Je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre de ce livre et j'ai immédiatement été charmée par l'ambiance cosy de ce livre.
j'ai trouvé qu'il s'agissait d'un excellent retelling de conte et de l'histoire de Rumpelstiltskin.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié le personnage de Gisele qui sait ce qu'elle veut et qui sait se défendre. J'ai bien aimé la tournure qu'à pris la relation entre les deux personnages.
Le livre est également très bien écrit et très prenant. Une excellente lecture !

✨⚔️ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙁𝙖𝙚 ✨⚔️

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻 @a.j.lancaster
Out Now on Kindle Unlimited

🐈‍⬛ This, by far, has been one of my most favorite reads from @netgalley and HIGHLY recommend! This was my first book by AJ Lancaster and I can’t wait to read more.

✨ cozy fantasy
✨ romance retelling of Rumplestiltskin
✨ middle-aged heroine
✨ sentient cottage

🌼Princess Gisele has spent her life preparing for an evil fae sorcerer to claim her. That was the bargain her mother was tricked into: one royal first-born in exchange for spinning straw into gold.

But it’s been decades, and he still hasn’t shown up.

The unfulfilled fairytale-debt, however, is refusing to lie quietly. When its chaotic magic reaches unbearable levels, Gisele takes matters into her own hands. Terrifying fae sorcerer or not, she’ll hunt him down and force him to stop ruining her life.

But instead of an evil mastermind, she finds the scholarly, nameless lord of a magical house. He wants nothing to do with the angry knife-wielding spinster on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the fairytale-debt has other ideas.

Now magically bound to her lifelong nemesis, the only way to break the magic between them is to work together to find the nameless fae’s lost name. Assuming they don’t strangle each other first.🌼

3.5 rounded up. AJ Lancaster builds beautiful worlds and in this case beautiful houses as well. I've had a run of books lately with magical houses and I can confirm I would like to live in one!

Gisele leaves the confines of her home and her world to figure out how to end the curse that was put on her at birth. She's off to find the fae who cursed her so she can get on with living around people without them being uncomfortable in her presence or without mucking around with the properties of gold. Gisele finds her Malediction, who is not at all what she expected, and his sentient house. Together they work to figure out how to get Gisele out of the curse.

There was a lot to like about this book, older characters (wohoo for a 40 year old FMC!), found friendship with all sorts of fae characters & a cat, a solid retelling Rumpelstiltskin where you root for him, characters you want to like and a story that doesn't let you down by pulling the rug out from under you, it has light and humor.

In the acknowledgements it's mentioned that <spoiler> this was initially a novella, and I feel like the reader can tell. </spoiler> It doesn't have the quick wit the Stariel series has, and in my opinion it doesn't maximize the use of the page count.

I adored Stariel and this was a fine follow up, I think I just had greater expectations. Keep 'em coming AJ! I'll still be reading.

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for this book.

You know the story: an evil sorcerer demands the firstborn child in payment for his magical favour, and on the child’s sixteenth birthday, the sorcerer comes to collect. Only that the parents, usually royal or a very good fairy has somehow found a loophole and everything is dealt with in time for the happily ever after at the end. How to Find a Nameless Fae takes all of that into account, and then asks: what happens when a first-born bargain goes wrong?

For Princess Gisele, the first-born child promised in said bargain, she has spent her entire life waiting and preparing for a terrifying, fearsome mage to turn up and claim her. But it’s been decades. And he still hasn’t shown up. Which you would think was a good thing, but unfortunately for Princess Gisele, it is wreaking havoc on her life. So, on her fortieth birthday, she decides to take things into her own hands, cross to the land of Faerie, find this sorcerer for herself and demand the bargain be broken. Except, she doesn’t find a scary evil sorcerer, but rather a nameless lord of a magical house who has no idea who she is. Their magical bond and eagerness to be free of one another, Gisele and the nameless lord set out to find his lost name and break the bargain. Assuming they don’t strange each other first.

How to Find a Nameless Fae was a warm, wonderfully witty and very weird fairytale retelling. And I loved it. A J Lancaster enchants you with every word, bringing new life and magic to a tale we all know: Rumpelstiltskin. It was full of whimsy, full of banter, romance and a memorable heroine who refused to wait around to be rescued any longer.

