Wizard West was dead for nearly an entire day before he noticed. And it is up to Faye, the daughter of West’s groundskeeper, to inform the wizard that he is a ghost who has lost all of his magical powers. (But not before the wizard tries transforming her into a cat!) To make matters worse, the enchanted castle of Celurdur—the only home that Faye has ever known—will fall apart at the next full moon if its foundation spells can’t be renewed. After (sort of) accepting his demise, West decides to host a competition to choose his successor. Faye finds herself fighting to keep the tournament running smoothly behind the scenes: putting out kitchen fires, feeding the compost dragon, and making sure competitors stay away from the cockatrice pen. But killer roosters soon become the least of her worries. A servant of the evil Shadow Queen has sabotaged the contest—set on destroying not just Celurdur but the entire kingdom of Solum. It is up to Faye to stop him, but she’ll need more than a mop. Will a maid’s magic be enough to save everything she loves from utter destruction?

In this captivating sequel to The Girl Who Kept the Castle, Faye must face down the trial of three other Wizards and defeat the Shadow Queen once and for all to become the first Witch of the West. A must-read for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle and The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy. Defeating an evil sorceress was supposed to be the hard part. But now that Faye has succeeded in saving Celurdur from the Shadow Queen, she has an entirely different set of challenges to face. To become the first Witch of the West, she must win the favor of the country’s three wizards—North, South and East. Their trials await Faye in the capitol. If she fails to impress these men, she’ll lose her nomination, and magic will stay strangled by archaic laws. Alas, things are not off to a great start. Faye crashes into the capitol on the back of a dragon, feeds the wizards illegal enchanted pastries, and fails to leave a good impression. To make matters worse, there are signs that the Shadow Queen is on the move again. The kingdom’s future depends on Faye proving herself a worthy witch, but time is quickly running out…