AWARDS

• Winner, PenCraft Book Awards – Best Fantasy Book (2026)
• Kirkus "GET IT" Award - January 2026 
• Kirkus Review (Jan. 2026) "A classic quest narrative that lovers of fairy tales are likely to enjoy."
• Booklife Review (Jan 2026) "A lively, touching bard’s tale of a faerie’s adventures in the mortal realm."
• Foreword Review (January 2026): 4 out of 5
• 2nd place - Fantasy - International Firebird Award (Q4 2025)
• The Chrysalis BREW Project Review (Jan. 8, 2026) 4.83 out of 5. "The pacing of Escala’s Wish is perfect. The narrative beautifully blends action, adventure, and romance. Though the novel is on the lengthier side, I never lost my interest for even a moment. I was hooked till the very end. 

OVERVIEW

An action-adventure romantasy filled with intrigue, sharp banter, dangerous secrets, and real emotional stakes.

Escala’s Wish, the debut fantasy-romance novel by David James, launches the epic Tales from Valla series, where fey politics and forbidden love collide in a world shaped as much by choices as by power.

STORY SUMMARY

Take a seat by the fire, order a flagon of ale, and settle in as self-proclaimed Bard Extraordinaire Wigfrith Foreverbloom regales the patrons of the Stag & Hound with the tale of Escala Winter—a mischievous faerie princess banished for breaking the most sacred law of the fey.

Born with mortal blood that made her curious where her kind was cautious, Escala was never a typical pixie princess. In the starlit Court of Dreams, she has always been treated like a mistake—too human, too restless, too drawn to a world she was forbidden to touch.

When her impulsive attempt to understand human love shatters the balance between realms, the Court demands the ultimate price. Stripped of her wings, her title, and even her fey form, Escala is cast into the harsh mortal world of Valla and bound to a cryptic quest meant to repair the damage she has done.

But the greatest danger awaiting her isn’t the ancient grudge she has awakened.

It’s love.

Roedyn is a quiet, guarded scout, bound to a solitary life deep in the woods, when he and his business partner, Harper, meet a cold, scared Escala. Escorting her to the city was the right thing to do—just a task to see finished. But when he learns that her mistake threatens the end of everything, he swears an oath to help her… even knowing she is destined to walk out of his life forever.

She wasn’t allowed to fall for him, and he wasn’t supposed to let her matter.

Love was never part of the bargain.

Now it’s forbidden—and heartbreak is inevitable.

Escala never meant to cause the end of everything, but can she stop it before it’s too late?

Will either of them ever be the same if she can?

Told with Wigfrith’s signature wit, egotistical flair, and crowd-pleasing humor, Escala’s Wish is the first book in the Tales of Valla series—a sweeping, emotionally rich romantasy perfect for fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik and The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.

Step into Escala’s Wish, where love defies fate—and every choice carries a cost.