A super cosy fantasy with the adorable setting of a sentient cottage. Every little detail was magical and felt so unique, though as familiar as your favourite cardigan or blanket. Lancaster’s lush prose and beautiful descriptions of Faerie were so wonderfully written. It was bursting with life. The characters were a joy to read about, a joy to get to know and to love. If you’re craving a good-feel fairytale with a swoon-worthy romance with yearning and tension and so much magical whimsy, then How to Find a Nameless Fae is your next read.

Thank you so much to @victoryeditingngc for this eARC!

Out now on Kindle Unlimited!

If you like your fairytale retellings with a twist, let me highly recommend this beautiful comfort of a book! How To Find a Nameless Fae is a delightful take on the classic Rumpelstiltskin story, converting it into a charming, cozy romantasy. But this is even a twist on typical romantasy, making the main character, Gisele, an older, understandably impatient heroine who decides to save herself from the curse that's effectively ruined her life.

Shortly after turning forty, Princess Gisele decides it's time to find the evil sorcerer who cursed her before she was even born. Having been stuck in a tower and effectively unable to maintain any sort of relationship with anyone due to said curse, Gisele takes matters into her own hands and goes to find the malediction that didn't have the decency to come back and kidnap her as everyone assumed would happen. Finding her way into the land of the fairies, Gisele is then horrified to find that the evil sorcerer who cursed her is decidedly not evil, not a sorcerer, nor has he realized how much time has passed. But now that she's found him, their cursed bond has only strengthened... and neither of them have any idea of how to break it, save finding the fairy's name that he lost and has basically no hope of finding again.

I can't explain how much joy this book brought me. It's different than most of the fantasy books I've read, but its silliness was amazing and the romantic tension was excellent. It may not be high fantasy, but who needs that when you've got such a fulfilling story?

So many thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for giving me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: June 27, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/21a9c048-4ae8-4d8c-a5e4-cdf6d5225c4a)
Review posted to Instagram: July 26, 2025 (https://www.instagram.com/p/DMk9tmDRMpH/)

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

How to find a Nameless Fae was a really great read about seeking out our destiny instead of waiting for it to find us. A fractured retelling of Rumpelstiltskin we follow Princess Gisele who is tired of waiting to be claimed by a fae mage, who made a bargain with her mother. She sets off in search of the fae and way to remove her curse only to find friends and family. A really lovely story with some spicy moments about the importance of found family.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Endless whimsy with magical landscapes, mythical creatures and a love interest who is part cat. Did I lose anybody? If so, you didn’t deserve this book anyways. How to Find a Nameless Fae is hilarious, heartfelt, and satisfying from beginning to end. Nice enemies-to-lovers, then friends-to-lovers dynamic set up with some fun little found family nuggets as the story progresses. Skymallow (the house) is adorable as a juvenile somewhat sentient being who adores its occupants and gives major Casita vibes a la Encanto. I would definitely read more by Lancaster.

Additional note: also a bit of Howl’s Moving Castle vibes too with the rag tag group of inhabitants and the magical and well meaning home.

Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a cosy, fun, slow burn fantasy adventure and a clever retelling of Rumplestiltskin.
The story revolves around Princess Gisele of Isshia (cursed from a little girl by a power hungry Prince with dark intent) and her journey towards getting her powers back and journeying beyond her mundane life behind the palace walls.
Gisele journeys to the house of Mal (otherwise known as Malediction and later Rumplestiltskin) in order to find out what he did to her and to help her in her quest.
However, she doesn't expect to fall in love with Mal (who also has supernatural powers) and together they, along with a few other supernatural creatures friends within Mal's home band together to defeat the evil Prince Avern and change all their lives forever.
This story was a delight to read and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Thankyou to Net galley, the publisher and the author for an arc of this book.

Before Princess Gisele is even born, she is claimed by an evil fae sorcerer in a first born bargain. However, when he never shows up to claim her, the unclaimed magic has unexpected consequences. By 40, she cannot take it anymore and decides to take matters into her own hands. With her harrowing trip into Faerie, she finds the murderous fae. Although he is nothing like she expected. With a quaint sentient house, a talking cat, terrifying fae neighbors who are more welcoming than threatening, and together with the misunderstood fae she calls Mal, they work together to find the lost bargain in order to break their curse. This was a fun, easy read, cozy and cute. Would love to see more stories in this world.

I loved this book! The lore was cool (I love that she pulled real lore about the fae into it). The perfect combination of cozy fantasy with unlikely allies romance. So cute!

Okay, first of all, I am a sucker for retellings of any kind. So, when I saw this was a Rumplestiltskin retelling, I requested this ARC without a second thought.

Gisele is the princess of Isshia and has been cursed from the day she was born. Her mother, desperate to escape her imprisonment, struck a deal with a dangerous magical sorcerer to give up her firstborn child, and in exchange, he would spin straw into gold for her.

Forty years later, and tired of waiting for the sorcerer to come and get her, Gisele decides to travel to the Fae Realm to find and confront her Malediction (Mal). But who she finds is not the evil sorcerer she always envisioned.

Instead, she is met with a charming, yet aloof, recluse of a man who had lost track of time and all but forgotten about Gisele entirely. Unfortunately, even with his life threatened, he doesn’t release her from the curse that binds them because he lost his true name.

This was just amazing. I honestly loved every single second of this book. I wish that there was so much more tbh. But I also adore how it ended, so absolutely no notes lmao 😂

My favorite part of the entire book is the characters. They really drive this story forward heavily. And omg the BANTER. It was top tier. So good. I want MOOORE. Best characters, hands down, are Zingiber, a telepathic cat, and Skymallow, a magical/sentient tree house.

If you like your cozy fantasies spicy, then you're in luck! This was fit with pining, yearning, erotic dreams, and hot & steamy entanglements. I'm not sure that this part of the book was for me, ultimately. I love more closed-door romance, personally. And the MMC has more cat-like features than I prefer in my romances, but I know that there are a lot of readers who would enjoy the spice in this one.

Ultimately, as much as I love standalones, I wish there was going to be a second novel so I could spend more time in this world and with these characters. It was absolutely spectacular. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves spicy romantasies, retellings, banter, and cozy fantasies. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to AJ Lancaster, Camberion Press, and NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a nice, refreshing retelling of Rumpelstiltskin! I love that we start off with Gisele saving herself from her stagnant life of waiting. I extra love that’s she forty and absolutely amazing and fierce! She sets out to find the fae who cursed her before she was born but never came to collect, only to find out she cannot break the curse because he doesn’t remember his name. Thus begins a whole new quest.
The fact that she ends up calling him Mal -short for malediction- and he totally excepts it is quite adorable. As is the fact that Mal has ears that constantly give away his emotions ☺️ They’re so stupidly sweet in their insecurity to call their attraction what it actually is, but we get some fun, friends with benefits action out of it so who am I to complain?
I weirdly appreciate that this book has chapter numbers AND titles. It is not something I thought I particularly cared about in way or the other but I really enjoyed these. This book makes me want to go back and find the previous book telling the story of the human queen because I am sure I would love it too based on this!

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good retelling of Rumplestiltskin with a lot of spice and a decent slow burn. It was just the right amount of magic and romance with some deeper layers to add depth to the characters in the story.

I enjoyed all of the characters and was an overall enjoyable read and I will be looking at AJ Lancaster works as this was a really nice introduction to this author.

This was so enjoyable! A Rumpelstiltskin retelling with a mature FMC, magic, whimsy and chock full of fairytale vibes. I absolutely loved the dry wit in Gisele and Mals interactions, and while there are so many cosy elements, there is also a touch of spice for readers. Taking her destiny in her own hands, we see Gisele set out to find the fae who cursed her through her mother, and we are treated to found family, secret identity and the perfect happily ever after.
Bonus Points to the sentient house Skymallow (think Casita from Encanto).

