NATIONAL BESTSELLER โข An atmospheric, haunting, romantasy inspired by Jane Austenโs Sense and Sensibility, set in Regency era England about two sisters fighting to hold on to their manor while deadly monsters prowl along its perimetersโperfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and Anatomy: A Love Story.
Merrick Darlingโs life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantomโone of the monstrous creatures that stalk her provinceโs bordersโand as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her familyโs Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie.
Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrickโs father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightenedโand with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the provinceโs borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires arenโt holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrickโs world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness.
Revealing her and her sisterโs current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, itโs clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like itโs slipping right out of her grasp?