In a kingdom surrounded by an ancient forest where the trees remember old magic and trolls rule beneath the roots, Prince William has grown accustomed to getting exactly what he wants. Handsome, proud, reckless, and certain that his sword can solve any problem, William has never been particularly good at listening, especially when his father warns him to stay out of the forest on the one day every ten years when its ancient enchantment allows the trolls to claim human prisoners.

Christi, meanwhile, has grown up far from the royal court. The daughter of the village doctor, she has learned the secrets of herbs, medicines, spices, and the strange ways of the natural world. She is practical where William is impulsive, observant where he is arrogant, and far more courageous than she realizes.

When both young people are separately lured into the forbidden forest and captured by the terrifying Forest King, neither expects to survive.

Christi is taken to the troll's earthen home and forced to become his cook. But the troll's hunger gives her an unexpected advantage. While preparing his heavily seasoned meals, she discovers that troll physiology is bound to ancient earth magic, and that the very spices the creatures crave may also be their greatest vulnerability.

More importantly, Christi discovers the troll king's forbidden grimoires.

Hidden within their ancient pages are the secrets of the forest: enchanted wells that defy ordinary logic, hay that flees from those who approach it, horses that obey nightmares rather than reins, forests that bend travelers back upon themselves, and ancient runes capable of severing magical boundaries.

While Christi secretly studies the books, William is imprisoned in the troll's stables and given three impossible tasks. His pride tells him that he can accomplish them alone. His experience quickly proves otherwise.

To survive, he must finally learn to listen to the one person he initially dismisses.

As Christi guides him through each impossible trial, irritation slowly becomes respect. Respect becomes trust. And beneath the danger, arguments, laughter, and shared fear, something neither of them expected begins to grow.

But escape from the troll kingdom will require more than courage.

They must walk backward through an enchanted forest, wield a silver knife inscribed with ancient troll magic, outrun a furious Forest King, and cross a bridge guarded by a territorial creature older than the kingdom itself.

And when two bitterly opposed trolls finally collide above a raging river, Christi and William will discover that the most powerful magic in the forest may not be found in a spellbook at all.

A lush, atmospheric fairy tale of forbidden forests, ancient magic, unlikely courage, enemies becoming allies, and a slow-burning love that leads to a happily-ever-after, The Troll and the Maiden reimagines the traditional fairy tale for modern readers while preserving the wonder, danger, humor, and folklore logic of the stories we loved as children.