Mayna, the heroine of Of Dragons and Fae: Is a Fairy Tale Ending Possible for the Princess’s Hairstylist?, is passionate about hair. She’s even become Princess Patricia’s hairstylist, although some would classify her as a workaholic. So Mayna was taken aback when a knight declared her to be his Bondmate (soulmate) but she starts to fall for his charms.
Unfortunately, she narrates she was dumped just a few days later when Ray said she wasn’t his Bondmate after all.
Ouch.
Of Dragons and Fae: Is a Fairy Tale Ending Possible for the Princess’s Hairstylist? is a lighthearted fantasy story set in a world where various spirits live, though now many races are nearly indistinguishable from humans. Mayna is a Flowerfolk and can make flowers, and Ray and his liege Prince Dario are Dragonkin. To strengthen human-Dragonkin relations, Patricia is to marry Dario with Mayna as her companion. Of course, that means seeing Ray again, who is none too pleased. Neither are many citizens of Vaxwald happy Dario is marrying a human.
While this may seem like the story of two couples, it’s not. Patricia is prominent because Mayna does her hair. She wants to be accepted by the Dragonkin, but Patricia and Dario’s relationship is mostly sidelined outside of hearing they’re happy.
So that means more time for Mayna. She moped for about a day about Ray, but she knows their “relationship” was too short to stay depressed. When Ray has an attitude about Mayna’s journey to Vaxwald (and asks if she chased after him), she dishes his attitude right back. (You go, girl.) She going to support Patricia and learn more about Dragonkin hair trends.
Unsurprisingly, Of Dragons and Fae puts much attention on hair. As the novel discusses, it may be “just hair”, but it can be an important part of one’s identity and confidence. Despite that, the novel doesn’t clog readers with a bunch of how-tos or long descriptions. Making Mayna a hairstylist instead of a maid means she and Patricia have more of a friendship versus the typical lifelong caretaker affection.
Mayna being a hairstylist also helps shape the romance — she’s given a lot of downtime, which means she can interact with Ray for one reason or another as she thinks up new designs. This also allows for tension between her, Ray, and Mayna’s apprentice Kirion, whom Ray clearly dislikes. The concept of “Bondmates” is a central theme to the story, but it’s noteworthy that not every Dragonkin has one. So are Ray and Mayna destined? Or why did Ray say they were? It’s a mystery for much of the story, but Mayna begins to suspect the truth before it comes out. Perhaps you could attribute it to the fantastical elements in Of Dragons and Fae, but it’s mostly because she’s smart. If you find yourself often complaining about heroines, then you should check out Mayna.
Unfortunately, while there are several races in this world, many of them are never seen in the story. The Dragonkin, as their name suggests, turn into dragons, and we do see some magical skirmishes. Based upon what we learn about the races, they have their own talents and limitations, and it’s something I wish we could have learned more about. Mikuni was probably smart to limit the story and prevent it from going on tangents, so it’s not really a mark against the story. But I would love a sequel or spin-off.
I was hoping perhaps to learn about one in the end, but the last few chapters are full of fluff that was mostly restricted in the main story. Might have been interesting if we got to see Ray’s arrival in Myulan and compared it to when he ended up rejecting Mayna. But since it’s not a sappy or smutty romance, this gives it a wide appeal to anybody who just likes a fantasy (and non-isekai) story.
So while I’d love to revisit the world of Of Dragons and Fae: Is a Fairy Tale Ending Possible for the Princess’s Hairstylist?, for now, readers will enjoy Mayna’s attempts to conquer the Dragonkin hair scene and find love.