Lynn Strong

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An Unmissable Fantasy and Sci-Fi of 2026 selection at Every Book a Doorway! 

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In Chai and Charmcraft…

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 . . .

Looking for more?

Other stories about Faraj and Asharan and their community include Chai and Cat-tales and Haroun and the Study of Mischief.

Content notes

Content notes for Chai and Charmcraft

Per early readers, you may want to have eaten recently and have your favorite beverage at hand!

There is a temporary offstage death of a magic-created cat-familiar who is then resummoned and returns to his usual mischief-making.

Some body insecurities and acephobia are followed by support from their loved ones.

Both a human and a cat are pregnant during the course of the book; everything goes well for the mothers, children, and kittens.

Spice level (not the tea kind): My other books to date haven’t had onstage intimacy. This book does have onstage intimacy, but the details aren’t explicit and the specifics are largely left to your imagination; this is probably a 0 to 1 on the pepper-meter, mainly in the prologue.

So we resolve “will they or won’t they” early on, and after that we explore “how can these two very different people find what they both need in life and relationships?”

As the first book of a trilogy, we don’t get all the way to a final happily-ever-after here, but I do promise a happily-looking-forward.

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