By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

How to Summon a Fairy Godmother

A Laugh-Out-Loud Fairytale What-If

Contributors

By Laura J. Mayo

Formats and Prices

Price

$19.99

Price

$25.99 CAD

If a fairy godmother can get one sister into a marriage, getting another out of one should be easy 

Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick—her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated her like a slave. Though Theo knows this isn’t exactly true, it seems her life is thoroughly ruined by the rumor. With the Balfour family estate on the verge of bankruptcy, Theo’s only path forward is a forced betrothal to the Duke of Snowbell, a foul-tempered geezer who wishes only to use her as a brood mare for spare heirs. 

Desperate for help, Theo clings to the only thing that might save her: the rumor of a fairy godmother, one that supposedly helped her stepsister secure a prince. After discovering a way to summon a fairy in Beatrice’s old room, Theo thinks her prayers have been answered. But the fairy she meets isn’t at all what she imagined. Drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly cunning, and slightly devious, Cecily of the Ash Fairies is much more interested in gathering powerful favors and smoking her pipe than providing charitable magic for humans in a bind.

Before she receives magical assistance, Cecily sets Theo to three tasks, seemingly to prove that Theo is a selfless and kind person. Helping her along the way are Cecily’s familiars, the flirty human-turned-mockingbird Phineas and the aloof Kasra, a fox shapeshifter who should not be as handsome as he is for someone with such cutting remarks. As Theo works on her tasks, she shockingly finds kinship with the magical creatures she’s helping, and starts to wonder if a continued life among her human peers is what she really wants after all.

From debut author Laura J. Mayo comes a hilarious new spin on the Cinderella tale!

On Sale
Oct 8, 2024
Page Count
384 pages
Publisher
Orbit
ISBN-13
9780316581158

Laura J. Mayo

About the Author

In addition to being a two-time winner of her town’s annual pie contest, Laura J. Mayo is also a fantasy writer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, their two children, a dog named Birch, and a ball python named Smoky. Unsurprisingly, many of Laura’s other interests are solitary, including reading, sewing, cooking, baking, admiring her air plants, and getting figuratively lost in deep, dark woods. How to Summon a Fairy Godmother is her debut novel.

Learn more about this author