Thank you AJ Lancaster for providing this ARC of How to Find a Nameless Fae in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
Princess Gisele has spent her life waiting for an evil fae sorcerer to collect on a long-owed magical debt: one royal first-born, in exchange for her mother's gold-spinning gift. But decades later, the mysterious fae still hasn’t come — and the unfulfilled fairytale bargain is growing restless.

Review:
This book was the epitome of a slow burn — not just romantically, but in its rich, steady unfolding of story and world. Honestly, the pacing was perfect. I’d half-forgotten the original fairytale behind this, but AJ Lancaster’s reimagining was clever, enchanting, and just the right amount of eerie.

Mal is the classic sarcastic, grumbly love interest, and I was absolutely sold. Gisele? An utter badass. Stabbing first and asking questions later? Iconic behaviour.

Their slow shift from reluctant allies to something more was gorgeously done. The romance, the curse, the emotional weight behind it all — it just worked. Magical in every sense (yes, pun intended).

And let’s talk about the house. Skymallow. I don’t just want to live there — I think my soul already does. No words. Just obsession.

In How to Find a Nameless Fae, Princess Gisele is a breath of fresh, furious air, a middle-aged woman, sharp-tongued, and completely done with waiting around for a mythical fae to ruin her life. Instead of cowering from the consequences of a decades-old bargain, Gisele storms headfirst into faerie territory with a knife, a plan, and zero patience. What makes her so compelling isn’t just her determination, but how she grapples with resentment, loneliness, and the slow, reluctant growth of connection with the reclusive, maddeningly formal fae lord she’s magically bound to. The tension between them crackles, and while the romance takes a cozy, slow-burn path, Gisele’s stubborn spark and no-nonsense attitude keep the story brisk and addictive. This is definitely the perfect little witty romance.

📖 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook.
I felt very immersed in the world this author created. It was a bit slow to pick up, but I flew threw the second half. I would read more by this author.

Thank you Netgallery for allowing access to the ARC!

This book is an enchanting and adventurous romp through the Fae realm that mixes danger, wit, slow-burn romance, and mystery in all the right doses and honestly who doesn't love a book with all of this mixed together?! 😍

The banter between the main characters is electric, with just enough romantic tension to keep you rooting for them without overshadowing the main plot. I've found recently that a lot of books are riding a thin line of overshadowing the plot with a lot of spice and romance but this book does it just right!

The world-building is rich, the stakes are high, and the pacing keeps you flipping pages long into the night which is when ideally i get my reading done between kids.

What stood out most was how the story balanced magic, politics, identity, and romance while delivering some deep emotional moments.

Will be published on my Instagram

Picked this up because I adored the author's Stariel series, so I was curious to what this standalone novel would be like. Unfortunately I didn't realise that it was a fairytale retelling, and they're just not my fave!!

There were things I liked about this book - Skymallow, the sentient house, is a wonderful character, and the 'found family' vibes as more characters come into the story are very sweet. While it was great to see an older MC, I found her immature and hard to relate to - I just never quite got invested in the story. Overall, the writing was probably a bit too cosy for me, but it definitely improved throughout the story.

Not a bad book at all - just not the right book for me!

f cozy fantasy had an awards show, How to Find a Nameless Fae by AJ Lancaster would be winning Best Ensemble Cast in a Heartwarming Yet Chaotic Adventure. This book is an absolute delight—a charming mix of humor, magic, and just the right dose of existential fae drama wrapped in a story as comforting as your coziest blanket.

At its core, the story follows Princess Gisele in her attempt to solve her unfulfilled fae debt, but of course, nothing in her world is as simple as ticking a task off a to-do list. Enter the paranoid and absolutely exasperating fae sorcerer who is determined that he doesn’t need help—but spoiler alert, he totally does. Their dynamic is a delightful dance of sarcasm, reluctant teamwork, and growing mutual reliance that practically sparkles with humor and heart.

The real MVPs of this story? The side characters, who are anything but "side." There's the chaotic cat (because no cozy fantasy is truly cozy without a pet making trouble) and a sentient house with a full-blown obsession with interior decorating magazines. Yes, you heard that right. The house itself has schemes—not the mildly annoying kind, but the ones that make you burst into laughter and wonder, "Why isn’t this a trend in fantasy books?"

