Some stories open a door, ring a little bell, and invite us inside.
For GSFF, our April 2026 selection is Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe — a cosy fantasy that celebrates bookshops, quiet rebellion, and the radical joy of choosing a life that feels like your own.
Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar has spent her life performing the role assigned to her. Dutiful. Polite. Properly royal. So when a visit to the small, storybook town of Little Pepperidge ends with Tandy cursed to remain inside a slightly ramshackle bookshop until she discovers her heart’s desire, she doesn’t panic.
She exhales.
Freed from courtly expectations, Tandy settles into the rhythms of shop life: mending shelves, stacking spines, and hiring Sasha, a sharp, teenage goth with excellent instincts and zero patience for nonsense. It’s a life shaped by choice, comfort, and the quiet magic of belonging.
If only the universe would leave her to it.
Instead, there’s Bash: a maddeningly charming pirate with his own mysterious curse, who keeps turning up uninvited and unsettling Tandy’s carefully built peace. And then there are the seven princes, dispatched by frantic royal parents, each convinced that his kiss must surely be the answer.
After all, what princess wouldn’t want a prince?
Stay for a Spell is a warm, witty fairy tale that gently questions old narratives while embracing the pleasures of romance, found family, and happy endings earned rather than imposed. It’s a story about opting out, about redefining success, and about the soft bravery it takes to build a life that feels like home.
This is cosy fantasy at its most generous; comforting, clever, and quietly empowering.
Why this book? Why April?
Because spring is a season of renewal and GSFF is about discovery in all its forms.
This novel captures the joy of new beginnings without grand gestures or cataclysmic stakes. Instead, it offers something just as powerful: warmth, humour, and the reassurance that choosing happiness can be an act of defiance.
It’s a GSFF pick because it embodies:
✨ playful, intelligent fantasy with heart
✨ a deep love of books, readers, and bookish spaces
Your GSFF Edition – April 2026
As ever, GSFF members will receive Stay for a Spell as a signed first edition, produced to be read, re-read, and treasured.
This edition is ULTRA exclusive:
- Signed & numbered by the author
- Exclusive "Evening" jacket design
- Trade jacket design on the reserve of the jacket
- Exclusive foil on the boards
- Exclusive Endpapers
- Special digitally sprayed edges.
Membership includes:
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A signed first edition SFF novel each month
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Premium limited-edition features, with select titles offering sprayed edges and bespoke finishes
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Exclusive access to Goldsboro SFF editions unavailable elsewhere
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15% off all other Goldsboro Books purchases
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A rotating selection of SFF extras, from previews and author notes to collectible goodies
With membership capped at 2,000 readers, GSFF remains a Fellowship built on care, curiosity, and shared love of the genre.
Early Praise
“Hot chocolate for the heart… charmed, entertained, and joyously amused”
— India Holton
“Absolutely cozy and positively delightful… warm and soothing”
— Sarah Beth Durst
“A daydream, a bonbon, a joy… endlessly enchanting”
— Brigitte Knightly
“A magical novel filled to the brim with warmth and joy”
— Patrick Ness
“A charming and warm-hearted fairy tale for anyone who thinks a bookshop feels like home”
— M. Stevenson
