Moonlit Wings : A Swan Lake Retelling

The Cursed Kingdom Chronicles #6

by Kayla Eshbaugh

Welcome to the ancient land of Terra, where curses run rampant throughout all the kingdoms and where the royalty desperately attempt to break their curses and claim their own happily ever afters.

When Princess Odette's curse takes effect at the Midnight Moon Ball on her twenty-first birthday, she vanishes before her entire kingdom to a magical lake. There, she discovers the true unsettling details of her curse. During the day, she is cursed to live her life as a swan. Each night, when the moonlight touches her wings, she will change back into her true human form.

When men begin to arrive proclaiming to be vying for her heart to break her curse, she becomes hopeless as suitor after suitor comes and she feels nothing for them. All that stands in her way of freedom is for her to fall in love with a man who will be willing to confess his love for her, before a kingdom. Odette only has until the full moon before she remains a swan forever. With time running out and no man catching her attention, she fears she’ll never break her curse. Is there something wrong with her? How come she can not fall in love?

Crown Prince Damion of Arcadia knows exactly what he’s wanted since he was a boy; he wants Odette as his Queen. Trying as hard as he could to gain her favor, she only ever pushed him away. Damion, who enjoys a challenge, is undeterred and waits patiently until the time is right. When Odette goes missing, he makes it his mission to help find her, and once she is found, he agrees to help save her from her curse. Damion is not going anywhere, not even when she requests that he leave her alone. Maybe teaching her about courting the unworthy men who come to seek her hand, will not only bring Damion closer to Odette, but make her realize what they could have together if she only lets him in.

Moonlit Wings is a Swan Lake retelling and the sixth book in The Cursed Kingdom Chronicles , a series of clean, stand-alone but connected, fairytale retellings. If you enjoy clean romance, adventure, and witty banter, The Cursed Kingdom Chronicles is for you!

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Magic

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2025

Reviews

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus}]

Kayla Eshbaugh crafts the most whimsical, magical, and utterly pure fairytales. I can’t wait to dive into this one very soon! ✨

Also… time to watch Barbie: Swan Lake (for the 5732nd time) to fully get into the spirit, since this is a Swan Lake retelling. ❄️ 🦢🩵

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been eagerly waiting to read Odette’s story since True Princess! The wait was well worth it! I loved her story! It was a fantastic and compelling story. I loved that we got to read Odette and Damion’s backstory from the moment they met to after the events of True Princess. It gave more depth to their relationship. I loved how Damion fought for Odette. He was so patient with her. The romance was kisses only. It was fun seeing so many familiar faces in this story. I also loved reading more of Odette and Wesley’s sibling childhood antics. The pranks they pulled 😂😂😂. Of course Teddy stole the show when he popped in. He is a hilarious character! I cannot wait to read the next book and see more curses being broke!

I volunteered to read an ARC copy of the book and all thoughts are my own.

[Fifi’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another dreamy edition to the magical world of Terra! We return to the kingdom of Lune in another magical installment, where we finally get Odette’s tale!

Lune is one of my favorite kingdoms of Terra, as it’s a moonlit glowing kingdom of white marble and moonflowers. Perfect for the setting of a swan lake retelling! Rather than a ballerina, Odette is a pianist in this retelling, which was a nice touch. Like with the previous books, much of this book was a flashback, before working its way up to the modern day events. I like how while it is technically book 6, the events take place shortly after the previous books, because they all happen in the background as everyone’s adventures are occurring at once! It’s unique, and I don’t see that often in fairytale retellings, where sequels usually take place directly after the previous books.

The best parts of every book are where Teddy show up. He brings so much humor and lightheartedness and heart, and if Teddy had his own series about his escapades as an ancient, it would be the most entertaining of them all! His cameos are the greatest part of every book, period. If you’ve read any of the previous books, then you’ll get it.

I love how each new installment of these books include a hint at characters that will get their own books, or will appear in future books. It’s heavily hinted that Lady Estelle’s story is not complete, and I found her as the most interesting character in this book. She’s got layers to her.

I think my favorite part of these books are always at the end, where there is a grand royal ball, and all the past characters attend and have a cameo. I’d missed Meria, Elise, and Ellie, and even some of the novella characters make an appearance! This book has more cameos/mentions of past characters than most and as a sentimental person, I like when previous characters show up again. I love how the ending always sets the scene for future books, and my most anticipated future book is one about the princesses of Vidre. I’m ready for Princess Rose’s story next!

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more in this book. It's a years long slow build 'romance', but she doesn't realize she loves him until like 90% of the way through the novel. Everything else before that is their back and forth snipping and she's not cute about it; it's just annoying. She reads like a whiny kid the entire book and it was hard to care about her. A

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so much fun reading this! You don't NEED to have read the other 5 books in The Cursed Kingdom Chronicles series to enjoy Odette and Damion's story but it does give it something extra for their background and her brother's own story.
Odette and her brother Wes are so close and their bond with each other and their friendship with Damion was so cute and special.

Odette is 21 in this story so its more of a NA than YA if we go by age but anyone can read this. Such a slow burn m, but that just made them getting together so much sweeter 😍

[Mildly Mad Hatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was clean for the most part. No language but the romance was a bit weird for me. The girl was okay at the beginning but then she became a brat and was so mean to the guy. The guy was obsessed with her nose and kept going on with how she looked. I liked how they were friends first and the twins relationship was cute. But it was just off and not one that I would reread.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Boring with lackluster writing, dull conversations that don’t sound like anything a person would actually say. And honestly has the author ever heard a kid speak?! Or even a young adult? Plus *small spoiler but it’s really early to the story* sorry but how many 18 year old guys are going to be that devastated about not being able to have kids? Or decide that they can’t marry the 16 year old girl they love (already this is bizarre and maybe a little ick) because they can’t doom her to a childless life?! Come one I know this was a fairy tale redo but seriously?! I couldn’t take any more after that. I was already skimming through the childhood weirdness.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a sweet story. Damion and Odette's relationship was adorable and there were so many cute scenes.
But... why is Damion so insistent that he knows how Odette really feels? To some extent he's right. And to some extent he's a controlling jerk who won't take no for an answer and has decided that she clearly must not know her own mind. Just because you recognize that some part of your behavior is wrong does not put you in the right. It just means that less often you do it unconsciously.
Think about this: frequently throughout the book Damion makes Odette angry and then charms her into laughing again. How many books have there been where the jerk ex did this exact thing? I'm sad that this book is based on Eshbaugh's own story. I'm sure she has a perfectly wonderful relationship with her husband, but I do not like how it is represented in Moonlit Wings.
If you take a step back and don't get caught up in the potentially dark side of Damion's behavior, then you can enjoy a sweet romance about an adorable couple. If you do, then you'll get a little bit creeped out by Damion like I did and probably won't make it to the end of the book.

[Riella Cristobal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! What a magical and romantic tale! I was so excited for this and it did not disappoint!
I empathized with Odette! She and Wes had carved out a space for themselves in their kingdom, but she was discovering herself and what she wanted. She wanted to be accepted and loved. Her curse complicated her life, but forced her to face her own feelings. I loved getting to see her understand herself over the story. I also loved her and Wes’s relationship. They were so supportive of one another, even when they didn’t always agree or understand each other. So many of the sibling relationships in this series are so sweet!
Damion was so fun! I loved how genuine he was with Odette, even as he teased her. He was such a romantic and I loved how thoughtful he was with Odette. I admired his devotion and his faith in love. Damion believed in Odette and learned how to show her how much he cared for her.
I loved the way that the Swan Lake story was threaded through this. I loved the fairytale setting and how this book connects to the greater story. There were quite a few appearances of characters from other books. I love getting to see them again and how the overarching story is developing! Each book unfolds more details about the Ancients and hints about stories to come! Moonlit Wings is a touching and engaging fairytale romance full of magic and heart. It has only kissing.
I received an ARC.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait!!

[Tee-Hee Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a unique and different tale-I’ve never read the original Swan Lake fairytale, but this author always makes her retellings her own—paying such attention to detail and dropping hints almost like little “Easter Eggs” throughout that give you the nostalgia as well as the sense of the original tale without losing originality of her own story!😱😍🤩

I loved the sibling aspect of Odette and Wesley, as well as how the male MC (Damion) was sort of the third wheeler but best friend of theirs when they were younger, making him have that extra history with Odette!😂

I actually loved the parts of the story where Odette was in “creature” form, and she was biting at Damion’s hand as he was feeding her bread! It was too funny!
🍞 😍 🦢🩵 😆