Easily one of my new favorite reads, How to Find a Nameless Fae is the perfect mix of cozy, funny, and heartwarming. Whimsical, relatable, and unforgettable!

This was a great retelling and the one I didnt know I needed. This is the fairy tale retelling you need to read.

4.5 ⭐️

This book was fabulous. I didn’t know what to think about a Rumplestiltskin retelling but this book did it fantastically.

I love that the fmc is 40 and not a fresh 18 year old. Such a nice change. The way their relationship developed was fantastic. My Malediction ❤️.

I loved the rest of the ensemble and the found family ending. The way this book handled loneliness on both sides was so great to see.

My favourite was definitely Zingiber! The best cat ever!

I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book!

Thank you to A. J. Lancaster, NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book

Spicy, male female, 3rd person single point of view, paranormal romance. This is my first book by this author and I found it quite delightful. I enjoyed the author's writing style and the premise was so much fun. I enjoyed all of the characters; I especially appreciated a 40 year old female lead. The situations and humor filled my cozy loving heart, and the spice was very nice. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Damn okay. Well, I wasn’t expecting this! (In a good way!)
When I first read the blurb I was like okay sounds interesting… but i was really happy with how the author went about treating certain topics and what the MC has to go through.
It wasn’t just some ‘silly cute’ story despite having its cute and funny moments, it def had a layer to it. It was a nice balance.
I think that if you enjoyed books like Emily Wilde that can be whimsy and a bit interesting prose wise, than you’ll most def enjoy this one too!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this NetGalley ARC.

I was so excited to be sent this ARC. I read AJ Lancaster's Stariel series last year and fell in love, so seeing their name pop up almost gave me a heart attack.

How To Find A Nameless Fae was an amazing read. The emotions of each character, even side ones, were so poignant and touching. Gisele and Mal's unique yet similarly profound expressions of loneliness were absolutely heart wrenching. I couldn't put the book down. Their journey towards discovering the truth about Gisele's curse was incredibly well done, with little clues sprinkled throughout the text that felt entirely natural once you have the solution and can look at them in hindsight. I often find that clues of that nature have been put in kind of as an afterthought without much integration, resulting in the clues being flashing neon signs you immediately flag as the answer, but every facet of the world building and knowledge building felt integral to both Gisele's POV of events as well as the overarching plot.

While arguably this story was more romance driven than the Stariel novels, you will be drawn into the worldbuilding just as swiftly and deeply. I am a sucker for fairytale retellings and especially slow burn romances. I frequently find that intimate scenes in romantasy/fantasy romance novels are a little too detailed and acted too roughly for me to actually believe that the two characters are in love, but that was not a problem at all for me with this story. The balance between emotion and physical desire was *chef's kiss*.

I wholehearted recommend this novel, and any other work by AJ Lancaster if you are a fan of fantasy romance.

Princess Gisele just turned 40, and she's done. Done waiting for the evil nameless fairy sorcerer to come collect her as his firstborn bargain prize. She has worked her ass off to be the perfect... whatever he needs from her. How DARE this surely horrible, monstrous being stand HER up? No matter! Gisele will go find him herself and demand he explain himself. And free her, damn it. Because her curse has gotten so bad, no one in her own realm wants to even be near her. That's not a life. And after decades of waiting, hasn't she suffered long enough? Although the title of the book is "How to Find a Nameless Fae", she locates him spectacularly easily. Briefly traversing through Fairyland, she feels herself pulled almost directly to his mishmash home, Skymallow. And when he opens the door, he's utterly, terribly-
...actually, not so bad looking? Handsome even? Are those cat ears? And his whole set-up with his magical house is... cute? Huh. OK. Gisele can maybe roll with it. But then he has the gall to tell her he'd simply... forgotten about her. FORGOTTEN?!?! The nerve-

AJ Lancaster's retelling of a long-existing, well-known fairy tale had me in absolute stitches. Rather than retell it as a story about a beautiful, world-strange, doe-eyed 16 year-old princess in danger of being taken away by an actual meanie, Lancaster changes the entire dynamic by giving us a hilariously indignant 40 year-old who positively fumes about being forgotten by a really cute guy who has feline ears, a tail and a sentient house. I was thoroughly amused throughout. This book had me at "premise".

