Glittering Skies: A Bingable Contemporary Romantasy

by Jenna Avery

Always the wedding photographer, never the bride.

The dating scene in Gondora sucks worse than a rabid Kraken, especially for die-hard romantic Reverie Songlight. Even her lucky-in-love wedding photography clients can’t seem to share their good fortune. So when a charming Gargoyle named Luca offers to buy her a drink at her favorite puff bar, she figures it’s worth a shot.

Over a year later, Reverie’s still angry with the Gargoyle who ghosted her. She’s resigned herself to never seeing him again. So when Luca turns up at a Satyr wedding as the replacement second photographer, she’s desperate to get rid of him.

Unfortunately, he’s the only one standing between her photography company failing or succeeding for the next month.

It’s just four weddings. Then she never has to see him again.

Luca regrets disappearing and wants nothing more than to atone for the mistake. He’s entranced by the woman made of glitter, but Reverie’s determined to hold him at wing’s length. No stranger to proving himself, he meets every glare with a grin. Each verbal barb receives a joke in return. Luca has thirty days to change her mind, and he’ll make every moment count.

The dance between aching hearts is a messy one, and they’re both unfamiliar with the steps. As each wedding passes, their connection deepens as tensions rise. The clock is ticking in more ways than one. Luca knows he needs to be honest, but if she knew the truth, he’d lose her forever.

Love may not have a timeline — but secrets do.


Where Abby Jimenez Meets Fantasy With The Banter of 10 Things I Hate About You.

Glittering Skies is a contemporary romantasy written in a dual first-person POV. You'll find banter, open-door romance, and approachable world-building — perfect for those who don't enjoy full fantasy worlds, but really want to read about a charming Gargoyle and a woman made of glitter who photograph fantasy weddings.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 24, 2026

About the author

The origin story of Jenna Avery is complex, weird, and requires numerous alcoholic beverages to regale. The current story? She's an elder millennial with a penchant for evolving and growing. This is a polite way of saying her ADHD makes her choose a new hobby every three months. By the time you read this, who knows what she'll be into. Just ask. Otherwise, she lives with her horde of kids and pets, a golden retriever husband, and rotating residency of soon-to-be-dead plants.

Reviews

[Scott S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glittering Skies is the first story I’ve read from Jenna, and it sure won’t be the last. She’s created a fantastic world here, giving us a tale filled with intriguing characters, spunky dialog, some truly moving moments and spice. It’s a heartfelt read with a fun fantasy theme.
So well done, truly enjoyable, and easy to recommend; a story worthy of the 5-star rating.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried so much while reading this. Good tears, sad tears, angry tears. This story really tugs your heartstrings. It's fantastic ❤️


Wonderful world building, believable characters, I love the little inside jokes that keep coming back. Jenna doesn't shy away from heavy topics, she easily mixes it with funny banter combining it into a story that will stay with you for a while.


I received this book as an ARC, all opinions are my own. Please pick up this book, I highly recommend it!

[Madison Olszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, & to the devastating point 🤌🏼
This was easily digestible fantasy without skimping on utterly beautiful world building & magical scenes! While remaining spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ & romantic it hits on heavy social & emotional topics that stir all the right feelings! It was the perfect length to never drag & stay intriguing. I’d recommend this book to all my contemporary romance reader friends looking to dip their toes into fantasy!!

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting this year off STRONG with such a fun, emotionally intelligent, refreshing read. I laughed out loud, I clutched my pearls, I wept. Such a full course story, which I feel I don’t find all that often anymore. I wish I read more contemporary fantasy books like this one. Excellent prose; a textured, lived-in world, and characters that were so fully realized, I could see and hear them as I read. Which, let me tell you, was a real joy.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this story. I cannot recommend highly enough. You’ll be seeing Jenna Avery in bookstores one day, I guarantee it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Jenna Avery for gifting me an ARC of this book- it was a joy to read.

Synopsis:
Reverie Songlight is always behind the camera, never walking down the aisle herself. A hopeless romantic in a dating scene that’s truly dire, she takes a chance on Luca (a charming Gargoyle) who promptly ghosts her. Over a year later, fate throws them back together when Luca turns up as a replacement photographer at a wedding… and ends up being the key to saving Reverie’s struggling photography business.
Four weddings. Thirty days. One unresolved past. As sparks reignite and old wounds resurface, Luca is determined to make things right nut he’s hiding a truth that could cost him everything. Because while love doesn’t run on a schedule, secrets definitely do.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely love fantasy books, and while this is very much a fantasy novel, it actually reads more like a contemporary romance - which I also love. The world-building isn’t overly complex, but that’s not to say it isn’t rich or well thought out. I really enjoyed the vivid imagery Jenna Avery creates, especially the idea of Dragons being used as taxis (Draxis!), which was such a fun and original touch

The story leans heavily into the miscommunication trope, and as a reader it gave me that awful sinking feeling where you’re just waiting for the characters to finally talk to each other. It also explores themes of not fitting in and how society treats people differently based on how they look or how they were born - something that felt surprisingly hard-hitting and was handled with real care and depth.

There are definitely elements of spice in this book, but comparatively it isn’t overly heavy, and what is there is well written and fits naturally with the story rather than overpowering it.

Overall, this was a heartfelt, romantic read with just enough fantasy to make it sparkle

“No-one tells you that love is an agony of the sweetest kind.”

[Shari Borba · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (open door)

From the first page, literally the first page, I was cackling. Jenna Avery starts this book strong and hilarious before you even hit the trigger warnings, and I immediately knew this one was going to be special.

By 30 percent, I couldn’t help myself and had already DM'd Jenna to tell her how OBSESSED I was with Reverie and Luca. The banter. The chemistry. The Dragxi. Dragon taxis. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

For context, I’m a big fan of historical romance and romantasy, and a little hit or miss with contemporary romance. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but based on how Jenna talked about this book on Instagram, I had a feeling it was going to be fun. I was not disappointed.

The world-building is genuinely stunning. Cloud-top bars, waterfalls, wrestling matches featuring regenerators (read to find out more here ;), and so many clever, imaginative details from the scenery to the characters. We meet Reverie, a Glyridite siren and wedding photographer, and Luca, a charming gargoyle, in a meet-cute at a cloud-top bar. A year later, they collide again at a wrestling match, and from there we get rival wedding photographers, forced proximity, and some of the best banter I’ve read in a long time.

Luca is officially one of my new favorite book boyfriends. He’s adorable. Reverie is fiery, capable, and sharp in the best way. I laughed out loud constantly, but I was also deeply emotionally invested in their story. That balance is not easy to pull off, and Jenna absolutely nails it.

Is there some miscommunication? Yes. Is that usually my least favorite trope? Also yes. Did I still completely understand why it worked here and feel like it added to the story instead of detracting from it? YES.

This is an easy five-star read for me. Funny, romantic, emotionally engaging, and very spicy once it gets there. Slow burn, but worth the wait. Jenna Avery is officially on my must-read list for 2026, and I didn’t know I needed a laugh-out-loud funny fantasy *contemporary?* romance (it feels like there isn't even a genre for this one that i've read until now!), but apparently I really did.

Thank you so much to Jenna Avery for the ARC. Brava. I cannot wait to read more.

[Jaimie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first read from this author and I was so excited to get an early copy to read. The synopsis of the story sounded cute and interesting and something a bit different. This is a fantasy but reads more like a contemporary romance, which I did enjoy.

Even though this was a fantasy, the world building is pretty simple and not overly complex and was definitely enough to give a good visual of the world that they are living in.

The story follows Reverie and Luca, who are competing wedding photographers, that meet up and instantly connect but things happen, and nothing goes beyond that first night. Reverie is very salty about that. A year later, they are thrust together due to an accident with Reverie's second shooter and have to work as partners at several weddings. I loved both of the characters and the uniqueness; however, Reverie was a bit over the top mean at points in the middle of the book and it took me out of the story. Luca is just the sweetest and I couldn't stand how mean she was to him.

One of the themes that I really did like was being different and not fitting into society norms. This was very heavy for Reverie, and she was raised to hide herself because she was different. It was great to see how Luca encouraged her to be more herself and that there was nothing wrong with being different.

The miscommunication trope is heavy in this book, and hits hard right in the middle. I honestly had to put the book down and wasn't sure I was going to finish. I picked it back up a couple of weeks later and I am glad that I did. Although, once they finally talked and got everything in the open then things moved super quick and seemed a bit too fast for me. This is where the spice finally entered, and I will say this was my first book with tail play...

The end of the book was good and honestly a bit emotional due to the circumstances around Luca's mother and then Luca himself. Overall, it was a cute story, and I am so thankful that I got to read it I just wish the miscommunication and meanness weren't so strong at times. Thank you, Jenna Avery, for the early copy to read!

[Baylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dual POV? Chef’s kiss. 🤌🏼 Getting inside both Reverie’s and Luca’s heads added so much emotional weight and tension. You feel every unspoken word and every moment they’re holding back. The tension builds slowly but relentlessly, and the banter is sharp, playful, and full of that charged energy. They had me actually giggling and kicking my feet! And that spice..? WAS SPICY. 🥵

I will admit that I was a little hesitant on this one just because I usually avoid the miscommunication trope, BUT Jenna handled it so well that it never felt frustrating! The miscommunication is from fear and protection, not immaturity.. and instead of pulling me out of the story, it pulled me in even more and kept me emotionally invested.

