This novella is a work of adult fantasy romance fiction. This story takes place 10 years prior to the events in the full-length novel, Kiss of the Black Flame, book 1 in The Bookbinder’s Bargain trilogy. It is designed to stand alone but provide a glimpse into the past of our protagonist, Saige Grayson. In the following novella, Saige is twenty-five years of age, however, in the main series she is thirty-five. You can, of course, read the novel without having read this prequel. Content warnings: gaslighting, chronic pain, pressure to commit a sexual act/sexual harassment, references to self-harm. -- Ten years before the bargain that will change everything, Saige Grayson is building a life on her own terms. At work, she loses herself in the rhythm of the bindery—the smell of leather and beeswax, the quiet satisfaction of restoring what's broken. All the while, she's fighting a body that betrays her without warning, a relationship that slowly chips away at everything she knows to be true, and a debt to the city's most dangerous man that she can't ignore. Then, during the chaos of the Reclaiming Festival, she spots a figure in the shadows. Green eyes. A metallic ring of gold. Gone before she can be sure he was ever there. Except there's blood on her paring knife. And it isn't hers. Saige has spent years being told her instincts are wrong. That the pain isn't real. That she's imagining things. She's done listening.

This novella is a work of adult fantasy romance fiction. This story takes place 10 years prior to the events in the full-length novel, Kiss of the Black Flame, book 1 in The Bookbinder’s Bargain trilogy. It is designed to stand alone but provide a glimpse into the past of our protagonist, Saige Grayson. In the following novella, Saige is twenty-five years of age, however, in the main series she is thirty-five. You can, of course, read the novel without having read this prequel. Content warnings: gaslighting, chronic pain, pressure to commit a sexual act/sexual harassment, references to self-harm. -- Ten years before the bargain that will change everything, Saige Grayson is building a life on her own terms. At work, she loses herself in the rhythm of the bindery—the smell of leather and beeswax, the quiet satisfaction of restoring what's broken. All the while, she's fighting a body that betrays her without warning, a relationship that slowly chips away at everything she knows to be true, and a debt to the city's most dangerous man that she can't ignore. Then, during the chaos of the Reclaiming Festival, she spots a figure in the shadows. Green eyes. A metallic ring of gold. Gone before she can be sure he was ever there. Except there's blood on her paring knife. And it isn't hers. Saige has spent years being told her instincts are wrong. That the pain isn't real. That she's imagining things. She's done listening.

Perfect for fans of Ninth House, Nightshade, and Neon Gods, Death's Daughter is a dark, grounded, and occasionally gruesome contemporary romantic fantasy in a dark academia setting, in which the only daughter of Death has been named his successor, and must navigate the treacherous world of the Old Gods and their powerful offspring, from USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes.__________________________________Time for her to join the family businessJocasta's carved out a normal life at Beecher University―well, as normal as possible with a name like Jocasta and being the only child of Death.She has good friends and a messy situationship with her former TA. But her friends, her crush, and her classmates don't know the truth about who - or what - she is. They would be horrified to discover Jo must feed to survive - and she feeds on them. But she refuses to take lives, feasting instead on their disappointments, failures, and rejections. It's not a perfect system, but it works.Until a sexy stranger - and descendant of Lust - shows up on campus because Death just named Jo as his successor, making her a powerful ally and a massive target.Jo's safe little bubble is about to burst, but she will do anything to protect the people she loves. Even if it means becoming what she hates...

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god. Rui has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death. Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic. Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble…and the human world will be next if the King is not found. When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King. As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally.