Monstrous Heart (The Deepwater Trilogy, Book 1)

A sensational debut novel: gothic, romantic gaslamp fantasy at it’s very best. A magical tale of intrigue on dangerous waters and a love story for the ages. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and China Mieville

Arden Beacon arrives in the salt-swept port of Vigil with a job to do. Tasked with using the magic in her blood to keep the lighthouse burning, she needs to prove herself worthy of her family name and her ancestors’ profession.

But the coastline Arden must keep alight – battered by a sea teeming with colossal, ancient beasts – is far from the cultured, urban world she knows. It is a place of secrets, rumours and tight-lipped expectations of a woman’s place. More than anyone, the town folk whisper about Arden’s neighbour, Jonah Riven, the hunter of leviathans. They say he murdered his wife. They say he is as much a monster as his prey.

Amidst all her determination and homesickness Arden cannot get this shadowy stranger out of her head. A plot swirls around the lighthouse keeper, the hunter and the authorities. Arden must make sense of these dark waters – before they wash her away.

- Sweeping, grown up and epic romantic fantasy, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Audrey Niffenegger or Diana Gabaldon first arrived on the scene.

- Pitched as Brontë but with more sea monsters, prepare for Arden and Jonah to join the ranks of great fictional lovers. Move over Cathy and Heathcliff, Claire and Jaime, Ross and Demelza et al!

- With a gorgeous package and beautiful writing, this book will steal the hearts of booksellers

Competition: Interview with a vampire;The starless sea;night circus;The Binding;Shades of Magic Series; A Court of Thorns and Roses; Fifty Shades; Priory of the Orange Tree;Stardust;The Paper Magician;. by;V.E. Schwab;China Mieville;Neil Gaiman;N.K. Jemisin;Cassandra Claire;Phillip Pullman;H. G. Wells;Anne Rice