The witty banter between the two of them was fun to watch play out, though I don’t typically favor enemies to lovers (however these two weren’t really “enemies”!😌🤭

And I thought it was so sweet how Damion and Wesley protected Odette so well and were intent on screening and guarding and watching over her and all when it came to all the suitors who were interested in her both before and after her curse!🥹🥺🫶❤️‍🩹

And I liked getting to see the timeline play out of Wesley’s story too from Odette’s POV, something we didn’t see but I kind of wanted to in Wesley’s book!😊

I really enjoyed this book, and out of the Cursed Kingdom Chronicles, I give this one 🌟🌟🌟🌟.💫/5 (4.5) Stars.😄

(This is because I love so many others better-BUT-I haven’t found one I DIDN’T enjoy in all honesty! This is not biased or anything-completely my own opinions.)☺️

If I’m rating this book in general, then I give it:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 (5/5) Stars! 🥳

This review has a lot of other points to it…but I sadly am having brain fog right now and the page refreshed somehow twice on me and so this is the third time I’m writing my review! 😭

I can definitely tell the author put so much time, effort, dedication, work, and attention to detail and plot and characters and everything in this book-so I want to note that as I feel it really enhances the reading experience, and it’s not always something that gets mentioned or can be taken for granted!😮‍💨😅

So to the author:
Thank you for doing that and making this book the best you could!🥰👏

Readers:
IF YOU WANT TO READ FAIRY TALE RETELLINGS, LOVE FAIRY TALES, OR WANT SWOONY ROMANCE THAT IS SAFE AND STILL CHARMING (WITH ALL THE FEELS AND ADRENALINE RUSH) FOR FAMILY/ ALL AGES/ IS WORK PLACE FRIENDLY…READ THESE BOOKS!!📚

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reader’s Notes:

-this is part of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone

*there are cross-over events that happened in previous books that are either mentioned or fairly briefly seen from these characters’ points of view in this book, but it can still be read as a stand-alone

-this is told from Odette & Damion’s points of view

*Odette is Wes’s twin sister (his story was Glass Midnight) & Damion is Elise’s older brother (her story was True Princess); neither have to be read to enjoy this one

-it is mentioned that a character’s parents unexpectedly passed when they were young and they were raised by their emotionally distant uncle

Review:

I LOVED this Swan Lake retelling! I’ve been excitedly waiting to find out what happened to Odette since the end of her brother’s story and it didn’t disappoint! 😍 I loved how Kayla Eshbaugh mixed up the Swan Lake story to fit for Odette, Damion, & this world she’s created. I loved getting to see how they got to know each other and some events from previous books that they also attended from their point of view. I adored Damion’s consistent and persistent love for Odette! It was so sweet how he got to know her and tucked away things about her that he loved in his mind. I also loved both of their friendships with Odette’s brother Wes and how Wes had a bit of a hand in them getting together finally. 😂

Summary:

Princess Odette of Lune grew up knowing that her curse would be unknown to her until it was enacted on her 21st birthday. So when the day arrives and she is transported to a hidden magical lake, Odette discovers what her curse is to be. By day she’ll be in the form of a swan and when the moon rises she is her human self once more. Soon after arriving, Odette begins to be visited by suitors all hoping to break her curse. But unfortunately for her, Odette feels nothing for any of them and she is beginning to wonder if there’s something wrong with her…

Crown Prince Damion of Arcadia has been in love with Odette since they were kids and knew she’d be the only one for him. But no matter how he’s tried to show her over the years, Odette just pushes him away. When Odette disappears in front of her kingdom, Damion is determined to find and save her. When he does find Odette, she wants him to leave, but Damion isn’t about to let her endure her curse alone. And when an opportunity to show Odette how much he cares for her arises, Damion is quick to make the offer. Even if it means he’s helping her learn how to court the other men hoping to win her over…

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have seriously enjoyed this series & I have been looking forward to Odette’s story since the first book, so to say I didn’t love this one isn’t easy.

I have liked Odette and Damion’s characters in previous books, but I didn’t like the way they acted with each other. Damion was pushy and a know it all while Odette was mean and stuck-up. This couldn’t be further from what we’ve seen of them in the past.

