Trickster in the Palace and Other Tales

Instanolde Chronicles

by Kaitlyn Carter Brown

Three tales, one story.

Trickster in the Palace: For Razhar, life in the palace of Instanolde came with an extensive list of perks. Endless opportunity to pull pranks on the soldiers, to use his wit and charms to secure dessert, and to come and go as he pleased. Not to mention having a prince as a best friend to get him out of trouble. But when a deadly plot against the king creates more trouble than Razhar or even Prince Elerek can handle, it’ll take cunning, bravery, and maybe a few well-timed jokes to solve the mystery.

Daughter of the Desert: Lystra, a young noble daughter with an unmatched love of the desert and her cardants, would do anything to take part in the yearly races. She has trained her reptiles and assembled her team, but she is untested, and the races are not for the faint of heart. From the dangerous desert canyons to the gilded palace of the new king, Lystra must learn to navigate race politics and treacherous alliances as well as the hopes of her own heart.

Royals of Instanolde King Cormek, still growing accustomed to his new crown, dreams of a new dawn for his kingdom. But there’s one haunting shadow that remains in Instanolde, the cursed Prince Elerek. And Cormek wants nothing more than to bring his brother into the light with him, but is such a task even possible?

Step into the desert world of Instanolde, in a time before a queen rose from the fires of tragedy and a prince wielded a curse to save his kingdom. This tapestry of foundational tales weaves together a story of destiny, of ferocity, of loyalty, and seeking hope’s shining thread.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2026

Reviews

[Kaitlyn Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trickster in the Palace is my little love letter to the world I created and cultivated in my debut fantasy romance duology, Queen of Shifting Sands and King of Star-Cast Skies. It puts together the pieces of the story that came before, exploring childhoods, conflicts, and the overcoming that forged these characters into who they are now.

I love Razhar, and I hope you do to, since it's a good reason to pick up this book. Writing his and Elerek's banter just made me immensely happy. I've been told that in real life that I'm funny, so I hope that spilled a bit onto this page. I left plenty of easter eggs in my other books referencing the events you'll read here, so I hope you enjoy them.

Daughter of the Desert is my first story that went out into the world on its own. I wrote it as I struggled with editing and rewriting and trying to prove myself and longing for my stories to be published and available. Now it's getting republished in a book, and I hope it encourages you. Lystra's strength and determination definitely inspired me, and these books exist because I kept going.

Royals of Instanolde is a story reworked from a cut scene in Queen. Its words echo in Elerek's mind, and across the pages of both books. As I wrote it last for this project, it brought the entire experience full circle, reminding me of where I began and where the story goes.

Thank you, each and every one of you dear readers, for taking a chance on a little dreaming author. Wander and Wonder <3

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Trickster in the Palace" is so cute and wholesome and I love my boys!!

"Daughter of the Desert" slaps as before.

"Royals of Instanolde" is SICK and TWISTED and has me in PAIN

I loved it.

No for real though, being back in Instanolde was so good for my heart. I missed this world and these characters so much! Kinda want to go and re-read the original duology but I've gotta piece my emotions back together first, so please bear with me. Razhar and Elerek will always be iconic besties to me (and baby Cormek!! has my whole heart!!) A 10/10 time was had by all, thank you Kaitlyn for letting us see these characters again. 5 stars!

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**

[Brittnee · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

3 prequel short stories from 3 POVs:
• Razhar: a prankster, a charmer & best friend to Prince Elerek; this story takes place when Razhar is 17 years old and Elerek is 15 years old.
• Lystra: a woman with a passion for cardant training & racing and who's falling in love with Cormeck.
• Cormeck: a King who loves & worries over his older brother Elerek; takes place right before Queen of Shifting Sands.

I read this book after reading the duology. I think it can be read before or after reading the duology; either way. There are no spoilers. Loved being back in the world of Instanolde!

The Instanolde Chronicles is such a great duology! It was one of my favorites from my 2025 reads. Excited that we get more stories from Instanolde! The duology has all of the emotions! It is an intense, deep, richly descriptive and beautiful read with heartbreak, forgiveness, sacrifice and love.

(Received an ARC, opinions are my own)

[Maria Dar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Source: NetGalley
Pages: 320 Pages, Kindle Edition
Format: Kindle
Rated: YA, Adult
★★★★☆ | 4 / 5

Thank you, NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing, for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Trickster in the Palace & Other Tales serves as a delightful prequel introducing readers to the world of Instanolde and its vibrant characters. It also acts as a prequel to the duology Queen of Shifting Sands and King of Star-Cast Skies.

