by Marie Lu
First published 2025
Sam grows up poor in Angel City, dreaming of joining the Grand Central crime syndicate that controls the drug trade in magical sand. Across town, Ari trains as an apprentice for Lumines, Grand Central's rival organization. Both syndicates harvest alchemy, the secret art that transforms ordinary people into enhanced versions of themselves through sand consumption. Users become more beautiful, more magnetic, simply better at being human. The two crime families have maintained an uneasy truce for years, balancing diplomacy against violence in their competition for Angel City's glittering elite market. When Sam fights her way into Grand Central's ranks and Ari rises through Lumines as a gifted young alchemist, their childhood friendship collides with syndicate loyalty. The delicate peace between the organizations begins to crumble. As conflict escalates into open warfare, Sam and Ari find themselves on opposite sides of a battle that will reshape their city. Their personal ambitions fuel the larger destruction, and the love they once shared transforms into something darker.
Genres: romance, crime, fantasy, young-adult, dark-fantasy, urban-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotionally-intense, fast-paced, gritty, morally-complex
Tropes: childhood-friends-to-enemies, enemies-to-lovers, rival-families, star-crossed-lovers
Setting: Angel City
448 pages · Paperback · Tor Books
Content warnings: drug-use, substance-abuse, violence