Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Accidental Queen | 2022 | Kristen Painter | Buy |
| 2 | The Accidental Queen: A Midlife Fairy Tale | 2022 | Kristen Painter | N/A |
| 3 | The Summer Palace | 2023 | Kristen Painter | Buy |
| 4 | The Cloud Kingdom | 2024 | Kristen Painter | Buy |
| 5 | The Shadowed Throne | 2025 | Kristen Painter | Buy |
A Midlife Fairy Tale is Kristen Painter’s paranormal women’s fiction series, starting with The Accidental Queen in 2022. The books follow Ro, a woman approaching fifty who accidentally ends up in a fairy tale kingdom and is declared its new queen. What follows is a fish-out-of-water story as Ro deals with royal politics, magical threats, and the challenge of running a realm she never asked for.
The series continues with The Summer Palace, The Cloud Kingdom, and The Shadowed Throne, expanding the world and the stakes as Ro settles into her role. The books are lighter in tone than Painter’s darker urban fantasy work, fitting into the paranormal women’s fiction genre that focuses on heroines in midlife facing extraordinary circumstances. Fans of Painter’s Nocturne Falls cozy mysteries will find a similar blend of humor and heart.