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Fate's Sweetest Curse
Mysterious alchemy and sinister monsters meet academy vibes in this spicy slow-burn romantasy about hidden identities, cursed Fates, and forbidden love.
Some secrets are too monstrous to keep.
Nine years ago, an attempt on Hattie’s life forced her into hiding. All Hattie wants now is the freedom to be herself and fulfill her dream of becoming an apothecary—so when a prestigious alchemist invites Hattie to lend her talents to a research program seeking to eradicate a curse from the realm, in spite of the risks, she accepts.
What she doesn’t expect is for Noble Asheren to be a part of the study, too. Not only was he her childhood best friend and the only man to break her heart, it’s his fault Hattie went into hiding all those years ago, and their reunion could prove disastrous.
Noble Asheren has monster blood in his veins—and the potions he’s been taking to keep the curse at bay are losing effectiveness. No one can know about his curse; for the sake of Hattie’s safety and his own, Noble is determined to keep his distance.
But late nights studying in the library and running magical experiments in the lab make it difficult for them to avoid their complicated feelings and fraught history. And when assassins start targeting fellow alchemists, Hattie and Noble realize that their secrets aren’t the only threats to the kingdom.
As desire and deception thrust Hattie and Noble into a world of dark magic and shocking conspiracies, they’ll be forced to face their perilous past—before their Fates are cursed forever.
Fate’s Sweetest Curse is a spicy forbidden love romantic fantasy for adults—perfect for readers who enjoy bold heroines, emotionally mature heroes, character-driven plots, and unique world building.
This is the second book in the Mirrors of Fate series, which are interconnected fantasy romances, each about a different couple helping to solve an ongoing problem in the kingdom. This series contains high-stakes action with detailed descriptions of spice and gore.
Recommended for fans of Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry, the Legends of Thezmarr series by Helen Scheuerer, The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen, and Dungeons & Dragons.
Some secrets are too monstrous to keep.
Nine years ago, an attempt on Hattie’s life forced her into hiding. All Hattie wants now is the freedom to be herself and fulfill her dream of becoming an apothecary—so when a prestigious alchemist invites Hattie to lend her talents to a research program seeking to eradicate a curse from the realm, in spite of the risks, she accepts.
What she doesn’t expect is for Noble Asheren to be a part of the study, too. Not only was he her childhood best friend and the only man to break her heart, it’s his fault Hattie went into hiding all those years ago, and their reunion could prove disastrous.
Noble Asheren has monster blood in his veins—and the potions he’s been taking to keep the curse at bay are losing effectiveness. No one can know about his curse; for the sake of Hattie’s safety and his own, Noble is determined to keep his distance.
But late nights studying in the library and running magical experiments in the lab make it difficult for them to avoid their complicated feelings and fraught history. And when assassins start targeting fellow alchemists, Hattie and Noble realize that their secrets aren’t the only threats to the kingdom.
As desire and deception thrust Hattie and Noble into a world of dark magic and shocking conspiracies, they’ll be forced to face their perilous past—before their Fates are cursed forever.
Fate’s Sweetest Curse is a spicy forbidden love romantic fantasy for adults—perfect for readers who enjoy bold heroines, emotionally mature heroes, character-driven plots, and unique world building.
This is the second book in the Mirrors of Fate series, which are interconnected fantasy romances, each about a different couple helping to solve an ongoing problem in the kingdom. This series contains high-stakes action with detailed descriptions of spice and gore.
Recommended for fans of Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry, the Legends of Thezmarr series by Helen Scheuerer, The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen, and Dungeons & Dragons.
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 7, 2025
7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Victory
2 books12 followersNicola Victory is the sword-wielding alter ego of an award-winning, bestselling, contemporary fiction writer. Nicola writes spicy romantasy books for adults about brave heroines and tortured heroes facing their fears for love.
When Nicola is not writing books, she enjoys reading, sipping coffee, and exploring the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. She spends her days with her very own romance hero and two cats named after celestial bodies.
Connect with Nicola on Instagram and TikTok @nicolavictorywrites or via her website.
When Nicola is not writing books, she enjoys reading, sipping coffee, and exploring the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. She spends her days with her very own romance hero and two cats named after celestial bodies.
Connect with Nicola on Instagram and TikTok @nicolavictorywrites or via her website.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 21, 2025
I waited for this book for what felt like forever. I couldn’t stop raving about book 1 but now finishing book 2, I won’t be able to stop raving about this one either!
I have never read a book with so much slow burn and longing that kept me turning pages in hopes that they’d just touch, kiss, embrace, anything!! I just wanted them both to be together! When they finally did embrace, it was described in such incredible detail that I felt like I was in the middle of that embrace.
