Rachel Gillig Is Trading Gothic Shadows for Mischief in "As Bad Luck Would Have It" 🖤🍀

Hello, Bartholomew —

If you've spent the last few years wrapped in the fog and folklore of the Shepherd King and Stonewater Kingdom duologies, brace yourself — because Rachel Gillig is doing something nobody quite expected next.

Her upcoming novel, As Bad Luck Would Have It, is officially confirmed, and it's a complete tonal left turn from the gothic worlds she's known for.

🍀 What We Know So Far

The story follows Orla Fogarty, who is pushed down a well on her wedding day and finds Mallory Devlin waiting at the bottom of it. Mallory isn't just any stranger — he's a Reynard, a trickster from a darkly enchanted realm, and quite literally the personification of Bad Luck. Caught in a wager with his brother Felix, he has until the end of the month to rack up one hundred years of misfortune, or lose. Enter Orla: possibly the unluckiest woman he's ever met, and exactly what he needs.

The two strike a bargain. Mallory will help Orla uncover which member of high society pushed her into that well in the first place. In exchange, Orla will help him win his wager by accumulating as much bad luck as humanly possible. It's witty, a little chaotic, and — if the premise is any indication — absolutely dripping in slow-burn tension.

🌙 A New Side of Gillig

For readers who've come to associate her name with gothic atmosphere and aching, high-stakes romance, this book is something different. It's being described as her first fantasy rom-com, and Gillig herself has hinted at wanting a real change of pace after years in Stonewater's shadows — something lighter, funnier, and more playful, without lowering the emotional stakes readers have come to expect from her.

It's worth noting this comes on the heels of The Knave and the Moon, the emotional conclusion to her Stonewater Kingdom duology. If you haven't picked that one up yet, it might be worth a reread before diving into whatever comes next.

As for exactly when As Bad Luck Would Have It will land on shelves — that detail hasn't been made official yet, so consider this your official heads-up to start watching her socials.

🎀 A Little Something to Carry the Story With You

There's something fitting about a book built entirely around luck, wagers, and things tumbling unexpectedly into your life — it makes you want to hold onto a little piece of the world while you wait for release day. If you've been living in Gillig's fog-drenched worlds for a while now, our The Knight and the Moth collection is there for the in-between.

Until then, we'll be refreshing her socials right alongside you, waiting for that first real look at Orla and Mallory's story.

With love,
The Bean Workshop 🫘