A hilarious spin on romantasy's love of chivalrous fae, as a faerie prince is catapulted into our world with equal parts absurd and swoony antics hot on his heels. Ella Enchanted meets A Court of Thorns and Roses by way of a contemporary romcom in this searing, swoony mashup, perfect for readers of fantastical romantic romps like Good Spirits, Zomromcom and Just Like Magic.
37-year-old Ainsley Rowan needs a break from life-or more like a full reset. She's spent the last year grieving her mom while cleaning out her childhood home, disconnected from old friends and recovering from a bad break-up. But now that the house is sold and she has a new WFH job, Ainsley decides it's time for a real escape; she replies to an online ad for a vacation home in coastal Maine that needs a winter caretaker. Nine months in a small quiet town with nothing to worry about but work and keeping the house from falling apart, and endless solitude for curling up with her favorite romantasy series-it's the perfect set up for her to rest and figure out her life.
Except the quaint town of Star's Perch proves anything but quiet. In the off-seasons, it's inhabited mostly by a small, close-knit group of locals, all of whom want to embrace Ainsley and invite her into their flock (and do not know how to take "no thank you" for an answer). Thankfully a big snowstorm promises to give Ainsley some of the solitude she's yearning for. But just as the snow is reaching record breaking depths, a strange man quite literally falls from the sky and lands in Ainsley's front yard. He's impossibly tall and absurdly handsome, with pointed ears, cerulean eyes, and an impressive wingspan. A twin to the love interest in Ainsley's favorite books. He introduces himself as Axill, prince and heir to the Gareth dynasty, and, less than twenty-four hours later, has declared Ainsley his fated mate.
It turns out, fae princes may not be quite as alluring in real life as they are in books. Axill is clumsy, loud, and extremely unhelpful-despite his best efforts-and, for the next few weeks, instead of watching the snow drift lazily from the sky while cozied up on the couch with a soft blanket and a cup of cocoa, Ainsley's fending off endless attempts by him to protect her from the internet, the refrigerator, the plow, her neighbor's chihuahua, and just about everything else he encounters in Star's Perch. Not to mention the struggle of keeping an almost seven-foot-tall guy with wings out of sight from the town's nosy residents, as Ainsley and Axill try to figure out where he came from and how to get him back there.
But as they work to uncover the truth, Ainsley realizes that she's growing used to Axill's company. Maybe even enjoys it. His chaos becomes more endearing by the day, and for a seemingly arrogant, blustering fae, he's actually a pretty good listener; he understands Ainsley far better than she could have anticipated. Before she knows it, Ainsley is starting to feel more like herself than she has in a long time. Maybe ever. But she can't think about moving on until she helps Axill find his way home. The problem is, with each day, she's less and less sure she wants to say goodbye...
