DATE OF RELEASE: 13 OCT 2026
WELCOME TO UNIVERSITÉ MEURDRAC. HOME TO BRILLIANT ALCHEMISTS. THE HEART OF AN IMPOSSIBLE CRIME.
Step into the heart of Paris with this lush and thrilling dark academia fantasy that follows a young alchemist running from a dark past - perfect for fans of Babel, Ninth House and Blood Over Bright Haven.
'A triumph of a debut.' CHLOE GONG, NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF IMMORTAL LONGINGS
'Deliciously dark, provokingly heart-wrenching, with teeth that cut like glass.' V. L. BOVALINO, AUTHOR OF THE SECOND DEATH OF LOCKE
'An absolutely captivating and lusciously vicious tale, Jung's debut is a must-read for lovers of complex protagonists and dark academia fantasy.' KIERSTEN WHITE, NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF LUCY UNDYING
When Larkspur Lee arrived in Paris, it was with nothing more than the ambition in her veins and the magic under her skin. As a student of Meurdrac, one of the few remaining alchemical universities, she burns to prove herself; she must fight twice as hard - and be twice as cunning - if she wants to be considered worthy of immortality. But after the shocking death of the university’s headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel, she instead finds herself at the heart of an impossible crime - one where the only evidence whispers of Lark's past.
Matters are further complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own. As the mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, becomes convinced that more sinister works are responsible for the murder, Lark must wrestle with both the university's dark secrets and her own as the life she's meticulously built for herself begins to unravel. And as everything around her delves into chaos, Lark has no choice but to decide if the power she desires is truly worth the price.