Kaitlyn Carter Brown masterfully compiled a collection of stories centered around three main characters: Razhar, Lystra, and Elerek. I initially read the second story, Daughter of the Desert, when the author made it available for free. On a reread, I noticed many subtle changes, making it feel refreshed. I loved it just as much the second time.

These stories are character-driven and can be enjoyed before or after the duology. Razhar is my favorite character. He’s mischievous, funny, and charming. I adore everything about him. The author brilliantly creates a sense of wonder and awe through her characters and the world she built. Thank you for the journey, Kaitlyn Carter Brown!

[Heather Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You say that you're not marked for life, but can't you see that right now, you've got the chance to live?"

I absolutely loved this collection of prequel stories to the Instanolde duology! Getting to see the characters as they grew into the ones I loved in the main stories was so much fun. Razhar in Trickster in the Palace is mischievous as always but also genuinely caring and more helpful than almost anyone would expect of him, and Lystra's fire shines through so well in Daughter of the Desert. Getting to see Cormek's perspective in Royals of Instanolde was bittersweet, knowing his story, but I loved how he cared for Elerek and tried to overcome the divide his family sustained because of Elerek's curse. Getting to return to this world was a delight!

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own

[Liz Koetsier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun, I really enjoyed it and Raz made me laugh! Honestly, he was my favorite part of all of this, including the various puns. (Some were sneaky like Easter eggs if you've read the original 2, others were more obvious.) We got all our favorite characters back plus some time with Cormek, which was really nice. I listened to this on audio and the narrator was great.

[Ariana Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three incredible stories!

Kaitlyn does it again by bringing us all back to the world of Instanolde! Getting to have a whole novella for Razhar was fantastic. He is such a wily character with all the sunshine available to him. But I most appreciate his loyalty and dedication to Prince Elerek in their friendship.
I loved getting to revisit Lystra in her story to go and prove herself. You really get to see her fierceness and adventurous heart come through.
And lastly, I really appreciated getting to have a whole chapter dedicated to Cormek, who deserves a little time on the page all on his own. It’s nice to see his life for his brother and the adoration he held for Lystra.
Three great stories that further build this world and these characters!

Thank you to Whimsical Publishing and NetGalley for an early copy.

***
Review for the audiobook: This is a fantastic listen!

Kaitlyn creates such a sweeping world and pulls you right in! From Razhar’s mischievous antics to Lystra’s daring escapades to Cormek’s heartfelt appeal to his brother, you get drawn in. Erik Homme lends his incredible talents to these short stories and brings them to life!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Queen of Shifting Sands, I loved getting these snippets into the characters' lives before Queen takes place. Kaitlyn Carter Brown excels at making you feel all the feels, and this collection of short stories is no exception.

These short stories give amazing insight into each character's history and development.

In Trickster, we get Razhar's POV. If you've read Queen first, you understand the unspoken things and his motivations. If you haven't, all will become clear once you read the duology. It was also fascinating to see him swept up in the middle of a plot and mystery to solve.

Daughter of the Desert shows Lystra trying to build a name for herself before she's named the future queen.

Royals of Instanolde broke my heart.

And throughout it all, the audiobook narrator Erik Homme did a truly phenomenal job. His narration of each character's POV felt unique and fresh. I definitely plan to pick up whatever else he's narrated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing for the advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

[Julia Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my stars! It's so good to be back.

This book's stories had me howling with laughter, sobbing with bittersweet memories and wanting to fight whoever stood against the characters happiness.

I wish these stories could go on forever but I suppose I will just have to reread them and the other two Instanolde books.

[Esther Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the world of Istanolde, this is a great read and can give insight into different ways of looking at the characters. Lovely!

[Hannah Gosnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so so fun and such a great compliment to the original duology!! I loved getting more of Razhar and hearing more about the characters before Queen of Shifting Sands. I laughed an appropriate amount for Razhar’s antics, then turned right around and got blindsided by all the feels while reading through his and Elerek’s, Lystra’s, and Cormek’s stories. Highly enjoyable and definitely made me want to revisit Instanolde for the second, or third, or fourth or fifth time😉🫶🏻🏜️

[Nadezhda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing an ARC that I got through the author/NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book before it released.
Trickster in the Palace and Other Tales is a novella in the Instanolde Chronicles series. It's a prequel to the other two books in this series. We see the world of Instanolde and the characters from the books before those events. We get stories from the point of view of Razhar, Lystra and Cormek. Each of their stories tell us about their struggles, the way they see things, and their worries, as well as what's important for them.
I deeply enjoyed reading this book. Can't wait to have a physical copy in my hands.

