A gripping tale of a descent into darkness as two siblings enter a world of magic, secrets and twisted loyalties - for those who loved Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, Gallant by V. E. Schwab and A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid.
A lost heir inherits her House's wild magic.
Her feckless brother inherits nothing.
When a magical fire destroyed their family as children, Aleks and Vaira Kercheval escaped. Born to a world where power was everything, they've hidden from it all their lives. Then a letter arrives stating that Vaira has inherited Aubrey House, a decaying Gothic mansion full of dark, wild magic.
The estranged siblings haven't spoken for years. But together, they return to their ancestral home, where crossing the threshold plunges them into a realm of shadows and ancient feuds. As the pair are drawn into a war between rival mages, the powerless Aleks accidentally summons and binds a monstrous prince from the Void - a creature of immense power. His gifted sister must learn to unleash her inner fire as the lines between human and monster blur. But can they survive the darkness that is to come?
From acclaimed author CL Hellisen, The Shape of Monsters is a treasure trove of dark magic, demonic possession and family secrets, where betrayals linger and power corrupts.
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'With elements of both gothic storytelling and dark academia, The Shape of Monsters is a haunting, lingering tale as delicious as it is deadly. Hellisen weaves a story of love, lust and magic all centered around a terrible family legacy'
- Annabel Campbell, author of The Outcast Mage
Readers are loving The Shape of Monsters
'A dark, Gothic, twisty delight'
'Loved being absorbed into The Shape of Monsters world, lusciously dark, deadly, defiant and magical'
'Haunting, heartfelt and utterly unforgettable'
'Sensational world-building, characters and a plot which thrusts you into an extraordinary world of dark magic'
Autorentext
CL Hellisen lives somewhere between Scotland and the Hypnagog. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, their stories are influenced by the border places between waking and dreaming, urban and rural, myth and superstition, land and water. Their stories and poems have appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Tor.com, Apex, Shimmer, Daily Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Shoreline of Infinity and others, and their work has been shortlisted for multiple awards. When they're not writing, CL Hellisen makes art and throws themself repeatedly at a large block of ice for fun as a figure skater and ice dancer. They like exploring rivers in cities, and finding new pubs, especially ones with crows carved into the beams and pictures of saints who don't exist on the walls.