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I read the first chapter of this book while I was waiting at a train station. I read it like a couple of years ago but I think that at least 3 books of the series were published so I'm not sure when the first edition dates back. It should be a series of 3-5 books. I live in Italy so the cover probably is different from other countries as they usually do here.

The protagonist is a normal person of our world who responds to a job advertisement in the newspaper, only that the job in question is to become king of a fantasy kingdom.

After responding to the announcement he finds himself in this new world where he is told that he has 30 days to decide whether to be crowned and stay there forever or return to our world. The court magician mistakenly puts him under a sleeping spell, and in those 30 days, he passes like 27/28 asleep. Obviously, in the end, he decided to be crowned.

Terry Brooks's Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold.

The novel begins with Ben Holiday, a trial lawyer from Chicago, lamenting the loss of his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He finds an advertisement in an upscale Christmas catalog claiming to offer a magical kingdom for one million dollars by a man named Mr. Meeks. Although skeptical, Ben pursues the offer out of a desperate need to start a new life.

Ben receives a magical medallion and is transported through a swirling mist to the kingdom of Landover. He learns that Landover is a world that connects many other worlds such as Earth. It is surrounded by the Fairy Mist wherein reside creatures of Fairy that created Landover and guard the passages to these worlds. Unfortunately, he finds it not exactly as described. He soon finds that Landover has not had a true king in twenty years. The son of the last king did not wish to take up the throne and escaped with the court wizard, Meeks, to Earth. They have been selling the throne to dozens of people in the past two decades, but no one has been able to face the challenge and successfully complete so much as a few months as king. Further, kings of Landover used to be protected by a magical knight called the Paladin, but he has not been seen since the last king's death.

It is a series. NeoDarwin was kind enough to provide a quote for the sleeping potion:

"How could I have slept for a week?" he asked finally. Questor steepled his hands before his face. "Do you re-member the wine that you drank—the wine I provided?" Ben nodded. "Well, I added a dash of sleeping tonic to its content so that you would be assured of a good night's rest."He gestured with his hands. "It was in the magic I used, just an inflection of the voice and a twist." He demonstrated. "The trouble was, I overdid it. The dash became a thimbleful. So you have been asleep for a week." "Just a little mistake of the magic, is that it?" Ben was flushed with anger.