by Ryka Aoki
First published 2021
Shizuka Satomi has delivered six violin students to the devil. She needs one more soul to escape her own damnation. When she hears Katrina Nguyen play, Shizuka knows she's found her final target. The young transgender runaway has the wild talent that could free Shizuka from her curse. But Shizuka's plan gets complicated when she meets Lan Tran at a donut shop in California's San Gabriel Valley. Lan is a retired starship captain, an interstellar refugee raising four children, and she has kind eyes that remind Shizuka of stars. Shizuka tells herself she doesn't have time for romance, not with her soul hanging in the balance. Yet Lan's gentle presence makes her question what a soul is really worth. As these three women's lives intersect, magic and music collide with alien technology and fresh donuts. Their growing bond might prove stronger than any Faustian bargain.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, literary-fiction, fantasy, magical-realism, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, romance
Setting: California, San Gabriel Valley
Period: 21st-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Tor Books