The flecks of illumination spun around me, a thousand floating parasols of sun-touched dandelion seed. In places, my skin tingled as though brushed by a strip of silk.

The thought occurred that I’d just allowed a self-professed practitioner of magic—illegal, infernal, and immoral, by all accounts—deliberately cast a spell on me as I stood obediently still. Would he curse me? Make me his eternal servant? Ravish me with no hope of defense? Enchant me to become a murderer? Make me into a sprinting corpse?

— The Magic of Unkindness

THE STORY:

Here's the thing about Kate Finch: she's had the kind of year that would break most people. Everyone she loved? Dead at the hands of demons. Her escape to Boston? Ended up in a cart full of corpses. And now some mysterious man is telling her she's a witch, which... actually explains a lot about those weird incidents back in London. (Note to self: spontaneous fires during moments of stress? Probably not a coincidence.)

When August Swaine offers to mentor her in controlling these newfound powers, Kate does what she always does - she turns an impossible situation into an opportunity. Sure, she's starting from scratch in a colonial city where everyone's watching for signs of witchcraft. But Kate's never met a challenge she couldn't think her way through, and she's not about to start now.

Then August vanishes into a sinister parallel realm, and suddenly all those careful plans need serious revision. Kate's barely mastered the basics of magic, but she's also the only one who's noticed the subtle clues August left behind. The same sharp mind that kept her alive in London is telling her two things: first, her mentor's disappearance is part of something much bigger, and second, she's probably going to have to break every rule he taught her to get him back.

Now she's racing against forces she barely understands, armed with nothing but raw talent, stubborn optimism, and a knack for making powerful allies. Most people would call her plan to rescue August impossible. Kate calls it a good start.

(Warning: This historical fantasy contains questionable magical experiments, surprisingly useful applications of geometry, one extremely determined apprentice, and proof that sometimes the most powerful magic is simply refusing to give up. Also demons, but Kate's dealing with them.)

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