I love the representation in this book. The LGBTQ+ community is represented well: for example, the MMC is bisexual. Not only that, but heroines in their forties are in short supply in romance novels as it is, so Gisele's age is a massive plus. Add to it that she's written with gumption, well... That's not a hard decision to make: yes, I'll read the heck out of a book that offers this! I also adored our hero, referred to by Gisele as Mal (as in: her curse, her Malediction). He stumbles a little, here and there. He isn't always the bravest. He is chaotic and antisocial and at times deliciously submissive when compared to Gisele. A breath of fresh air!

Lovable characters are a must for me, and I feel pretty spoiled by How to Find a Nameless Fae's additionally fun side characters. Female characters Apfela and Niressa both have take-no-shit personalities of their own, and readers can count on even more levity by way of a demanding, lazy, chatty cat named Zingiber. But my favorite character (after Gisele) is Mal's house, Skymallow: a sentient house who takes care of its occupants... and dabbles in interior design. I'm a goner for magical houses; it instantly checks off "cozy" on my list of ways to describe a story (and this book is so cozy even without a magical house). Some of the book's sweetest moments are related to Skymallow.

The other sweeter moments are of course found in Gisele and Mal's romance. One of my favorite tropes is forced-proximity-because-of-a-bond-we-can't-shake (be it fated mates, or a curse): there is a quickly apparent reason Gisele finds Mal so easily. Things can only go up from here. And they do. And I love a take-charge heroine, both in moving the plot and the romance forward, and we get an exciting build-up and - because of their refreshing personalities and dynamic - some titillating scenes between these two.

I'm glad to learn there is a preceding standalone novel in this universe: How to Marry a Winged King (a Cinderella retelling). The main characters from this first book do make an appearance in How to Find a Nameless Fae, but these books are legit standalone: you don't need book 01 in order to read 02. That said, I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to enjoy more of Lancaster's enjoyable takes on known fairy tales, and I've already put the book on my "to read" list.

How to Find a Nameless Fae is a truly lovely, light, fun read. Mal may once have accidentally forgotten all about Gisele, but I sure won't. 

Thank you NetGalley and Camberion Press for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.

It was an interesting magical fairytale.

I liked that the main character was about 40 years old and not an 18 year old like it is in some books. That made the whole love story much better since he is also much older.

The story is a slow-burn which I really loved. The enemy to friends to lovers story was well-paced and enjoyable.

I liked the house. It was truly a unique and magical concept. Also, the cat. How nice would it be to actually talk to cats in our world?

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be sharing this review on Goodreads and Instagram (it will be posted soon and the link will be added here at that time).

Gisele is a cursed princess, forced to live a life in fear of hurting others and waiting for the faerie who cursed her to come collect her. However, she grows tired of waiting after 40 years and seeks him out only to find out how she envisioned her malediction is very different from reality. In this Rumplestiltskin retelling, Gisele learns a great deal about the world of Fairyland as well as herself, finally stepping into who she was meant to be all along.

This was a fun and quaint book with a bit of spice too. The prose wasn't exactly my favorite as it was a tad windy but overall it wasn't bad! This book also felt a bit reminiscent of The Cruel Prince but I can't decide if it's because both male main characters have tails or not. My biggest issue with this book was I felt some larger plot points were far too drawn out. It took a few chapters to learn about what Gisele's curse even was though it was heavily hinted at from the start. Often, withholding this information makes sense but here it felt a little unnecessary. Overall, this was a fun and easy read and one of the more unique retellings I've encountered!

I loved it! This author is a great story teller. The characters are sweet and funny and I can't pick a favorite because I adored them all. Discovering where the Name has been kept all these years was just perfect! I enjoyed this book very much.

I came across this book on Netgalley and thought it sounded really interesting so I wanted to give it a try. I had no idea after reading the description who this book would be about. I don't know I must have been have a day to not put two and two together, but Im actually glad I didn't. While reading this book I got the bets surprise ever when I finally put it together who this book as about and got so excited. Growing up I loved this fairy tale and was obsessed with a low budget(very) movie my dad would rent me every weekend he had me at the grocery store(I'm aging myself aren't I). But this brought all that back for me. This book as already great but adding that in made this book all the better on a personal level.

Giselle is the first born and since before her birth she has been promised to someone else, it doesn't matter that she was a twin and she happened to be born first that one act changed her whole life. She didn't have a life, everyone knew she would leave and soon it was too hard for even her family to be by her. Finally fed up Giselle leaves her castle and home to find the magical creature who after claimer her left and forget about her.

