A magic wielder must team up with her former love and their alternate-reality daughter in this propulsive fantasy, perfect for Naomi Novik and Heather Fawcett fans.
In Orechan, magic pulses in sync with the human body, and only women Wield its most potent forms, drawn from their cycles of ovulation, menstruation, and the creation of life itself. Ree Falco is one of the most powerful Wielders alive, a once-in-a-generation talent who revolutionized the magic landscape by creating the first Realm Gate. But the Gate shattered barriers between worlds with chaos and blood, and Ree fled to a life of rural obscurity, vowing never to Wield such power again.
That vow is tested when Atlas Timber, the man Ree once loved, arrives at her cottage with Viola, a fiery young Wielder whose abilities mirror Ree’s own. She is the key to repairing the weakening Realm Walls, a crisis that could unravel every world in existence. As Ree agrees to train Viola, Atlas’s presence stirs up long-buried feelings, and Viola’s determination forces Ree to confront the specter of the woman she might have been.
But creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin, and Ree must decide what pieces of herself she is willing to sacrifice to save the Realms, the man she loves—and the girl who might, in another life, have been their daughter.
With plenty of romantic tension, a cozy, cottagecore setting, and a unique magic system based on menstrual cycles, Fallow Lies the Blood is set to become readers’ newest obsession.