miya Janae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this twist on a Christmas classic.
I became so attached to Atlas in The Unbound Witch it was bittersweet to see him get a happy ending to his story.
It was witty and there was banter. It seemed like a full circle moment with the red headed witch Marley trying to help Atlas get this kind of redemption he was aware that he needed.
Who doesn't love a witchy Christmas love story that's kind of dark but also makes you warm inside from happiness?
This novella was wonderful!

[KayTheBookLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are ready to love the characters from Unmarked and Unbound even more, then you've got to read Unblessed!

This is mostly Atty's story, but you get to glimpses of all the characters we fell in love with in the previous books!

Atty was a favorite of mine, and I adored getting his side story! I cried a little, laughed, and was highly intrigued by the spirits that paid him a visit!

Overall ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/ 5
Spice 🌶 🌶 🌶/ 5

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was absolutely adorable. Atlas was one of my favorite parts of The Unbound Witch and I am so glad that he got his own story, and in such a creative way. Marley is a fantastic character and despite some sadness along the way, her interactions with Atlas kept me smiling the whole way through. I love this world that Miranda has built and I hope she continues to give us stories that revisit it.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that this book was about a witch we had not met before, but am so glad to see Atty get his HEA. It was also good to get a glimpse of what the futures of the others looked like.

[H-e-l-e-n-a · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Marley, tiene un poder y un trabajo, el cual la lleva a buscar brujas marcadas por algún pasado tormentoso. Ahora su objetivo es Atlas. El cual deberá ser visitado por los espíritus pasado, presente y futuro para redimirse y ser feliz.

Durante la historia vuelven a aparecer los personajes importantes de los dos anteriores, y vemos como han sido sus vidas luego de la guerra de los grimorios.

Creo que de los espíritus, mi favorita fue Pasado. 😂 Tiene ese humor negro y un poco sádico que fue genial. Quizás es porque es la que más tiempo pasa con Marley y Atlas.


📖
“I’ve lived through moments with him that you will never experience. You don’t know my heart or my intentions. You don’t even fucking know me, shifter. And that’s fine. Except one day, he will find someone real, someone that he can open up to and love. And if you speak to her like you just spoke to me, if she is weak of heart in any way, she’s going to run. Far and fast and it will be all your fault. So, watch what you say. Or you will be the reason that man is alone forever.”

[Jessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet, short read to take you back to the world of the covens. Really enjoyed it!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute winter story based on the Christmas carol. Love Atlas and Marley story. And the quick pop ins from the original characters.

[Ashley Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this for a Novella. It was festive and fun and I loved being back in this world with the characters.

[eclecticbychoicereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unblessed Witch was such a sweet and wholesome story. If you loved Atty's character in the original duology, then you'll love this glimpse into his past, present and future. It was a quick and beautiful insight into the Unmarked world. We got to see some old characters, meet some new ones and enjoy a great twist on a retelling of A Christmas Carol <3

[Alexis (Lexi.84.02) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good ending to a beautiful series.

[Ashley | A Pair of Readers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect holiday novella with some of my favorite characters. Miranda did the perfect balance of story and romance with a fun Dickens twist!

[Bookqueenhm Hanne Merete · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Atlas, and I was so happy when I heard we got a novella starring him. And Marley I adore, an excellent character into this universe. The characters are written so beautifully and memorable. They will forever live in my heart and mind.

The story and plot is great! The atmosphere and surroundings are described in just the perfect amount of details. And the banter is *chef’s kiss*
And the level to detail that Miranda has in her writing - ahh - it’s so good! I laughed so hard at one particular part (no spoilers here!).

During the read I have laughed out loud (more than once), I have shed a few tears, I’ve been angry and frustrated, and happy. To get all these emotions into a novella is amazing.

This novella is a perfect Christmas read! (Or when you just need some more Atty in your life after reading The Unmarked Witch and The Unbound Witch!)

Thank you Miranda and her team for giving me the opportunity to read this novella (ARC). This was such a wonderful read.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhh! I love this series!

This was the perfect cozy story! Not only does it give us a ton of insight to Atlas and his story and struggles, it also gives a small peak into the world after The Unbound Witch.

