Dust Spells

A 2025 Reading the West Book Award Nominee

“[An] electric and harrowing Dust Bowl–era debut.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A captivating story filled with suspense and magic.” —Kirkus Reviews

She thought a dust storm was getting in the way of her dreams, but there are storms more deadly than dust.

Ever since the dust storms arrived and turned her world upside down, ambitious Stella Fischer spends her mornings hiding moonshine in laundry stacks for delivery before returning home to help her sisters—Lavinia and Mattie—run their family home turned boarding house, hoping to make enough money to finally escape to Hollywood. She has no time for distractions, especially from Lloyd, the handsome drifter who works as a hired hand at the boarding house.

When the group decides to forage for building materials at an abandoned cider mill, they discover a magical passage that sends them back to the mill in its prime. There, they meet Archie, a man trapped in the realm who can conjure lavish parties and bring back a world of joy and splendor. But Archie isn’t all he seems, and Stella must discover the truth before a storm more deadly than dust destroys her and everyone she loves.

For readers who love The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale or enjoy The Diviners by Libba Bray, When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore, and Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor.