A Curse Carved in Ink

A dazzling standalone romantasy debut steeped in Chinese vampire folklore and a delicious queer love triangle, for fans of She Who Became the Sun and Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

Zhenya dreams of escaping her family’s dusty antiquarian bookstore, but when her grandmother dies, Zhenya learns the hidden truth about her family: they are cursed with a vampiric affliction. The Jiangshi’s Claw lives in Zhenya’s blood, whispering and controlling her, and ultimately forcing her to kill the person she loves most: her best friend Shuhua.

But death isn’t the end for the pair. Dragged into the Chinese underworld, Zhenya is confronted by two unforgettable immortals—a brooding judge of hell and a dangerously charming goddess of death. They offer her one impossible chance at redemption: to save Shuhua’s soul, Zhenya must descend through the ten brutal layers of Diyu and survive a series of trials, facing monsters, gods, and the curse that still owns her.

Will Zhenya find the strength needed to survive, or will she succumb to the age-old curse that has plagued her family for generations?