The Court of Dreams. Kingdoms of Kaelum, #1

Fans of slow-burn romantasy, portal fantasy, and fae court intrigue will be drawn into this lush, eerie world where shadows whisper and doors are never just doors. Perfect for readers who love the atmospheric tension of Holly Black, the character-driven emotional depth of Sarah K. L. Wilson, and the quiet, romantic yearning of T. Kingfisher-this story blends danger, magic, and identity into a haunting, immersive journey.
Some doors should never be opened-but are impossible to resist. Lana has lived by three rules ever since her mother vanished without a trace: never be out after dark, never step into deep shadows, and never linger in doorways. Because something took her mother-and it's still watching. Trapped in a quiet, suffocating town where nothing ever changes, Lana keeps her world small. Work. Home. Survival.
Love is something she's only ever observed from a distance, something that has never quite fit her, no matter how much she's tried. But when the boundaries between worlds begin to thin, the shadows she's spent years avoiding start reaching back. A doorway. A whisper. A pull she can't explain. And then-she's no longer in her world at all. In a realm of fae courts, ancient magic, and dangerous beauty, Lana is forced to confront the truth: her mother's disappearance was no accident.
And the rules that kept her safe? They may be the very things holding her back from discovering who she really is. Because in a world where dreams are power and shadows have teeth, power comes at a cost. And the fae are already watching. What if the rules that kept you alive were the very ones keeping you from your destiny?  Tropes  Portal Fantasy Fae Courts & Political Intrigue Slow-Burn Romance (Closed Door) Fish-Out-of-Water Heroine Hidden Powers & Mysterious Pasts Chosen One Undertones Missing Parent Mystery Shadow Magic & Forbidden Spaces Queer Normative World The Court of Dreams is the first installment in the Kingdoms of Kaelum series-a six-book, closed-door romantasy set in a richly imagined, queer normative faerie world filled with magic, danger, and slow-burning romance.