Spirits and Pacts: A Retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and The Phantom of the Opera - Part 2

The Roumaterra Chronicles #3

by Erin Halbmaier

She married the man she loves. But at what cost?

Five years after the fire at the theater and Katy and Axel’s wedding, pressure is building because of their childless state. Katy’s feelings are mixed: the kingdom needs an heir, but the gold-spinning stranger can’t take a child she doesn’t have.

While Axel longs for the stage, he can’t ignore the fact that his kingdom needs him, little as he feels qualified. He tries to shield Katy from the trouble brewing in the council, but more accidents at the theater, a curse no one remembers until it breaks, and physical danger mix with the secret she is hiding.

Can Katy find a way to save their child? Or will the troubles in the kingdom pull her and her husband down with them?

Spirits and Pacts is part two of a clean, no-spice retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and The Phantom of the Opera. It is the third book in The Roumaterra Chronicles, a series of interconnected, standalone fairy tale retellings perfect for readers of Brittany Fichter, Celeste Baxendell, and Annette K. Larsen.

Genres: Fairy Tale Retellings

341 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2024

About the author

Programmer. Composer. Author of clean, no-spice romantasy with swoony moments and a dash of adventure.
Erin Halbmaier’s love of a good tale covers multiple genres, but the relationships are always what draw her in. Her flawed characters stay in the 1.5-2 level for romance and have to struggle for their happily ever after, but she doesn't do sad endings.
When not buried in a book or writing one, she can be found fiddling with computer code, writing music, or hanging out with her husband and kids.

Keep up with updates, promos, and fun stuff: find all the links at https://erinhalbmaier.com/links/

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received and ARC of this book and couldn’t put it down. While The first book in the Roumaterra Series was more of a single story, the second one was too big for just one book. What started in Songs and Spun Gold finds more life in Spirits and Pacts. I loved the fact that Phantom of the Opera was part of the mash up as it made the story more unusual. Axel and Katy are back with secrets on both sides and side characters that make the story more rounded than just a hero/heroine tale. Tobias still has my interest peaked and Katy’s cousin is just amazing. Characters from the past books make appearances and it is wonderful to see what they have been up to while Axel and Katy have struggled with their relationship. One character from Book one remakes an appearance that will set her own story in motion. She was thoroughly (and meant to be) unlikeable when first met, but she actually begins to grow on you. This story shows how redemption is possible on many levels and how sharing a secret brings people together in ways that are unfathomable otherwise. Misunderstandings are easy to make in our human world and miscommunication takes a toll on relationships with even outsiders having less than the whole story. I have already finished all the novellas in this world and am looking forward to more from Roumaterra. There are definitely more stories to be shared from there!

[Hilma · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope] · Rating 5 out of 5]

👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼

This is a continuation of Rumpelstiltskin and Phantom of the Opera. The cover is beautiful and I love seeing Katy’s little baby bump…it’s so cute! I love Katy and Axel and couldn’t wait to see their story continue! This is so much better of a story with a married couple than the first book! I love seeing Katy and Axel, their married lives and expecting their first child! This was so interesting and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next! Man, Helena is so annoying…it’ll be interesting to read her story in the next book. Seeing how much Axel loves Katy is heart warming and beautiful! I loved it! This was so good! Books with a baby are just that much better! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Quotes that I liked:

👶🏼 "Anything for you, Katy," he whispered.

👶🏼 "Over six years for you; almost six years for him. I hope we won't be making this a habit," he teased, running a light finger over his son's soft cheek. "I may be willing to wait forever for something that I want, but that doesn't mean I want to."

👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of Erin Halbmaier’s books in this series including the story side stories that you can only get through her. She puts so much detail and thought into each story and truly creates a world all her own. I can’t wait to read her next book.

Spirits and Pacts, I feel showed what a marriage should be even if it sounds too good to be true, it made me form a crush on Axel with the way he treats Katy. It is completely different than how Michael treated Ella in the book Slippers and Thorns. I am not married and I think her books are showing me what a marriage is supposed to be like for if and when that day may come for me.

[Rachel Wehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a light romantasy read that gives you excitement and all the feels, this should be your next read!! Erin Halbmaier does a masterful job of weaving together two well-known stories into a tale that will capture your attention and keep you guessing through the book! I love this series and the focus on Axel and Katy in these two books especially. Plus there's music, which in my opinion is criminally missing from far too many fairy tale retellings! 😜 This is a great book, and you're gonna love it! 😊

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tales of Rumplestiltskin and Phantom of the Opera continue to weave together in this second part of Axel and Katy's story. I did find this one a bit slower in the middle than the first part until things really picked up in the last quarter. I enjoyed the mention of dragons and hope they will perhaps be important later? I also am now officially a fan of Helena (took a little while to get there!) and am really excited for her book!

[Ami Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet, clean fairytale with very realistic relationships! All of the main characters acted true to form and still grew into better people as the story progressed. It was fun seeing the story of Rumpelstiltskin complete itself, and find out how this group of people solved their problems, and I loved how each story sets up the next one in the series!

[Divya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great story that continues from part one. The story follows Katy and Axel as they try to uncover the enemy within their court. The story progresses beautifully and is a great amalgamation of Rumpelstiltskin and Phantom of the Opera. I really liked how the author brings in the characters from some of her other stories in the series. A great, entertaining read.

[Amber Christiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

I enjoyed this book. My biggest frustration is the unlikelihood of an honest person keeping such a damaging secret for so long. That and the consequences of the secret seemed less than they would realistically be.

But I love Axel and Katy and their continued romance was endearing.

[Lorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book! This book has wonderful characters and a wonderful plot! I loved reading this retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and The Phantom of the Opera! I will be reading the next book in this wonderful series!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so enjoyable. I recently read the first part of this retelling in preparation of reviewing this arc. I am so thankful I got the chance to read and review this lovely book.

I absolutely adore Axel... He is so charming and has such a good heart. I love a sweet, kind, hilarious male lead.

And Otto is a gem..I love his character so much..I hope we see more of him in future books! He is so brave and so caring.

Katy is actually a likeable female lead. Sometimes, I struggle to like female leads. Katy can be rash but she has a good heart.

I can say I figured out a lot of the plot but that didn't make the story any less enjoyable. It was such a fun experience reading this story. I love the combination of fairytales weaved through this series.

The inclusion of Helena added some spice to the plot. She is so feisty.

This book moved at a faster pace then the first one. It was so fun reading the conclusion of Axel and Mary's story...
Although I hope we see them again in the series.

This story wasnt lacking in anyway - it has romance, family
dynamics, humor, and action.

I highly recommend both parts of this story to anyone who loves fairytale retellings.

I also really enjoy the message of this story. The importance of love and sacrificing for those you love. It was very beautiful. I just adored Axel so much....he is such a gem..I am so sad to leave his story behind.

I also really hope we get to see more about Tobias and Lisle. 🥺 I really want to see what happens with them.

I am seriously looking forward to reading Helena 's story.

[Karen Daliath · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to Songs and Spun Gold. I've been waiting to read this book since I finished the first one, and I really enjoyed it.