First published 2026
The narrator works as a research assistant in a university city where nature reclaims abandoned buildings and rogue gardeners challenge academic authority. She spends her time supporting her demanding professor, who obsesses over Adam, a contrarian student. When Adam clashes with a young faculty member and both cry discrimination, the controversy engulfs the campus. The narrator remains detached from the chaos, just as she ignored her estranged mother's suicide attempt. Her boss orders her to befriend Adam, forcing her into contact with the magnetic student at the center of the storm. As the city fractures around competing factions, she finds herself drawn into both the political upheaval and an unexpected attraction to Adam. Williams crafts a romance that emerges from institutional collapse and personal isolation.
Genres: literary-fiction, horror, contemporary, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: University City
288 pages · Hardcover · MCD