Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: March 10, 2026

Once upon a time, Pax Nomen, Paladin warrior for the Light, lay dying on the battlefield when he was offered the chance of a lifetime. Manny Quintas, the manager of Number Five Wayside Hotel and World Travel Hub wanted to retire, so he saved Pax from certain death on the battlefield in exchange for his promise to take over as manager of Number Five. Pax agrees and his life will never be the same, managing Number Five and traveling between magical worlds has been both challenging and rewarding, but when Number Five makes an unscheduled stop on the non-magical world known as Earth and then promptly shuts down, stranding all the “guests”. Without a source of magic to recharge Number Five, Pax will have to find another way to fix the hotel and get his guests where they need to be. He wonders if Number Five is looking for a new source of energy and for that he will have to find new tenants to move in and keep the hotel’s secrets. Pax never expected that those tenants would save much more than Number Five.

Widow and single mom, Josephine “Josie” LaChiusa is barely making ends meet when her landlord decided to raise her rent and forcing her to find a new place for her and her four-year-old son Amos. As luck would have it, she gets an alert on her phone of an apartment vacancy that is close to her job at the University and happens to be available for viewing immediately. She makes her way to the Number Five Wayside building and is immediately drawn to the place; something just feels right and that is not a feeling Josie gets very often. She gets the same feeling when she meets Pax and views the apartment, it is perfect for her and Amos and Pax offers her the space for less than her current rent. It almost seems too good to be true. After moving in, it becomes clear that there is more to Number Five than it appears, and maybe she made a mistake moving in. But Pax convinces her to stay, and she finds a friend in the serious, yet thoughtful man, something she desperately needs while juggling all her worries, work, motherhood and her meddling mother-in-law! That friendship becomes something more, but self-doubts and the hotel’s truths may destroy the very thing they need to heal Number Five and healing Number Five may end up leaving her with yet another broken heart.

I will be honest; this book was not what I was expecting – it was better! I loved the idea of The Wayside Hotels and World Traveling Hubs; I loved the all the residents of the Hotel – especially the fairy princesses who love rhinestones and Taylor Swift. The story has a lot going on, there are secrets, magical beings, found family, insecurities, a couple of warmish love scenes, delightful co-workers, an adorable preschooler, cheering fairies, a grumpy gnome, a sexy vampire prince, and an ending that might actually be a beginning. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it to my fellow fantasy/romantasy readers, I am hoping this ends up being a series and that there are more adventures to come!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *