Lord of Stariel

The Lord is dead. His grand estate is sentient. And enemy Fae are knocking at the door. 'A sweet and cosy romance. It made me want a faeland of my very own!' Aliette de Bodard A sentient estate faces a succession crisis. But who will become its new Lord? Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they? Will it be the Lord's eldest son, whom he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? Or his scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion Hetta knows it won't be her, and she's glad of it. Returning home for her father's funeral, all Hetta must do is survive the inevitable family drama - and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive locals - until the Choosing. Then she can leave. But whoever the Stariel estate chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe. The Lord of Stariel is the first book in the Stariel quartet, a romantic cozy fantasy series about fae, magical estates and complicated families, for fans of Sarah Beth Durst and Rebecca Thorne. * * * Readers have fallen for The Lord of Stariel: 'I absolutely, unequivocally loved this book . . . and there's nothing I love more than dry humour' 'Downton Abbey with faes . . . believable, likeable characters that defy tropes' 'I was captivated within the first few pages . . . I couldn't put the book down' 'Oh man, it was great . . . Highly recommended and I can't wait to dive into book two!' 'A writing style that is as clean and fresh as a mountain lake . . . have now bought all four books and they will be on permanent rotation'

A. J. Lancaster grew up on a farm in rural Aotearoa New Zealand, and her first job was finding lost people in a corn maze. Since leaving the farm, A. J.'s activities have included a geography degree, environmental planning and editing maths exams. Now, she lives in the Manawatu and writes romantic, whimsical fantasy books while investigating how many plants you can fit in one house. Results so far suggest that the limit does not exist. In 2021, A. J. Lancaster received the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent, New Zealand's preeminent awards for science fiction, fantasy and horror. She is best known for the Stariel novels, a series about a country estate that chooses its own ruler, beginning with The Lord of Stariel.