First of all a huge thanks for getting to read this arc!
I absolutely fell in love with this book. The cozy vibes, the mmc & fmc, the connection between them and the found family? Love love love!!
It is such a fun and quick paced read, devoured it in basically 1 day!
Mal is a mmc that I haven’t seen very often. I loved how shy he’d get and everything. Absolutely adore him!
I would definitely recommend this book!

I'm utterly obsessed with this story. I adore cosy Fae fantasy books, and this story has all of the elements that makes those books so wonderful.
I loved the FMC from the first chapter, and it was amazing to read about a 40 year old FMC! The characters are all so entertaining and the world building is light and easy to follow. I also loved how the story tackled subjects like loneliness. I also liked the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. Overall this is a hilarious comfort read. If you're a fan of the Emily Wildes trilogy and Ella Enchanted, I highly recommend that you give this book a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Camberion Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Words cannot even describe how magical this book was. It reminded me of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, Rumpelstiltskin, and Beauty and the Beast all wrapped up in a heartwarming, cozy package. It touched on serious topics with the main characters that felt relatable and created a connection to them while also maintaining that cozy feeling. I loved Gisele. She was strong and brave but also had insecurities just like everyone. I loved the fact that she was older too. Mal was just as loveable. He had a sweet side underneath the dark side. He showed his vulnerability which made him even more loveable. The found family trope in this book had me so happy! It is one of my favorite tropes and this was written perfectly. I absolutely loved this book and I really hope we get to dive back into this world in the future.


I published my review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Instagram. They were all published 6/26/25. Links available below for all but Barnes and noble. It is in review.

Very cute cozy fantasy. Princess Giselle, as a 40 year old cursed princess, was refreshing as a female main character, and Malediction was such a fun character to explore in this Rumpelstiltskin retelling. All of the side characters, including Skymallow the house were so charming and enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this book. Instantly loved it was an older FMC which is so rare now a days and it was a damsel who was taking matters into her own hands to get the job done. I enjoy a fairy tell retelling and the fact this was Rumpelstiltskin was great as it's not commonly done (my favourite storyline in the once upon a time tv show was Rumpelstiltskin and belle). This was a cozy romance with the edition of a sassy talking cat which always helps!

This is the beautiful story of Princess Gisele, a human who was cursed as a baby by an unnamed Fae. Expecting to have been claimed earlier in her life, when she hits 40, she chooses to go in search of the man who has held so much power over her for her life. Their connection leads her to him, and his sentient house, Skymallow, where she discovers he has lost his name, and without it, he cannot break their bond. In the absence of his name, Gisele refers to him as her Malediction - Mal. They embark on the adventure of finding his name, amidst their growing attraction to each other.

Gisele and Mal are both incredibly endearing characters, and their story is adventurous, entertaining, and full of heart. I can see this becoming one of my comfort reads, that I return to over and over. Beautiful

'How to Find a Nameless Fae' by A.J. Lancaster, its a fairytale retelling.
A cosy fantasy romance novel, that tells the tale of a cursed princess and her search of a fae lord with no name. Throughout the increasing havoc on her life, the FMC will stop at nothing until she finds him.

Full witty and whimsically quirky, scenes. This slow-burn mature romance is simply adorable. A wonderful cosy read for all who love this genre. I recommend it.

In this book you will find:
- Grumpy/sunshine pairings
- Protagonists over 35
- Cursed princess FMC
- Howl-esque MMC
- He has cat ears
- A magical and sentient house
- Banter and Wittiness
- Mild Spice (this book is considered steamy... but in my opinion is almost to none)

This retelling of Rumpelstiltskin was such a fun read, especially in the second half of the book. I love when authors re imagine fairy tales in fresh, new ways and this one was no exceptions. This cozy version really centers on the idea of what it is to be alone and how to trust people when you have been let down so much in your life.

I love that the princess is 40 and that Rumpelstiltskin is a fairy with cat ears and a tail. I also really enjoyed the fluid sexuality of the main characters. The house is so great and the secondary characters are interesting and fun to explore. It definitely started a little slow but by the second half I couldn't put it down. Absolutely worth the read.