Reverie is sarcastic, guarded, and shaped by a lifetime of being told to shrink herself, and watching her slowly reclaim her voice had me rooting for her. Her journey toward self-acceptance felt earned and deeply emotional. And then there's sweet, sweet Luca.. He’s gentle, self-sacrificing, and loving in a way that genuinely hurts. Not because he’s weak, but because he loves so much that he’s willing to step away to spare someone else any pain. Their relationship felt raw, vulnerable, and painfully real.

This book put me through everything. Love, anger, grief, hope. I laughed and cried.. a lot. If you love romantasy with emotional depth AND spice, worldbuilding that doesn’t drown you in details, and a story that hits you hard, then you really must read this one!

Beyond thankful I got to dive into Glittering Skies early! 🖤

[Jean Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, thank you Jenna for letting me read this beautiful book, I loved it.

Glittering skies is a bewitching story of misunderstanding, perseverance, love, societal prejudices, healing, vulnerability, empowerment and so much more.

The world building was beautifully done and very easy to read. There were so many details that made this world really come to life. The contemporary fantasy was a perfect backdrop to the emotionally mature romance unfolding.

Reverie and Luca’s story and dual POV really kept me invested adding to the tensión. The misunderstanding trope hasn’t worked for me in other books, but it was masterfully done here. Instead of feeling frustrated or ‘over it’ when self imposed obstacles arose, I understood the logic behind them, or was intrigued to find out more.

It’s emotionally intelligent book that was so fun to follow. It’s definitely a slow burn, but once it all kicks off it’s gets spicy.

My favourite parts of this book was the world building. The lore, political history’s, the mythical creatures going about their lives and the cheeky banter Lucasta and Reverie have.

And OMG that ending…

I would recommend to someone who is looking for an easy entry into the world of Romantacy or if you just want to be whisked away to the most amazing land of mythical creature both old and new.

[S.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I tell you this book changed my heart, and gave me what I'd been craving since my early days of YA (though this book isn't YA) it was a refreshing venture into a grown up version of my earlier reading years and it's exactly what I needed. What makes Jenna Avery so special to me, as an author, is her uncanny ability to mix emotion with spice, driving a plot that is INCREDIBLE. I want to live in the skies of Avalon. Like, we're eating dove? Okay. We're catching rides on Draxis? Sign me up. We've got men who are pretty to look at because they're my favorite color? DOUBLE A MILLION TIMES YES. But the love, the inclusion, was top notch. Jenna outdid herself with the way she handled real life issues set in a fantasy world mean to rock your world. I will ready everything you write, Jenna. Please don't ever stop.

[Laurynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, easy, romantic read!
It was bingeable and the banter was great. Luca is the definition of a golden retriever MMC and he’s just a precious baby angel who is protective and we love him!! I loved that Reverie is this amalgamation of emotion and sorts through her shit with a certain badass quality while still being soft and relatable.
The writing itself is excellent, the world-building is so intricate, the romance and spice are great. I especially loved the amount of thought that went into the characters’ profession and their own traits.
There’s definitely some (basically) insta-love and miscommunication happening and a lot of micro tropes that I think others would eat up, just not me.
Overall, a solid book for a fun time.

Very grateful to have gotten this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[BookinWith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenna! WOW!!! First thank you for the honor of reading this book before release date. Little did you knew, my reading goal for 2026 was to venture into fantasy and Glittering Skies was my first! It was SUCH a fun read. Beautiful writing, great pace, and the story came together soooo lovely. The lover girl in ME was happy! As my first ever fantasy book, you get 10s from me. I wish this title much success! Gooo Reverie and Luca!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very appreciative of Jenna Avery for the opportunity to read an e-ARC of Glittering Skies!

This was such a fun and entertaining romantasy! I loved learning about the magyck system and various species of people—it was all super easy to follow!

I loved the grumpy x sunshine dynamic between Reverie and Luca. And the way Luca worships Reverie is everything! I really loved that Reverie and Luca encouraged each other to fully embrace themselves and learned to rely on each other!

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luca might be all I’ve ever wanted from a man made of stone…but Reverie might be the reason I’ll actually love glitter forever.

If you want emotional depth in a surprising way, in a world that feels so real and author who doesn’t make you read 90 pages to describe the feeling of water “because it’s fantasy”

READ THIS

[Patti S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was not my typical genre I found I could not stop turning those pages. What an imagination Jenna Avery has and I am so impressed on how well this was written. I love that it contains some romance, sass from both characters and that the female is not afraid to stand up for herself. Great read!

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an arc and I loved it. I am quite new to fantasy, however, this book was so easy to follow along and understand. The main characters, Luca and Reverie, had amazing banter and I loved watching their relationship grow. Again, I loved reading this book and can't wait to read Jenna Avery's future books.