by Isabel Cañas
First published 2026
Sixteen-year-old Minerva flees her brutal father and the capital's slums to work as a lady's maid. She finds employment with Encarnación del Valle, a sharp-tongued elderly widow in a loyalist neighborhood. The unlikely pair bond over their shared resilience and stubborn natures. Minerva enjoys safety and regular meals in a house warmed by magical chispa energy. When the viceroy reclaims power through brutal violence that destroys any chance of reuniting with her runaway brothers, Encarnación withdraws to the family's remote mountain property, Casa de las Gardenias. At the ancient estate, Minerva must navigate hostile younger del Valle relatives and seasoned servants who look down on her. But human cruelty proves minor compared to the supernatural threats lurking in the old house. Ancient forces more vicious than the fascist family or the liberal rebels gathering in the nearby mountains call the Casa de las Gardenias home.
Genres: historical-fiction, fantasy, supernatural, young-adult, dark-fantasy, gothic-horror
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotionally-intense, gothic, haunting, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, haunted-house, resilient-protagonist, unlikely-friendship
Setting: Casa de las Gardenias, capital, mountain property, loyalist neighborhood
Period: 19th-century, colonial-period
288 pages · Hardcover · Dutton Books for Young Readers
Content warnings: abuse, death, violence