I had such a fun time with this read!
It is great for anyone who loves a cozy, unique, fairytale retelling.

Imagine Rumpelstiltskin but in a cottagecore, fantasy, romantic comedy kind of way.

Our FMC isn’t our usually teenager or 20 something year old, she’s a 40 year old woman who’s had enough of waiting and takes her life into her own hands. And she does an amazing job of it.

And our Mal, he’s such a unique, forgetful cinnamon roll character! I just adore him.

I hope we get another book with these in the future as I would love to learn more about Apfela and Nissa.

Life of princess Gisele was miserable. Cursed even before she was born, she spent her life alone, not enganging with other people because of it. On every birthday, she was expecting a fae who made a deal with her mother so many years ago to come and get her, but it didn't happend. could he just...forget her? Not trying to lose yet another year of fruitless waiting, she decided she needs to do the work and just go to him. If he doesn't want to have anything, he could just lift the cure. Simple as that.... except it is not.

Entangled in the weird things unwrapping between them while they try to find his name so he could finally free her they start to realise that may will find a lot more.




It was a very, very interesting read. At first i was a bit confused, but everything grew on me.
I have read a lot of fantasy books in my life. I also have found myself liking characters with weird traits like horns, tentacles... you know, just normal stuff. But Mal? Well, i try to not remember the way he looked because it didn't spoke to me. But besides that, i really enjoyed this story. I would love to see more about all of the side characters, like maybe their own books? That would be nice.
I would definitely read more from this author.





all opinions are my own.

A.J. Lancaster's How to Find a Nameless Fae is a stunning reminder of why I love to read. It was fantastic—not just for its powerful storytelling, but also for its brilliant moments of social commentary.

At its core, the book champions the courage to live authentically, free from the weight of external expectations. It's a call to action—to define our own lives, seek our own freedoms, and combat the loneliness of isolation through the strength of new relationships and community. It beautifully illustrates that personal growth knows no age, reminding us that we can flourish at any stage of life if we are willing to take a step in that direction.

Also, I was delighted by the novel's perspective on a woman's choice to remain child-free: “Children aren't the only way to find fulfillment in life...”

Furthermore, the intimacy is handled with remarkable skill, serving as a meaningful layer of character and plot development rather than mere filler.

This is a beautiful retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with sensibilities that will resonate deeply with modern readers.

Thank you to Victory Editing Co-op via NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. Publish date June 26th, 2025.

This book is the literary equivalent of a warm cup of coffee on a rainy morning-sweet, cozy, and delightfully funny. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

Our protagonist, Gisele, is a 40-year-old woman who was promised to a fairy before she was even born. But that fairy never showed up. Rather than continue living in limbo and burdening her family with the curse, she devises “A Plan” 😉 to break it once and for all. When she finally tracks down this elusive fairy, her Malediction, things are not at all what she expected 🤔

I adored everything about this story, from Gisele’s thoughtful and stubborn nature, to our irresistibly goofy and charming male lead, to the talking cat sidekick (an absolute gem) and the sentient house, Skymallow (a favorite micro-trope of mine!). Skymallow provided the perfect cozy setting to slowly unpack the rich lore of the fairy world and Mal’s backstory. The pacing was spot-on, and although we don’t get to spend too much time with the side characters, they served their purpose in supporting the main character arcs.

At its heart, this story explores loneliness, how it affects all kinds of people, the doubts it plants, and the yearning it brings. But it’s also about finding your people, and I think it’s safe to say that Gisele and Mal finally found theirs 💕

If you loved Half a Soul or any whimsical Regency fairytale, this one’s for you. I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author!

A sweet cosy fantasy with a little romance, involving a mature (40yo) FMC and a "young" fae MMC. Plus a sentient house, a talking cat and some nosy neighbors making the cutest found family.

The world isn't intricately built and fairly typical for faerie stories, but that's because it's not the important part. The lack of detail thankfully doesn't lead to plot holes either. Skymallow, the magic house and surroundings is such a cute side character itself, but really all the side characters are adorable in their own way, even if not very detailed, they're still characters that stand on their own.

The writing was just so enjoyable to read, did a perfect job at creating the cosy warm atmosphere, and kept me engaged throughout.

I'm very curious about the author's other work now, and if she has other cosy books, I'm most definitely adding them to my tbr. It was a perfect afternoon read outdoors for me.

*• I received an ARC for this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and I appreciate both your work and commitment to this project. The following opinion is my own and holds no major spoilers. •*

The premise of this book kept me hooked from the start: our heroine is sick and tired of waiting to be fetched by the fae to whom her mother promised her before she was born as payment for a debt. On top of that, the more she waits, the more it seems like some kind of curse is keeping everyone away from her, and now even the little social life she had is flying out the window. There’s only one solution for it all: she’ll go after the fae by herself and make him fix it, no matter what. The plot alone kept me hooked and I didn’t falter for half of the book.

However (and unfortunately, because I was *loving* this book until 60% of it) the plot doesn’t thicken enough to keep it steady. The two main characters have their own issues to be solved but their developments stale to the point it gets boring at some point. We have some side characters that have little to no necessity to exist and that are so fleeting that I couldn't connect to them at all.

But I think the one thing that bothered me the most was the fact that we had a small but really amazing potential plot device - the fact that our FMC has a twin brother - and it was barely used in a proper way to make the story more complex or even create some kind of interesting plot twist. I was waiting for it to be useful somehow but it turned into almost nothing. A shame, really.

I also need to mention, like usually, that the explicit intimate scenes had no importance for the plot and were there just for the sake of smut, which always bums me out, especially when a story has an YA vibe but porn-like sex scenes. It’s a starking and uncomfortable contrast.

To wrap it up, How to Find a Nameless Fae had a lot of potential and I had a lot of fun with it until it absolutely went downhill and turned into a generic romantasy. That being said, if you’re looking for a light and unpretentious reading, this book might be the one for you.

An absolutely delightful little romp! Lancaster truly has a way with making lovable and a little unhinged characters that you will be rooting for from beginning to end. (and maybe for a few weeks after!) The sentient house was such a wonderful character and the whole setting felt like a warm cup of tea on a cool rainy night. I truly loved every page!

I'm a huge fan of the Stariel series, and I knew from the first pages I would love this standalone story from AJ, too!
I thought Gisele was such a unique character, and at the same time very relatatable. Mal was a blend of all the qualities I look for in a book boyfriend--fun, handsome, a little magical and a little (or a lot) naughty!
Their banter was great and their dynamic felt refreshing. The spice was unexpected but oh so good!
As a lover of side characters and what they bring to the story, Apfela and Nissa really hit the spot. I feel like it would fun to get a novella about what happens next with them, too! The house being a character in its own right was also one of my favorite aspects; it added that whimsical element that tied the story together beautifully.
And the ending! We love a woman making her own path, even when it's not the obvious or easy choice. <3
As always, I'm excited for whatever AJ releases next!

“What if Rumplestiltskin was a hot, traumatized forest cryptid with trust issues and you decided to confront him about it... with sass?”

That’s the vibe of this book. And I devoured every quirky, soft, whimsical page of it.

This is cozy fantasy with actual substance. No soggy plots or yawn-inducing “and then we baked scones” energy—nope. Instead, we get a 40-year-old woman named Gisele who’s been cursed with involuntary social exile thanks to a decades-old bargain her mother made before she was even born. Tired of being ghosted by destiny, she stomps into Fairyland and demands answers like the ✨emotionally repressed icon✨ she is.

Enter Malediction (Mal for short) : broody, reluctant, ruggedly magical, and in no way prepared for the force of nature that is Gisele. He just wanted to hermit in peace, but now his magical cottage is matchmaking, his blood pressure is up, and he’s one stolen kiss away from spontaneously combusting. I love this for him.

🖤 The slow-burn mutual pining? A+
🛋️ The house magic? Skymallow?? ICONIC.
💋 The romance? Tender, mutual, and steamy in the mature emotional intimacy kind of way. (And okay, also the hot fae thirst kind of way.)
👩‍🦳 A heroine over 40 being desired and respected? YES. GIVE ME MORE.

