First published 2025
Kaley Arens studies folklore as a PhD student, but she thinks fairy tales are just stories. When her friend Jobi invites her to visit his home, she expects a trip to a remote island. Instead, she finds herself in Bellis, another world entirely. This place has its own royalty and rules. The fairy tale characters she studied are real and breathing. Kaley learns she has a mysterious connection to both Jobi and this world. She possesses abilities that could determine Bellis's future. The inhabitants task her with finding a lost prince. She travels with two companions: Tanek, who belongs to the Order of Swans, and Sojee, her massive bodyguard. Together they journey through landscapes that mix wonder with danger. Kaley discovers she can alter the fairy tales she knows, changing their outcomes. But in this world, heroes and villains blur together. Nothing appears as it first seems. While Kaley gains power over familiar stories, her own tale unfolds in unexpected directions toward a fate she cannot foresee.
Genres: adventure, fantasy, contemporary-romance, fairy-tale-retellings
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Bellis, Order of Swans
336 pages · Hardcover · MIRA