Review: Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe

Stay for a Spell 

by Amy Coombe

Release Date: April 14, 2026

2026 Ace

Ebook & Audiobook ARC Editions; 373 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593955536

ASIN: B0FHJSXKT4

Audiobook: B0FHLHG1YR

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Cozy / Romance

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar is disillusioned with life as a princess. She longs for real conversation, the chance to build a life of her own making, and uninterrupted reading time.

During a routine royal visit to the town of Little Pepperidge, Tandy’s dream comes true when she finds herself cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire. Certain that someone will figure out how to break the curse eventually, and delighted by the prospect of an entire bookstore of her own, Tandy settles into life among the stacks.  
There's just one, minor problem: as Tandy's royal duties go unfulfilled, her frantic parents start sending princes to woo her, each one of them certain their kiss will break the curse. After all, what more could a princess want but a prince?

 

My Thoughts

Stay for a Spell is the first in a planned trilogy, and while I did enjoy this, I did find it a bit predictable and honestly, other than a whole series of princes showing up to kiss the princess, nothing really happened. I understand this a cozy fantasy, but I have read a lot of cozy fantasy as fantasy is one of the genres I read a lot, and I do feel there should be more happening than Tandy crying every time she thinks she has to return to her duties.  She is a princess of the realm after all.  

 

I didn't mind Tandy as a character and I liked the fact she got drunk and went a little wild as I appreciated the fact she was alone for probably the first time in her life and was able to do things she was forbidden to do.  It kind of reminds me of university students let loose the first week and have no parental supervision for the first time in their lives and realize they don't have to answer to curfew or whatever.  I don't really feel like her character was fully developed however as she felt so superficial in her responses.  

 

The secondary characters were interesting, but again, I didn't really feel like I got to know them or understand them as they were developed on a one-dimensional level with little depth. Yes, I know the characters had issues, but they were minor and I didn't really empathize too much as I couldn't really connect with them. And this isn't just because this book is a cozy fantasy as I have read other cozy fantasies where the characters were written in-depth with a lot of personality.  The pirate had so much going for him that he could have been the most interesting character. I understand there is going to be another book, but to withhold too much information for this reason seems sort of silly to me. 

 

The plot was simple and predictable and you could tell exactly what Tandy needed to do to break the curse from the minute it happened. Being a cozy fantasy doesn't mean there aren't any stakes or issues for the MC, but this just rolled along as if Tandy could just ignore the fact she was a princess and just have her greatest desire and this didn't sit right with me.  There were some fun things in this book and I don't want to ignore those as I enjoyed the scene when she gets drunk and I did think some of the scenes with the princes were funny as well, but I did wish the author had spent more time describing the world and how it worked, especially how Tandy's family fit into it.

 

Verdict

Stay for a Spell was a low-stakes cozy fantasy that was quite predictable and had a very simply plot. While I enjoyed it, I did wish both the characters and the plot had been more developed; the characters were one-dimensional with little depth, and the plot just rolled along with little happening and Tandy whining about how she doesn't want to be a princess.  I just felt like there should have been more stakes involved considering she was a princess and it wouldn't be that easy to get away from your duties. That being said, as a whole, the book worked, was fun, and would definitely appeal to those looking for a light fun read.  The next book in this world will be published in 2027, The Dark Wizard Falls in Love.