First published 2021
Elsie Camden knows who has been killing magicians and stealing their opuses across England in 1895. The problem is that naming the culprit means admitting she is an unregistered spellbreaker, a crime that could land her in prison. When a charming assassin tries to recruit her and she refuses, her secret comes out anyway, and she ends up behind bars while the murderer slips away. Her way out arrives through Bacchus Kelsey, an elite magic user who offers her a path back into lawful society. The catch: they have to marry to make their cover story hold. Now Elsie is living under a magical tutor, navigating a marriage of convenience that starts to feel like something more, and trying to track down a criminal who has hundreds of stolen spells at hand. That villain wants Elsie on their side, and they are willing to use every one of those spells to get her there. Elsie is discovering new abilities of her own, but using them carelessly could hand her enemy exactly the advantage they need.
Genres: romance, mystery, fantasy, adult-fiction, historical-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, romantic, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, forced-proximity, marriage-of-convenience, slow-burn
Setting: England
Period: 1895
301 pages · Paperback · 47North
Content warnings: murder, violence