Author: Chiara Bullen
Publication: Del Rey (July 7, 2026)
Description: A young aspiring scholar is sent to research the mysteries of an adventurer’s inn—only to uncover a centuries-old secret, while finding true friendship and a new home, in this uplifting cozy fantasy.
Mount Vengeance is legendary. For most, it’s an adventure or a quest to prove themselves worthy of fame and glory. For Ainsworth Gladsly, it’s the perfect thesis material.
Ainsworth is an ambitious research fellow and up-and-coming historian, finally ready to make his mark on the world. When his supervisor learns of the rumored Misnich Inn at the foot of Mount Vengeance, she sends Ainsworth to be the first to document the exploits of the bold adventurers who seek to face the perils of the mountain and the dragon said to inhabit it.
The inn is far from the sophisticated city life he’s grown to love, but even as he grudgingly warms to its rustic charm—and its lovely innkeeper, Honey—the mystery of the mountain refuses to reveal itself. Worse, Ainsworth can’t find evidence that anyone has ever undertaken the climb. Even the bravest warriors who stay at the inn turn away from Mount Vengeance the next day.
With Ainsworth’s reputation on the line, he can’t allow this mystery to remain unsolved—even if he has to push the adventurers up the mountain himself.
My Thoughts: Ainsworth Gladsly is a scholar from the noted Skarrow Library. He is looking for a project to make his reputation and discovers Mount Vengeance. He thinks studying the adventurers who climb it in search of the dragon and its horde would be his breakthrough project.
He travels to the Misnich Inn which is at the foot of the mountain where he meets Honey and her staff which includes a famous chef looking for a more satisfying life. He arrives arrogant and certain that he is better than those who live at the inn and it takes a while for the city veneer to be scraped off to reveal the man he really is.
Ainsworth was a poor scholarship student who was adopted by the upper snobbish group which made him feel it was necessary for him to adopt their ways. He even had an abusive lover, and it was their breakup that was part of the reason he come to Misnich Inn in the first place.
The story is filled with wonderful worldbuilding and interesting characters. Watching Ainsworth become the man he was supposed to be was a gradual process. I especially enjoyed that he found a home and someone to love who accepted him as he was.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
