Last updated on May 7, 2026
50% off ebook (preorder discount match) through the Cozy the Day Away sale! Get your copy at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or your choice of booksellers.
An Unmissable Fantasy and Sci-Fi of 2026 selection at Every Book a Doorway!
What’s a prince to do when the man of his dreams doesn’t want a crown and his cat-familiar is banned from the palace?
His Imperial Highness Faraj al-Nadhir has never thought himself a charming sort of prince. He’s shy, round, middle-aged, and always dutiful. But he has also secretly spent years dreaming of a man tending jasmine in a star-lit window — prophetic visions that led him at last to one blissful night with someone who sees his heart, not his crown.
He did not expect to wake up with a cat walking on his face.
Cat-familiars are forbidden in the Imperial fortress. They might be spies. They might be soul-charmers. They might even sharpen their claws on thousand-year-old tapestries. But Faraj cannot regret that sweet little Sahar chose him — just as he cannot regret Asharan bir Chameli, the enchanting owner of the House of Jasmines. Asharan wants nothing to do with Faraj’s title and power, only his kindness. And Faraj hadn’t expected either the delights or the dilemmas of Asharan’s magical, soft-pawed little gift.
The rules have always been different for the God-Emperor’s brother. Faraj never before realized how much.
Now he’s breakfasting from community cauldrons in back alleys full of children and kittens. His foresight shows him a thousand paths toward disaster, but not the way through. His devoted chamberlain fears that Faraj has been bewitched by a purring agent of chaos, and Faraj can’t exactly say he’s wrong.
When the choice comes down to betraying his lover’s name, his cat-familiar’s life, or his own use of forbidden magic, Faraj does the only thing he can: He gets himself put on trial for heresy, trying to change the laws of the Empire itself.
If his visions always lead him into trouble, he might as well make useful trouble.
Chai and Charmcraft is the first book in a cozy and queer Middle Eastern M/M fantasy trilogy brimming with magic, intrigue, later-in-life romance, body positivity, and so many kittens. Here, nobody needs a magical makeover to be loved exactly as they are — and their night of joy together isn’t where the story ends. That’s where it begins . . .
Reader joy:
“Chai and Charmcraft is everything I’ve been begging cosy fantasy to be. It’s warm and intimate and renews my faith in humanity; the stakes are low but extremely important to the characters involved, creating plenty of tension; the worldbuilding is genuinely interesting; the prose is lovely. …Sometimes we go through stuff that leaves our hearts tarnished. Chai and Charmcraft is one of those precious books that gently polishes the tarnish away, leaves you shining.”
–Siavahda at Every Book a Doorway
“Irresistably charming… The leisurely pace and coziness of it all are reminiscent of Victoria Goddard’s “Hands of the Emperor” (which I adored) and I now have a new author to follow.”
—Jenny T. on Goodreads
“This is the purrfect read if you’re craving a steady-rhythmed, poetic, warm-sunlight-kiss of a narration—the sort of story you sink into, where the atmosphere is half the magic.”
—Brooke T. Sagemoss on Goodreads
“I feel like I’ve spent the last few days in a fugue state because I wasn’t reading this book when I so desperately wanted to be. I loved it so much.”
—Sally on Goodreads
Book connections:
Chai and Charmcraft is set in the same world as Chai and Cat-tales, and takes place about 2 weeks before the events of Haroun and the Study of Mischief.
Content notes are available on the author’s website.
Where to find it:
Ebooks (50% off) and paperbacks (lowest distributable price) are available from Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org, Kobo, and your choice of booksellers.
No AI:
Lynn has not used AI in any books, covers, or personally created marketing images, and has worked with a fully sighted designer and illustrator to make sure that all elements of these works are human-created.