I liked their childhood friendship, but it got weird for me when Damion (when proclaiming his love for Odette at the ball) started saying that he had been in love with her since the first time they hugged as children. He was 15 at the time and she was 12, and a 15 year old really shouldn’t be in love with a 12 year old. I don’t really understand why the age gap was as big as it was. I actually feel like Damion would’ve come across as less pushy and forceful if he was like a year younger than Odette. And then Odette finding him annoying would make more sense too.

The kiss especially felt forceful (not physically, but just from a pushiness standpoint). And I didn’t like that all of a sudden after that kiss, Odette’s feelings were magically clear and she was in love.

On top of just not jiving with the love story, there were a lot of editing mistakes in the kindle edition, like using the wrong name or repeating a sentence. And I felt like the language was inconsistent. It was mostly formal (I.e. “shall we?”) but sometimes there would be a very modern word or phrase slipped in (I.e. “kinda”)

Overall, this one didn’t live up to my hopes, but I won’t be giving up on the series! I love the world and the premise so I will continue to see where the story leads!

[Natalie Jardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series! I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings, and this was unique, and the whole series are interconnected standalones. You don't have to read them in order, but I love the world-building for them. One of the only series I have preordered most of on Kindle, and the only one I have a reading journal for! This series is about the aftereffects of a human rebellion against the gods that ruled and protected them. The kingdoms that rebelled were cursed, while the ones that sided with the gods weren't. This story follows generations after the rebellion, where the heirs to the kingdoms are trying to reunite the kingdoms and break their curses.

Probably my most anticipated story in this universe! Odette and Damion were first introduced in Book 1 and then again in Book 2. Damion's sister was the main character in Book 1, and he was a major part in Books 1 and 2. He was also the best friend of Wesley, who found his true love in book 2. At the end of book 2, Odette went missing, and then 4 books came out without any mention of what happened to poor Odette. This book starts a few years before the first book and continues with multiple time skips to show the progression of their friendship growing over 9 years. I loved the slow burn and yearning. The growth shows their progression from friendship to being in love.

I did get a little sad that, despite that, Damion traveled to the other kingdoms, we didn't get any more information about the other kingdoms and their curses. There were mentions of new characters that might pop up later in the series, and I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

[Neire Albarrán · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.85 ⭐⭐⭐⭐(✨✨)
"Moonlit Wings"is Odette's and Damion's long-awaited story. This was the couple I was looking forward to meeting the most since I first read Midnight Glass (yes, I started the series with the second book for some reason). Once I finally read True Princess, I was even more intrigued. Kayla didn’t disappoint.

As with every other book in the series, you get hints of the different stories in each installment, and you may think you know what's going on... but more often than not, that's not the case 🤣 At least, that's how it has been for me. The surprises and twists make sense because, just as in life, only those in the situation truly know what is happening behind the scenes.

There were times I felt some pieces didn’t quite fit with what we’d seen previously, and while I wanted to hold on to my coherence-wise objections, I’m a romantic at heart. Odette and Damion were too sweet for me to hold anything against their development.

Speaking of the characters, if you've read the other stories, you'll be glad to see Wesley, Ellie, Thomas, our beloved Teddy, Elisianna and Liam, and others again!
Wes and Odette’s relationship is easily one of the most beautiful depictions of siblings I've ever read,and the King of Lune will surely make you laugh or roll your eyes with his antics 🤭.
Teddy's funny comments are back,as well as Det and Elisianna's friendship ♥️

I remember being incredibly frustrated with Scarlett (not in a bad way, if such a thing is even possible 🤭😅) in Fairest One for being so blind... Well, Odette sometimes frustrated me even more. But her fears and reasons for acting as she did were so relatable that she endears herself even more to the reader. And inevitably, that makes you love Damion just as much: his patience, his understanding nature, his constancy, his confidence in his love for her... He is her perfect match.

The truth is, I needed a few days to write this review because I was very emotional after finishing the book and reading Kayla's author's note. You can’t doubt she writes with her heart. This is a beautiful retelling of one of the best fairytales (in my opinion) and an immortalization of a real couple's story.

[Mikayla]

I really wanted to like this book, as I love the series and the world.  And there were a few aspects I liked, like the childhood friendship and Wes' antics and of course the cameos and banter of our favorite recurring characters. 

