by A. G. Howard
First published 2022
Phoenix "Nix" Loring carries the weight of her family's Halloween curse. Her parents died on October 31st when she was three. Eleven years later, her twin sister Lark met the same fate. Now Nix lives with crushing survivor guilt, unable to tell Clarey, her sister's former boyfriend, about her feelings for him. She pours her emotions into sketches of goblins and faeries in an imaginary realm called Mystiquel. When depression drains the color from her vision, Nix nearly abandons her art. Then her uncle vanishes on Halloween day. Following his trail, Nix and Clarey step through a portal into a twisted version of their town. Here, Nix's drawings have come alive in a decaying world filled with danger. As they search for her uncle, Nix learns the truth about her curse and her supernatural artwork. She must navigate the Goblin King's maze before midnight strikes, or the curse will claim more lives than just her own.
Genres: fantasy, contemporary, young-adult, paranormal
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Mystiquel
Period: Halloween
400 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury YA
Content warnings: depression