A Steep and Savage Path
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- $229.00
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- $229.00
Descripción editorial
From the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of THE THORNS REMAIN comes an enemies-to-lovers journey to the underworld unlike any other, for fans of THE CRIMSON MOTH and THE CRUEL PRINCE
An immortal vampire. A mortal bride. A vow that even death can’t break.
Irina is about to be married to a dead man. She is the willing village sacrifice for the Wedding of the Dead: a desperate ritual designed to lay the hungry vampire that has been terrorising her Transylvanian village to rest. Irina’s beloved sister’s soul is trapped in the land of the dead. If Irina can retrieve it, she could bring her back – but Irina would need a guide, one who can walk between the living and the dead.
Irina strikes up a deal with her new husband – if he agrees to get her safely there and back again, then he can drink her blood as much as he wants.
They begin a perilous journey through the afterlife together, in which Irina realises Stefan isn’t the cruel and terrifying monster that she thought. In a land of three-headed beasts, winged creatures and walking corpses, the last thing Irina would have expected was to fall in love.
Only, Irina learns that by bringing Stefan to the land of the dead she has put him in grave danger, and will be faced with an impossible choice. Will they be able to make it out, undead or alive?
Reviews
PRAISE FOR JJA HARWOOD
‘An un-put-downable historical fantasy drawn from border ballads and myths of the fae… The author has a knack for building tension, keeping the pages flying throughout. This is not to be missed.’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review
‘Deliciously dark’
WOMAN MAGAZINE
‘A gothic twist on Cinderella that is truly exquisite. Chilling and beautiful – I devoured it in one sitting’
Katie Lowe, bestselling author of THE FURIES
‘A thought-provoking take on a classic’
SFX
‘An impresive debut’
DUNDEE COURIER
About the author
JJA Harwood is an author, editor and blogger. She grew up in Norfolk, read History at the University of Warwick and eventually found her way to London, which is still something of a shock for somebody used to so many fields.
When not writing, she can be found learning languages, cooking with more enthusiasm than skill, wandering off into clearly haunted houses and making friends with stray cats. THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS was her debut novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A tenacious young heroine drives this stirring romantic fantasy from Harwood (The Thorns Remain). Eighteen-year-old Irina's seven-year-old sister, Catalina, has been in a coma since falling from a tree, and the local witch warns that "her body came back from death. Her soul did not." Meanwhile, a vampire, Stefan, has been preying on their small Romanian village. The town priest says the only way to lay his soul to rest is to grant Stefan a wish from when he was still living, namely by offering him a bride. Irina sees a chance to solve both problems: she willingly marries Stefan hoping to persuade him to be her guide through the land of the dead so she can retrieve Catalina's soul. It's a perilous trek, one neither will survive without the other. Along the way, Irina hopes to learn who the jaded Stefan was in life, how he died, and why no one can locate his grave. As Stefan opens up, Irina sees his more thoughtful side and the pair grow closer—only to be faced with a devastating decision at the end of their quest. The enemies-to-lovers romance and robust action keep the pages turning as Harwood maneuvers courageous Irina through the vividly imagined expanse of the underworld. It's utterly immersive from beginning to end.
