by Bel Banta
First published 2026
Bianca Mortlake was born under a celestial alignment that made her the first Moonborn magician in over a millennium. While other sorcerers draw power from the seven planets, her lunar magic remains mysterious even to scholars. After training under the realm's greatest wizard alongside Roland, an arrogant Venusborn who reads human desires, Bianca retreated to a peaceful life away from court politics. A midnight summons drags her back to Alvion's royal court, where two queens have already lost their heads to the executioner. The surviving nobles scheme for power while death stalks the corridors. Bianca must navigate deadly courtly games where proximity to the throne means proximity to murder. She finds herself forced to work with Roland, the insufferable rival who now proves maddeningly attractive. Together they uncover a sinister conspiracy that threatens the entire realm. As magical tournaments and political machinations swirl around them, Bianca and Roland race to solve the mystery before the court destroys itself. Their investigation becomes a slow burn romance between former enemies who must trust each other to survive.
Genres: romance, mystery, fantasy, dark-fantasy, fantasy-romance
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intricate, slow-burn, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, rivals-to-allies, slow-burn-romance
Setting: Alvion
384 pages · Paperback · Tor Books
Content warnings: death, murder