by Ava Reid
First published 2025
Effy returns to campus after defeating the Fairy King, finally accepted as the first woman in the literature program's history. She and Preston have written their paper on Angharad, the famous fairy tale by Llyr, and her nightmares have stopped. But the entire university seems to wait for her failure. After exposing Myrddin's fraud and losing the Fairy King, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy worlds. Without her stories, she questions who she really is. Preston feels unexpected rage building inside him. He dreams of an underwater palace where he rules as king. These visions bleed into his waking hours and consume his thoughts. Effy has lost her dreams while Preston drowns in his. War breaks out between Llyr and Argant, threatening everyone whether they sleep or wake. Both students must navigate a world where dreams turn dangerous and reality offers no safe harbor.
Genres: literary-fiction, fantasy, contemporary, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Argant, Llyr, University
Period: Contemporary
401 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness