Between Smoke and Shadow

With treacherous weather and inhospitable soil, the Savoan kingdom is a brutal place to survive—especially if you don’t possess magic.

As an indentured servant, working to buy back her freedom, Rune Ealde knows this all too well. Terrified her debt will never be paid, Rune joins a growing rebellion to steal the power that’s always just beyond reach. The rebels plan to overthrow the kingdom’s founder, the Architect, to find freedom and to build a better world. But if they fail, Rune will face the same fate as her criminal an excruciating death, delivered by the Architect himself.

Prince Harrick Ademas has always been in power, but he still feels weak in his father’s presence. No more than a pawn in the Architect’s elaborate scheme, Harrick has learned to obey commands or face the deadly consequences. He once dreamt of freeing Savoa, but challenging the Architect now is too dangerous to imagine, the downfall too dire to risk.

When a chance encounter brings Rune and Harrick together, their friendship blossoms into unexpected hope. Soon, lingering touches turn to whispered promises, and their forbidden love becomes their purest form of magic. But as they’re imagining a future together, one with peace between their people, the Architect is growing restless. He’s ready for change, and if he succeeds, there might not be a kingdom left to save.

BETWEEN SMOKE AND SHADOW is an open-door romantasy with forbidden love, court intrigue, and a unique magic system. It is told in first person, alternating points of view. The perfect next read for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, and The Ever King by LJ Andrews.