Sure, the pacing lags slightly in the middle, and yeah, you might clock a few of the twists—but when the vibe is this immaculate, who cares?

It’s a little Rumpelstiltskin. A little grumpy x determined sunshine. A little haunted forest and a lot of healing. It’s two people saving themselves and each other in the most magical way.

Thank you, AJ Lancaster and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC!

Do I recommend it?
Absolutely. Now get in, we’re storming the Fae realm with emotionally repressed forest men and houseplants with feelings.

4.5 stars.

This book was so much fun!! Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Heather Fawcett. Mal is incredibly endearing and I found myself disappointed that he and Gisele's story ended so soon. Thank you so much to AJ Lancaster and the team at Victory Editing for sending me an ARC of this book! I'm looking forward to reading more by the author.

How to Find a Nameless Fae is a story that follows our protagonist (Princess Gisele) trying to undo a Firstborn curse placed upon her due to a bargain her mother struck with a Fae before she was born.

When we meet Gisele, she is well into adulthood and pondering why the evil fae sourcerer who bargained for her has not yet claimed her. As the ramifications of the agreement not being met progress every day, Gisele decides to take matters into her own hands and travels to Faeirie, demanding the bargain be fulfilled.

However, she learns that executing the bargain is far more complicated than she could have imagined.

I loved this book. A retelling of a classic fairy tale (Rumpelstiltskin) that truly felt unique and kept me entertained the entire time. I often find retellings of classic stories hard to do right, and often too gimecky, however, this book did not cross that line for me at all. Not to mention how mesmerising and easy to follow the world-building was.

This is a classic enemies-to-lovers that I am certain fans of Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries will love and devour. The tension, the pining, the will-they-wont-they of the book was addictive, and I could not have asked for anything more.

Overall, a book that I highly enjoyed, and I cannot wait to dive into more of A.J Lancaster's novels.

Long before she was born, Gisele’s mother made a bargain with a mysterious sorcerer that has ruined her life. Anyone who tries to get close to her becomes averse and uncomfortable which has led to a very lonely and unfulfilling life as Gisele has been waiting her entire 40 years for this sorcerer to come and collect what he is due - her. After waiting literal decades to no avail, Gisele takes matters into her own hands and marches straight into Fairy Land to find the man responsible. When she finds a reluctant, recluse hermit - who is actually quite handsome - with a magical cottage who is just as confused at her state as she is, her plans to blackmail and coerce him into giving her life back go awry. She realizes that to help herself, she needs to help him and the pair forge an unlikely alliance to get what they both want - freedom.

This is my new favorite cozy fantasy! Most books deemed a cozy fantasy follow a very mundane plot with almost no stakes and in some cases that can be monotonous, but this is not the case with How To Find a Nameless Fae. From the get-go we are literally stumbling upon the doorstep of a new magical world and introduced to a number of quirky and endearing fae folk. There’s mystery, magic, lover’s scorned, magical maladies, and a lovely will-they-won’t-they angsty steamy romance!

The dynamics in this novel are so refreshing, we have our female main character Gisele, who is not the typical heroine. She is 40 years old, lonely, and feels unwanted but she brings a maturity, kindness and wisdom to the table that only comes with having experienced life. I love that Mal is able to show her that she is beautiful and desired and freaking sexy just the way she is, and her age has nothing to do with her worth. She knows who she is and what she wants and Mal sees that and respects and WANTS her for it. Their relationship was so sweet, and it’s not just the guy swooping in to save the day. They both save each other and make each other more confident and better people. They are equal, which is exactly what I love to see in my fictional relationships. I also love seeing a man that is so down bad and has to really keep his self-control in check around her.

The fantasy aspect of this book was so fun! I like that it stays true to traditional fae rules and is still quirky and has that magical feeling all throughout the book. Skymallow has to one of my favorite parts, I loved reading about the house magic and its relationship with its inhabitants.

The plot was a bit predictable, and the pacing was a little slow at parts, but this was such a delightful cozy fantasy read for me. It’s really about two lonely people finding each other and overcoming their pasts and inner demons together to find themselves and their freedom. I definitely recommend!

4.5 stars!