A Batch of Bears and Bewitchment
(2026)An East of the Sun and West of the Moon Retelling
(A book in the Hope Ever After series)
A novel by Sarah Carlisle
A helping of brownies. A fistful of gremlins. And a sprinkling of love to mend what is broken.
The proudest day of Bryony’s life is the day her father, the village carpenter, is knighted for saving the king. The worst is when she learns the king has a reward for her, too: marriage to a stranger. Not just any stranger, but an earl with a frightening reputation.
Bryony arrives at Aberarth expecting polished floors, bustling servants, and a grand welcome. She’s met with an empty, neglected house and withered fields.
But Bryony isn’t delicate. She’s a village girl with stubborn optimism and capable hands. No servants? A new husband who's too busy making mysterious magical explosions in his study to help with the laundry? Fine. She’ll rebuild Aberarth herself. First step: leave milk on the hearth for the household brownies. Then she'll roll up her sleeves and get to work.
Because Bryony isn’t alone. Brownies, gremlins, dryads, kobolds—the fae have had reason to stay hidden. As Bryony coaxes the estate back to life, old magic stirs. And so does something dangerous and tender between her and the eccentric young earl. But Aberarth’s decay is a warning. Is Bryony the key to waking its true power—or the bait that triggers what’s buried beneath it?
A Batch of Bears and Bewitchment, a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, is a standalone novella, complete with tropes such as arranged marriage, friends to lovers, and villager to countess. It is part of The Enchanting Confections series, a collection of clean and cozy stories guaranteed to delight your sweet tooth.
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
The proudest day of Bryony’s life is the day her father, the village carpenter, is knighted for saving the king. The worst is when she learns the king has a reward for her, too: marriage to a stranger. Not just any stranger, but an earl with a frightening reputation.
Bryony arrives at Aberarth expecting polished floors, bustling servants, and a grand welcome. She’s met with an empty, neglected house and withered fields.
But Bryony isn’t delicate. She’s a village girl with stubborn optimism and capable hands. No servants? A new husband who's too busy making mysterious magical explosions in his study to help with the laundry? Fine. She’ll rebuild Aberarth herself. First step: leave milk on the hearth for the household brownies. Then she'll roll up her sleeves and get to work.
Because Bryony isn’t alone. Brownies, gremlins, dryads, kobolds—the fae have had reason to stay hidden. As Bryony coaxes the estate back to life, old magic stirs. And so does something dangerous and tender between her and the eccentric young earl. But Aberarth’s decay is a warning. Is Bryony the key to waking its true power—or the bait that triggers what’s buried beneath it?
A Batch of Bears and Bewitchment, a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, is a standalone novella, complete with tropes such as arranged marriage, friends to lovers, and villager to countess. It is part of The Enchanting Confections series, a collection of clean and cozy stories guaranteed to delight your sweet tooth.
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy