Limited deluxe hardcover (first printing) • sweeping fantasy romance • cursed/enchanting manuscript • magical antiques shop • second chance at love • old betrayal • hidden identities • academia-adjacent mages • secrets + longing • beautiful, bookish magic

Perfect for readers of:

Rebecca Ross’s lyrical, romantic fantasy with aching longing
Bookish magic: enchanted manuscripts, rare inks, and stories-within-stories
Second-chance romance where the past is dangerous and unresolved
Secretive heroes, hidden heroines, and slow-burn trust rebuilt under pressure

Spice: 2/5

Tender, passionate romance with more yearning than explicit heat.

The vibe

Lorne St. Clair has spent years hiding from his shadowy past, content to curate magical antiques in the quiet safety of his shoppe. But a mysterious note shatters his carefully controlled life: he’s being ordered to transcribe an enchanted manuscript, written in an ink only rare mages can read. If he refuses, the truth about his past will be exposed.

There’s only one mage Lorne knows who can read it.
Avalene Vale—who was declared dead ten years ago.

In reality, Avalene has been hiding on the kingdom’s outskirts, her once-brilliant academic future stolen the night Lorne put a knife to her throat and begged her to flee. So when he finds her again, asking for help, Avalene knows she shouldn’t trust him. And yet enchanted manuscripts are impossibly rare—and once she begins translating, she’s pulled into the manuscript’s haunting magic, and the beautiful, dangerous story woven into its spells.

As buried truths resurface and old betrayals tighten their grip, Lorne and Avalene must reckon with what they once were—and what they might become. What unfolds is an enchanting, layered tale of glittering magic, powerful books, passionate love, and the fragile hope of second chances.

Edition note

Limited deluxe hardcover (first printing only): stenciled edges, illustrated endpapers, and jacket effects.

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[PREORDER] A Bittersweet Spell (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Novel by Rebecca Ross