I loved how Marley cared so much about Atlas and didn’t want to give up on him and didn’t want him to give up on himself. She saw so much of herself in him and could relate to a lot of his struggles and in the end over came her own with him.

The first memory we get to see of him as a pup

That one heartbreaking memory 😭

The one memory with his friends trying to give him things to do 🥹

The scene at Moss Coven 🤪

The ending 🥰

I honestly want more in this series. I’m VERY sad it’s over 😢

[savage_book_review · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little holiday novella to round out the series, this effectively casts Atlas as Ebenezer Scrooge in the witchy version of 'A Christmas Carol'. But instead of persuading him to change his miserly ways, the three Spirits of Solstice will curse him to a life of solitude if he fails to let go of the darkness inside his heart...

In some respects this retelling is a little 'on the nose'; with the world she's built, the author could have given it more of her own twist while keeping things reminiscent of the Dickens classic. However, what we have does work well, and it's a nice little twist to have the happy-go-lucky character be the target of the ghosties' ire. Likewise, the introduction of Marley as the 'spirit wrangler' was a cute idea.

Once you get into the story, it's exactly what you'd expect and so that element does make it an easy read. But, like the second book, there are moments where I questioned whether I'd skipped something, which dulled the flow. It's like I can see the author has this fully built world inside her mind and a great story to tell, but the tiny little details get lost in translation. As before though, if you can let your imagination fill in the gaps, it works really well.

Just like A Christmas Carol, the visions proffered by the ghosts are not all light and fluffy. But, they give you a wonderful insight into Atlas' character, which is exactly what I was after. He now means so much more as person to me because I understand his backstory better, as well as what he's feeling and perceiving about himself. Yes, I would have liked a similar deep dive with Bash, but actually Atlas's character arc really needed this to bring him up to a top tier MMC.

I'd call this one fluff with substance. And the little glimpses of the future make for great fanfic fodder! Even if it does just stay in my head.

[Angel Hawks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be honest, I went into this one hesitantly. Not because I expected it to be badly written or anything like that. Miranda has already proven she is an amazing writer. It's just that "A Christmas Carol", well a version of it (the Muppets 🤭), was my mom's favorite Christmas movie. We watched it without fail numerous times every holiday season. She's been gone since 2006, and I still cannot watch it. ADHD moment. Sorry. Back to the point, The Unblessed Witch. Miranda did it again. She knocked it out of the park. I couldn't put it down once I started. Even though I felt like I knew how it was probably going to end because of it being a loose retelling, I still couldn't wait to find out. I couldn't risk not being right about how I thought it would end. I was reading in between customers at work, and caught myself getting rude more than once because they interrupted my reading, so I had to check myself. LoL This is a wonderful holiday read, and will leave you wanting more from Miranda. Guaranteed.

[Megs: Knee Wall Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this holiday novella. A perfect addition to expand of the world.

It was so interesting to have this story told from the POV of Marley. I loved getting her feelings and her backstory as she slowly opened up to Atlas. I loved getting to learn more about Atlas' past, see his present and learn about a possible future. After learning Atlas' past, I had so many feelings and made me want to cuddle up to him.

I enjoyed seeing all the covens again and even some of our favorites from TheUnmarked Witch/The Unbound Witch.

[Michele G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. Or maybe I’ve just picked up horrible books….but THE UNBLESSED WITCH has revived my excitement to read again.

This book hit all my favorite tropes….forced proximity, damaged male main character who never wants to fall in love, suspense, touch her and die vibes…..so much was packed into this novella. I love this world that she created and hope that she writes about more of the side characters from the original books.

[Sarah Whitcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved going back into this word after so long, what a nice little festive read (post festivities 😂)

[Sammy Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5**

This was a very sweet novella that followed one of my favorite characters from the duology. I loved it :)

[Katie katiek-is-booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up. Very A Christmas Carol.

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jope Atlas q ben

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I let out the happiest sigh when I finished this book. This was perfect in every way. The whole series was.

[Amber Swoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book and perfect ending to the series! All the feels❤️

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute. I love Atty so much.