So refreshing to read a 40+ competent FMC and a non-toxic MMC! The writing was whimsical and delightful, and the NPCs were lovely and adorable. A fun, cozy read -- looking forward to reading more by this author!

as every good cozy fantasy should be, this was very sweet and now i feel all warm and fuzzy :) who would've thought i'd ever read a cute and heartwarming rumplestiltskin retelling of all things - i've always hated that specific fairytale as a kid, but this new spin on it has definitely won me over.

we follow our protagonist gisele, a princess in her 40s who has been cursed by an evil faerie lord at birth. she was supposed to be bargained off to him, but somehow he never showed up to "collect" her. so, after decades of suffering the consequences of her curse, gisele has had enough of this nonsense and decides to take matters into her own hands: she seeks out her Malediction, as she calls him, to demand he release her from his curse. the only problem: not only does he not remember his true name and therefore doesn't have the power to undo his magic, but he's also not the evil mastermind gisele expected.. at all.

this definitely has the warm and whimsical vibe we all want when we pick up a cozy fantasy, but it still doesn't shy away from exploring deeper things, which i personally really liked. the key theme of this book is loneliness - or rather, finding the one person to share and ultimately shed that loneliness with after years of feeling isolated and misunderstood. stories with this theme almost always hit home for me, and this was no exception.

both gisele and mal have been incredibly lonely for a good portion of their lives and have resigned to the thought that they might continue to be lonely for the rest of it. as a result, they also struggle with feelings of their lives passing them by, of their loneliness and lack of social connections somehow making them less "worthy" or less "whole" than others, as if this stuff is something you need to catch up on but might never get the chance - something that also hits home for me quite a bit. seeing them slowly realize that they no longer have to be on their own, that they've finally found someone who not only understands their specific pain but also truly sees and accepts them, was really lovely.

the romance, despite being at the center of the story, unfolds at a relatively slow pace - which is necessary because it wouldn't make sense for the characters otherwise. due to their magical bond there is a certain spark between them from the moment they meet (and there are some spicier scenes later on), but still the books lets gisele and mal take the time they need to fully let each other in - and also to find out what works best for them as people who haven't really been in intimate relationships for a long time. the book handles all of this very maturely, which i really appreciated.

on a lighter note, there's also a talking (or rather telekinetic) cat, a sentient house with a love for lifestyle magazines and extravagant decorations, lots of other whimsical creatures inhabiting this world (a lot of which are queer, including the mmc, so that was nice to see!) and many magical shenanigans that dissolve into chaos (side note: as a native german speaker, it's always really fun when fantasy books incorporate the language into their worldbuilding!).
literally my only criticism is that it took me some time to get attuned to the writing style and the plot tends to drag a bit occasionally, but honestly who really reads cozy fantasy for the plot.

if i had to describe the vibes of this through other books i've read/movies i've seen, i'd say it's giving howl's moving castle x emily wilde x the princess bride x hints of bridgerton, so if that sounds like a good time to you, you'll probably have a good time with this book too. although i've been eyeing her 'stariel' series for a while now, this was my first book by aj lancaster - it definitely won't be my last tho!

Goodreads review posted on: 08/07/2025

How to Find a Nameless Fae is a cozy, whimsical and magical story about being the outcast in a world where you feel like you don’t belong and finding the place you do belong. This retelling of the Rumpelstilskin story is perfect for lovers of magic, mystery, and a bit of romance.

Malediction, as he is so affectionately named by Gisele has given up his name to hide from a foe that is tracking him for his powers. Gisele’s mother made a deal with Mal that she could turn straw to gold and she needs to guess his name or give up her firstborn. Gisele spent most of her life as the outcast with people fearing her for her magic and abilities, waiting for the fae to come and take her away. Gisele decided to seek out this fae on her own and figure out what the deal is.

Mal and Gisele make an unlikely brotherhood of friends along the way to find Mal’s real name and undo the bond between them. I loved the way this was written and the banter and tension between Gisele and Mal. I took a bit more time to read this than some of my other reads because there was so much detail but it added to the overall depth of the story and really brought it to light!

5/5 ⭐️ and 1.5 🌶️ for Mal and Gisele’s story!

An adorable book. I loved Mail and Gisele’s story, and thought, despite the mild peril/drama, it was incredibly cozy, and would love to read more in the series.

Lovely book, I kept seeing it advertised on instagram and thought why not request for it in netgalley. I was not disappointed. It was the right amount of cozy yearning meets danger. I love the the characters aren't young adults or teens as reader in their 30s I very much appreciate that. I love the characters, and the mystery behind them and the journey the author takes us on in finding a new place where one feels welcomed and comfortable in their own skin without the burdens of titles or social pressure and family pressure