But the pacing of the romance just really didn't work for me and there was too much of Damien deciding he knew Oddette's feelings better than she did and the story portraying this as the correct thing.  And he's much too pushy when it comes to their first kiss.  Not physically, but he doesn't just accept her refusal but keeps trying to get her to change her mind until she finally, reluctantly, does. 
And then Draken's betrayal by telling Damion how to break Oddette's curse, so, per the rules of magic, he couldn't be the one to break it .  It made sense for his character, but it also felt like it came out of nowhere without any foreshadowing.  And then his additional treachery  in trying to mess up Damion's plan to break the curse indirectly, while _mostly_ in character, also felt like it came out of nowhere without any foreshadowing.  And that lack of build-up made it feel a bit anti-climactic, especially since it was so near the end of the book and the obligatory happy ending, that you knew it couldn't really have any long or even medium term effects.  

[Millie Breakspeare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful retelling of Swan Lake.

A lot of people have been waiting for Odette's story since True Princess and I'm glad to finally get the chance to read it.

It was so interesting to see the full story of Odette and Damion's relationship after the glimpses we've gotten in previous books. Odette was wonderful, her initial friendship with Damion was so adorable and it was a great way to show how relationships change and evolve from the innocence of childhood through to adulthood when they can get so much more complicated and nuanced.

I did feel for her trying to balance her friendship with him along with all the complicated emotions of being a teenager, yet she still managed to extend kindness when he needed it.

I did find Damion quite ridiculous - not as bad as Wes but still pretty close. His devotion to Odette was admirable, even though he was infuriating at times. The thing I've always loved most about Damion was how good of a big brother we was to Elise so it was great getting to see their relationship from his point of view in this book.

[Marmed60 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually loved this book and the story between Damion and Odette. This is a beautiful and sweet retelling of the swan princess. I enjoyed how the book interwove characters from previous books. While you don’t have to read them to enjoy this book, I feel like it opened up their world to us. STOP HERE IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW SPOILERS- stop here ————————————————————————————-

At the end there is a mention of a princess who is enamored with Teddy and while previous to this, I wanted him and Ancient Ora to have a love connection- I have changed my mind and would love for Teddy to find his true love and break his curse. I would be curious if we would ever get a story of the king that rots in the mountain and the story of the ancient he loved and maybe a redemption arc for him. I imagine how incredible this book could be. After all, isn’t everyone worth redemption.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I Enjoyed:
I really liked the idea of it, and I was so excited for this book. I like how Damion and Odette were the same in this book as in the other books, because sometimes it feels like characters change from book to book, but not in this one or really any of her other books. I also thought there were some creative twists from the original story and I was glad that Damion realized that the girl wasn't Odette before it went too far.

What I Had a Hard Time With:
It wasn't edited as well as many books I've read. Also, the lack of conjunctions made it awkward to read. The dialogue sounded very formal, which also made it awkward to read and it all felt unnatural. The plot worked out a little too conveniently, to the point where it made me enjoy the book less.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I’ve realized how much I’ve changed in the last 6 months just by reading this book! I’ve read all of the other previous books in this little series and I loved them, but this one was very hard for me to get through! It was a very cute read and I loved Damion and Odette, it just felt like a very young read, meant for 13 year olds, not a married adult. I’m glad I was able to finish this series however.

[Lorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved reading this wonderful book! I loved the characters and the plot! I had a hard time putting this really wonderful book down! I absolutely loved this retelling of A Swan LakeI am really looking forward to reading the next book in this really wonderful series!

[Alyssa Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Kayla Eshbaugh delivers another swoon-worthy romance. I love her magical fairytale retellings, especially this one, Swan Lake is definitely my favorite! An enchanting story filled with adventure, a dazzling ball, and finding true love to break a curse.

[Cilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

I have been waiting to read this book after Odette disappeared at her birthday ball. I loved Prince Damion's persistence in loving her and wanting to break her curse, despite his own curse.

[Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story. Worth the wait.
Clean, sweet, and a friends to lovers with him falling first. Swoon-worthy!

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.65

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Kayla Eshbaugh.

[Anidori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have little interest in love stories where one side of the potential couple (in this case Odette) is mean to their love interest. It’s not romantic or appealing in the slightest. If Odette’s behavior had only continued until the halfway mark, it might have been forgivable, but in this case, the turnaround only occurs around 80% into the book, which is a large portion of the story. This late change makes Odette's character growth feel very dissatisfying. I just could not like her or root for her and Damion as a couple due to her poor treatment of him. Damion deserved better.