The romance was once again written so delicately and beautiful. The spice was a sprinkle of perfection!
Not too much that it takes away from the story but just enough to make you giddy.
The action, I expected nothing less and Nicola delivered! I was on the edge the last few chapters.
I think I cried, I was angry, I was shocked, I felt all sorts of emotions with everything that was unraveling.
That ending! I cannot wait for the next book!
I have never read a book with so much slow burn and longing that kept me turning pages in hopes that they’d just touch, kiss, embrace, anything!! I just wanted them both to be together! When they finally did embrace, it was described in such incredible detail that I felt like I was in the middle of that embrace.
The romance was once again written so delicately and beautiful. The spice was a sprinkle of perfection!
Not too much that it takes away from the story but just enough to make you giddy.
The action, I expected nothing less and Nicola delivered! I was on the edge the last few chapters.
I think I cried, I was angry, I was shocked, I felt all sorts of emotions with everything that was unraveling.
That ending! I cannot wait for the next book!
October 9, 2025
I adore this series. This story was even better than the first! Love Hattie and Noble and hope we get to see them again. Top tier longing, excellent political intrigue and an all around good time! Can’t wait to learn more about Mariana!
November 17, 2025
3.9/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️
No spoilers review:
We follow Hattie and Noble’s journey in this book. Both are childhood friends and Noble knows Hattie’s secret identity she’s kept hidden for 9 years. While they try to stay apart, eventually they decide to forge their own futures rather than live in worry from their pasts. There’s character development and we see more depths to the story that ties this whole series together.
Overall I had a good time reading this. It’s still a feel good book like the first in this series. I also really liked reading about Hattie’s alchemy journey, so this book sort of introduced another type of magic going on. Hattie and Noble are very sweet and I couldn’t wait for them get together. This book is packed with a lot of childhood memories from both of them, which gave needed context but at times felt overdone and repetitive. All the action happens right at the end, so the middle felt like a bit of a lull. But I feel the author has done a really great job of slowly introducing the bigger plot line of series, you get a taste of it each book but continue to learn more. So I really liked how it’s a bit of a guessing game for what will ultimately happen.
Spoiler(!!!) review:
I liked this friends to lovers story and again how each book wraps up the couple’s story in one go. I guessed that Hattie would be able to cure Noble but I didn’t expect it to be under the pressure of him having turned into a monster. I wish some of that intense action would be have been brought on a bit earlier in the book. I felt like a lot of the book centered around both of them having a flashback and explaining why they couldn’t be together, it started to get too repetitive.
I’m wondering if Hattie’s lineage will be brought back into the series or if it’ll end there? I must say, for someone who created a fake identity to escape her past I thought she would have changed her first name! So I was surprised her real name is in fact Hattie and she only changed her last name.
I am looking forward to the next book about Marianna. I have a feeling that one will have a lot of action since she’s a knight/warrior. I think this series is pretty solid and very well written. The overuse of flashbacks/memories are the main reason I’m knocking this just under 4-stars. It took a little more effort to get through but I’d still recommend it!
3/5 🌶️
No spoilers review:
We follow Hattie and Noble’s journey in this book. Both are childhood friends and Noble knows Hattie’s secret identity she’s kept hidden for 9 years. While they try to stay apart, eventually they decide to forge their own futures rather than live in worry from their pasts. There’s character development and we see more depths to the story that ties this whole series together.
Overall I had a good time reading this. It’s still a feel good book like the first in this series. I also really liked reading about Hattie’s alchemy journey, so this book sort of introduced another type of magic going on. Hattie and Noble are very sweet and I couldn’t wait for them get together. This book is packed with a lot of childhood memories from both of them, which gave needed context but at times felt overdone and repetitive. All the action happens right at the end, so the middle felt like a bit of a lull. But I feel the author has done a really great job of slowly introducing the bigger plot line of series, you get a taste of it each book but continue to learn more. So I really liked how it’s a bit of a guessing game for what will ultimately happen.
Spoiler(!!!) review:
I liked this friends to lovers story and again how each book wraps up the couple’s story in one go. I guessed that Hattie would be able to cure Noble but I didn’t expect it to be under the pressure of him having turned into a monster. I wish some of that intense action would be have been brought on a bit earlier in the book. I felt like a lot of the book centered around both of them having a flashback and explaining why they couldn’t be together, it started to get too repetitive.
I’m wondering if Hattie’s lineage will be brought back into the series or if it’ll end there? I must say, for someone who created a fake identity to escape her past I thought she would have changed her first name! So I was surprised her real name is in fact Hattie and she only changed her last name.