Update September 3rd: Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ALC of this book. Enjoyed it so much.

[Catherine Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From fun royal capers to gigantic reptile racing, Trickster in the Palace & Other Tales was a fun and witty romp through the desert kingdom of Instanolde. Three entertaining prequel novellas in one.

First up we follow Razhar as he becomes unwillingly embroiled in a plot to kill the king. Next, we follow Lystra, a cardant trainer, as she pursues her place in the dangerous desert races – feat. some help from a smitten high-powered royal. Finally, we get a brief glimpse into Cormek and Elerek’s strained relationship.

I really enjoyed the humorous, whimsical writing coupled with high-stakes plots. Razhar, in particular, was a rich MC, unlike any I have come across before. Extra bonus points for his best friends wheelchair user representation. The second two stories were much shorter and I’d describe them as Easter eggs for the series.

This was my first foray into Kaitlyn Carter Brown’s writing, and I will definitely be continuing on to the main series, Queen of Shifting Sands. I didn’t feel like I missed out by reading Trickster first, but I do have some questions about what all happened in the time between each novella.

Thanks to Kaitlyn Carter Brown, Whimsical Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance listener copy in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.75⭐ / 5 🎧 / 1 🌶️ (light kissing)

[Victoria H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this e-ALC for free to listen to and provide an honest review. I listened to this audiobook while doing all sorts of chores around the house (this is typically how I listen to audiobooks), and it actually made me excited to do chores. The narrator's voice is perfect! I had not read the rest of the Instanolde Chronicles before this (...now I am very interested, though), and so I was introduced to this world through Razhar's point of view. (I'm almost disappointed that the other books focus on someone other than Razhar because I loved him so much!)

I liked the other stories as well, of course, but Trickster in the Palace was my favorite. My favorite aspects were Razhar and Elerek's relationship (excuse me if I don't type them correctly, when I listen to an audiobook I'm not always sure how the spell their names!), Razhar's relationship with the various guards, and Elerek's and Cormek's relationship. It's so interesting, how dedicated Razhar is to Elerek. It makes the story enthralling. I also found Cormek and Lystra's relationship quite sweet.

[Living In The Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my introduction to both the series and the author. Which makes this read interesting as through research it looks to be a set of stories you would read later (currently last) in the series. Consisting of 3 stories of a world I was thrown into without any context, I still very much enjoyed it. The Trickster especially was my favorite character; full of heart, fun, and chaos was really fun to read. I believe the reading level for the series is marked as new adult, this book in particular read to me like upper middle grade/YA which I think I would of liked more if I didn't walk into the story so blind (my choice obviously), but for me definitely got to be in the mood for the way the story is read. Also, I read this via audiobook and the narration was nice. I don't have anything too notable to say about it, was clean and easy to listen to. It has peaked my interest in more of the series as the characters are well written, I love the disability rep, and am wanting to know more about what happens to these characters in a main story plot.

[jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 || adventurous funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Each book was such a short yet intriguing look into the lives of the characters in the Instanolde Chronicles. While I personally haven't read the main story itself, the three short stories in this collection were so vibrant that I am just itching to know more. My favorite would probably be the first, Trickster in the Palace, as Razhar was such a riot of a character. Kudos for the author for perfecting the balance for both new and returning readers in this anthology; the world building was well-established, yet had some room for questions that I'm sure would be better addressed in the main story, and I just adored character-forward stories like this.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing me this ARC via NetGalley. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof. This does not in any shape or form influence my review on this book.

[Micheline Ryckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trickster in the Palace will have you cheering on a mischievous freeloader who can charm the cookies from any cook’s palms while simultaneously getting himself into more trouble than his princely best friend can handle.

Daughter of the Desert will have cheering on a noble daughter who trains giant desert lizards and wants to be acknowledged as more than just a *girl* as she enters the world of men and cardant races.

Royals of Instanolde will have you cheering on a newly crowned king who wants nothing more than to bring his kingdom and his cursed brother out of darkness into a new dawn.

If you are looking for a read with heart and lots of smiles, then this little collection is for you!

Also, this book can be read before or after the Queen of Shifting Sands duology!

