by Ava Reid
First published 2026
At Valeran Academy, admission comes without applications but demands everything from its criminally gifted students. Four unlikely allies find themselves thrust together: a politician's disgraced heir carrying the weight of a fallen dynasty, a calculating strategist who views sacrifice as currency, a former pageant queen whose abilities could reshape nations, and a female soldier guarding secrets that could destroy her. The academy molds them through brutal war simulations and merciless competitions, preparing elite operatives for a Cold War that has consumed nearly a century. When a shadowy conspiracy emerges and the four receive orders for a classified mission, they must navigate shifting loyalties and crumbling beliefs. As they dig deeper, a terrible question surfaces: will their actions birth a new age of liberty, or will they become architects of oppression? In a world where trust is weaponized and survival depends on strategy, these students face choices that will define not just their futures, but the fate of their war-torn world.
Genres: fiction, adventure, fantasy, contemporary, action, espionage, academia, alternate-universe
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Valeran Academy
Period: Cold War
448 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins
Content warnings: violence