I am looking forward to the next book about Marianna. I have a feeling that one will have a lot of action since she’s a knight/warrior. I think this series is pretty solid and very well written. The overuse of flashbacks/memories are the main reason I’m knocking this just under 4-stars. It took a little more effort to get through but I’d still recommend it!
October 21, 2025
Buckle up, because I took NOTES. I wanted to remember everything about the experience of reading this book. Before starting, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as Fates Dangerous Fortune - the tropes in this one just aren’t the ones that I normally gravitate towards. But MY LORD, my heart was ACHING in the FIRST CHAPTER, and there’s nothing I love more than a book that can make my heart ache. And it never stopped. I don’t think I’ve been unknowingly missing out on slow burns, I truly think it’s Nicola’s writing. She’s just SO good and creates an immersive and vivid experience with her storytelling.
This book had me thinking, naively, that I was going to read just one chapter before bed, only to find a sudden reservoir of energy and the unwillingness to put it down for the night. This book had me casually in tears and crying on an airplane. This book has me chomping at the bit for the next one.
Fates Sweetest Curse one has been my favorite of the series so far, and now I hope my friends know that my annoying insistence that they start The Mirrors of Fate series is out of love for THEM because they are truly missing out.
This book had me thinking, naively, that I was going to read just one chapter before bed, only to find a sudden reservoir of energy and the unwillingness to put it down for the night. This book had me casually in tears and crying on an airplane. This book has me chomping at the bit for the next one.
Fates Sweetest Curse one has been my favorite of the series so far, and now I hope my friends know that my annoying insistence that they start The Mirrors of Fate series is out of love for THEM because they are truly missing out.
October 27, 2025
Once again we return to the world of Waldron-on-Wen, this time for a more academic adventure. Starring new characters, the book follows up on the events of Fate’s Dangerous Fortune, now following Hattie and Noble, childhood friends turned strangers. In the last book we got to know Hattie a little as Anya’s best friend, but now it's her turn to shine.
Much like the first book I absolutely loved the world building. The book builds everything we learned about the Mirrors of Fate, Well of Fate, sense magic, oath tattoos, and abominations. This time we also learn more about alchemy in the world and how it interacts with the magic as well as more about oath tattoos. I appreciate a world that doesn’t expect me to memorize everything up front and gives me the information in a reasonable order.
The romance is just as the last book, if not better. I love a good childhood friends to strangers to lovers, and the levels of pining and yearning were superb. I’m just giddy over the whole relationship, especially as we see their teenage years and how close they were. Plus we also have layered in the Knight x Noble Lady trope which is delicious on its own.
Standalone series are one of my absolutely favorite types of series. It means the characters get a happy for now ending where their individual story wraps up, yet we know that there will be much more to see in the world. This book, the overall world plot really ramped up, bringing in the rest of the kingdom and I can not wait to see Lord Haron taken down by the end of the series because I seriously hate that guy!
Much like the first book I absolutely loved the world building. The book builds everything we learned about the Mirrors of Fate, Well of Fate, sense magic, oath tattoos, and abominations. This time we also learn more about alchemy in the world and how it interacts with the magic as well as more about oath tattoos. I appreciate a world that doesn’t expect me to memorize everything up front and gives me the information in a reasonable order.
The romance is just as the last book, if not better. I love a good childhood friends to strangers to lovers, and the levels of pining and yearning were superb. I’m just giddy over the whole relationship, especially as we see their teenage years and how close they were. Plus we also have layered in the Knight x Noble Lady trope which is delicious on its own.
Standalone series are one of my absolutely favorite types of series. It means the characters get a happy for now ending where their individual story wraps up, yet we know that there will be much more to see in the world. This book, the overall world plot really ramped up, bringing in the rest of the kingdom and I can not wait to see Lord Haron taken down by the end of the series because I seriously hate that guy!
October 9, 2025
"I loved this sequel to, Fate's Dangerous Fortune! Sweet, unassuming Hattie has an astonishing and dangerous past which has caught up to her. She is sidetracked from her dream of becoming an apothecary as she is forced to fight monsters, evade kidnappers and assassins and work to find a cure for her childhood sweetheart and unrequited love before he succumbs to his cursed monster blood. Hattie is a force to be reckoned with!"
November 10, 2025
Mirrors of fate 2
I adored this book. Each character is lovable, and has their own distinctive voice. I can't wait for the next book
I adored this book. Each character is lovable, and has their own distinctive voice. I can't wait for the next book
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews