The Darkening

In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut, the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

Even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

What happens when saving your family means trusting the one man she’s sworn to hate?

• Enemies to Lovers: She needs to get close to the cold-hearted prince to save her father. The plan is simple: infiltrate his ranks and cheat her way into his heart. Falling for him was never part of the deal.
• Forbidden Magic: Armed with her father’s book of dangerous experimental ikonomancy, Vesper will wield the very power that got her parents branded as traitors.
• A Cursed World: A deadly magical storm, hungry stormbeasts, and a city living on borrowed time. The only thing more dangerous than the curse is the royal family meant to protect them.
• Found Family: Vesper was raised by revolutionaries on the run, but finds an unlikely home among the city’s outcasts—the stormtouched who have been cursed by the Storm’s touch.