How to find a nameless fae – A.J Lancaster
As I received this book as an ARC, I wasn’t really anxious about me liking it or not: from the first ARC I received wrote par the author (The lord of Stariel) I’ve been a huge fan, reading and rereading the books of the series.
Yet, I’m not generally enthusiastic about romantasy these days. Not about the idea of it, quite the opposite, but how it seems that ticking all the boxes of a set of lovely tropes should be enough for a reader to read a book – and loving it. I much prefer when a book seems to have been written by mere inspiration and gets to develop, seemingly unvoluntary, some tropes along the way.
For instance, did Jane Austen thought about writing an « enemy to lover » romance while pondering about Pride and Prejudice? No, it just happened.
To conclude my rather long and convoluted preamble, if you’re attracted by the tropes announced by the book’s presentation, you’ll very probably be enchanted with this book: all it promises, it delivers.
And if you’re, like me, somewhat wary, you’re in for a treat! 
My reticence is probably why I liked the beginning of this book and then loved it more and more while reading: the tropes may be nice and fluffy, and the story engaging, even fascinating, but there are also some deep themes treated as one read along. You’ll be able to ignore them, mind you, if you’re only looking for a light funny read! But you’ll also be able to muse about some of them, as about how some relatives may love you, but never seem to make the effort to know you (do they really love you at all?), or how a woman, « past her prime », isn’t supposed to live any unbridled passion, isn’t supposed to have a new future at all, but is supposed to be content with what she has, as little as it’d be, even if this little is shrinking day after day.
I don’t want to spoil the book for you, so I’ll only say that it’s fun, clever, sweet and witty, and that the story is quite intriguing and really neat! Full of personality and surprises.
And to add a last note about the spicy content: explicit sex is not what I prefer in romances, so I’m not an expert at judging it, but the scenes all well written, never vulgar and absolutely wholesome. They’re also not very abundant and don’t come out very soon, so if you like your romances plentifully spiced from the first pages… well, read this book anyway, the story is great!
Roman à paraître le 26 juin 2025, au format broché, Camberion Press, 410 pages, ou au format numérique.