[Caitlinjoyful · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so nice to revisit Istanolde, this time before the events of Queen of Shifting Sands

I love that Kaitlyn didn't just give us one plain novella, oh no she gave us three disguised as one.
One from Razhar's perspective
One from Lystra's perspective
One from Cormek's perspective

Trickster in the Palace was a fun read. The pacing was a little off at some points and made it a bit harder to read than the other two, but I did like the amount of plot work that Kaitlyn packed into the novella. She sets up Queen perfectly for readers who are starting with the novellas.
I like that we got a full novella from Razhar's point of view. He has more of a sidekick role in Queen and King of Star–Cast Skies so I liked seeing more of him, standing on his own, side of him. It made him feel a little more flushed out than he did at times in the series.
I love that we got a few good scenes with him and El. I was interested to see this side of their friendship where they act more like acquaintances, knowing that in the series they consider each other a brother.
Trickster felt a little bit like solving a murder mystery which I enjoyed.

Daughter of the Desert was an interesting read, it flowed a little better than Trickster did in my opinion. I had actually already read this when it was a novella on Kaitlyn's newsletter.
It gives us a very different take on Lystra than we see in Queen and King. In those she's grieving yet strong and has a very feminine touch to her.
In Daughter, she's strong headed, bold and will do anything to prove herself which I absolutely loved to see. I really love Lystra so I'm glad this novella was included. It's a great introduction to Lystra for new readers.
It sets up her character arc really well and gives you an insight into her character that makes some things she talks about and does in the new books make more sense than if you didn't know.

Royals of Istanoble is only one chapter and it's the only time we ever get to see the world and characters through the eyes of King Cormek.
It was a really hard read, not because of pacing or writing style but because of the set up and foreshadowing for Queen.

The writing in each novella is gripping, full of adventure, life and fun.
I absolutely loved revisiting Istanolde one last time.

[Kat | WhenSheReads.SheReads]

DNF @ 58%

I really enjoyed the story of the mischievous MMC in the full novella starting the book off. I loved listening to the intrigue of who the culprit could be and the hilarious pranks pulled on the soldiers. And that obsession with the verdant scarf 😂 Amazing!

But the novella failed to connect me into the main series. I had such a hard time fully understanding the underlying motivations or to really bond with anyone. I'm sure had I previously read the main storyline my experience would be vastly different, so my DNFing has little to do with the quality of the book and 100% due to my limited knowledge.

I enjoyed the narration style and feel fans of the author and series would enjoy this audiobook! And I certainly plan to circle back at a later date to try again.

[J Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looooved!

This is such a cool idea to have a compilation of short stories as the prequel to a series!
Not only did I love the idea and concept of this book of stories (from different points of view, by the way), but the stories were so enjoyable to read!

The humor and whimsy that Kaitlyn captured was fantastic! I loved getting to read this boon and I enjoyed the whole experience!
I’m excited to jump into the series next!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing as I have read the duology, I loved getting to visit these characters again. The friendship between El and Raz is one of my favorites. The short story gives a little background for each character that adds to the other books. If you haven't read the others, I urge you to do so. The world building in this entire series is well done. The characters are easy to like. (Yes, Raz, I should say love.)

[Alu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love short stories of any kind, so I was sure I would love this one. The writing was good, and the characters were fine, but I couldn't immerse myself in the stories. The world-building was done well, but I felt the pacing was slow. Probably, if I had read the main books, I might have loved this one.

Thank you, Netgalley and publisher, for the arc.

[Ritika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was interesting and captivating. The characters were relatable and likable. Humor was on-point for the characters.
The audio narration was a bit slow and I had to put it at 1.25x speed to get the usual talking speed. Even so, the tone of the narration did not change much no matter what was going on so that made it harder to keep the attention on the story.

[Jaci Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so badly, but the narrator was not my cup of tea. I love a shortstory collection, but I wish I would've read the main series first, because unfortunately I wasn't attached to the story and characters. I am definitely going to give the Instanolde Chronicles a shot in the future, but I will be skipping any audiobooks and using my eyes.

Thank you Netgalley!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the story felt quite slow, but I am so glad I stuck it out, the rest was gripping and absolutely incredible! I loved getting to know the world of instanolde and I will absolutely be looking to finalising my experience by reading the Queen and King books.
I enjoyed the book massively and will definitely read more by the author!

[Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

NetGalley ARC Review-

This is an anthology of short stories- engaging, entertaining with hidden lessons that give it a sort of fairy-tale feel.
I haven't read the Instanolde chronicles, but this book has definitely gotten me curious.

[Dark Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet YA fantasy - the characters are so fun, and the audio was excellent. I haven't read the rest of the books in this world, but I may need to jump right in!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a novella and two short stories that come before the beginning of Queen of Shifting Sands. I have already read the duology, so I enjoyed coming back into the world and learning more about the characters, especially Cormek. However, there aren't any real spoilers for the other books, so you could read this before if you wanted!

I am grateful to have received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing - the audiobook was fabulous, with multiple narrators, and comes out at the end of August!