What she finds is not what she expects but what she knows is she will get her life back and he will make sure she does. What she never guesses will happen is that she ends up helping him in the process of freeing herself and finding others who may just care about her. In the process of saving herself and freeing herself she may just save the one who imprisoned her and come to realize she's free in ways she couldn't have believed.

This is such a good read, I enjoyed every minute of this book, another book that is just perfect for summer especially if you have a nice vacation but even if not such a good, good read. I loved the characters and the twists and turns this books takes. I also really loved this authors writing. Sometimes it pays to take a chance and though small really Im so glad I tried this new author(for me). It was such a fun read that I can't recommend enough.

*Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC.

This book felt like the exact kind of cozy fantasy I didn’t know I needed until I started reading it. I was hooked from the first few chapters — like, give me a magical house with attitude and a grumpy, mysterious fae with a soft side any day of the week.

Gisele was such a refreshing main character. I loved that she wasn’t the usual perfect fantasy heroine — she was dealing with real pressure, some not-so-great family stuff, and still held her own with this whole “you were promised to a fae lord before you were born” situation.
Mal was honestly a surprise. He’s not your typical dark and broody fae — more like an awkward, powerful, slightly feral stray cat you accidentally fall in love with. And his little quirks (the tail! the ears!) were oddly endearing. I loved how their relationship unfolded slowly, with banter, misunderstandings, and some really sweet moments.

The pacing was gentle (not slow, just cozy), and the writing had this lyrical, fairy-tale vibe without being too flowery. Also, the worldbuilding? Gorgeous. I wanted to curl up in that magical house and never leave.If you’re into soft magic, charming grumpy-sunshine energy, and fairy tales with heart, I think you’ll love this one.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the opportunity to read this ARC!

4.25

There's nothing I love more in a book than a sentient house and a talking cat! This was really nice read - a cosy romance that had fae in it, what more could you ask? I loved Gisele from her first meeting - she's older and yet vengeful after being locked away for so long due to a curse! (I mean she stabs someone) From their first meeting, they clash (literally)! It felt like being wrapped into a blanket half the time and also on the edge of my seat with their tension as they go on an adventure to find his true name.

The cover is so cute, the title hilarious and I found myself smiling through this! Would recommend if you're looking for a nice, chillaxing read to curl up with!

Cosy fantasy with a sentient house, talking cat, fae with a tail and cat ears, and a FMC that stabs someone with a poisoned blade and then immediately bandages the wound? So much yes.

This was a delight to read. The characters are well fleshed out, and the relationship between the FMC and MMC is a glorious cosy slow burn.

There was some spice which was unexpected because of the cosy vibes, but it genuinely didn’t feel out of place at all or like it had been shoehorned in.

The pacing is potentially a smidge on the slow side in one or two places, but honestly it wasn’t an issue at all, the world itself is such a delight to be in.

4.5/5 rounded up to 5

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC

This book took me by surprise in the best way. I picked it up expecting a warm fantasy fae romance, and what I got was a clever, character-driven story with memorable banter, emotional tension, and a strong romantic thread between two older leads.

What immediately stood out to me was how funny the book is. The banter between the characters, the internal monologues, even the narration are all sharp, clever, and genuinely entertaining. The writing strikes a great balance of fantasy in setting, but contemporary in tone. It doesn’t lean into flowery or whimsical prose like some fair folk books I read tend to. Instead, it is grounded and witty, which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

The romance features older leads, which felt refreshing. Gisele, a 40-year-old princess determined to confront her fate, and Mal, a not really evil sorcerer, but a guarded fae with baggage of his own, have believable emotional layers and fun chemistry. Their dynamic—built on forced proximity, mutual intrigue, and emotional growth—was compelling and well-paced. I also loved the moments of vulnerability woven into their interactions.

The world building itself isn’t the focus, and while I found some elements a bit unclear (especially in terms of time period or broader lore), it didn’t pull me out of the story. This book is more about characters navigating personal conflict in a fantastical setting rather than an epic adventure. Also, the found-family thread adds a softer, heartwarming, and more emotional layer to the otherwise banter-filled tone, which I really really enjoyed.

For readers seeking a romantic fantasy rich with clever dialogue, mature characters, emotional tension, high-stakes drama, and some truly gaggy, steamy scenes, this book comes highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the opportunity to read this ARC!