An Arcane Study of Stars

Shields (The Honey Witch) conjures a vast web of tantalizing mysteries at a magic university. Claudia Jolicoeur, who’s grieving her mother’s death and evading her drunken father’s attempt to marry her off to a man 50 years her senior, applies to Cygnus University, where gods imbue magical powers in students. She hopes to study Astrologia, magic drawn from the stars, but her application is rejected. Then the demon Dorian appears to her in a dream and offers a bargain: he’ll get her into Cygnus if she’ll promise to use what she learns there to free him from his century-long imprisonment in the Realm of Nightmares. The next morning, Claudia is told there’s a vacancy at Cygnus, but they’ve shut down the Astrologia program and she’ll have to study Rhetoric instead. Upon arriving, she learns the vacancy was due to the death of a student named Odette. Worse, Claudia’s new classmate Cassius, apprentice to the High Sage, accuses her of murdering Odette for her spot. Now Claudia must clear her name while also secretly breaking into the Astrologia tower to teach herself magic and solving the mystery of the disappearance of Sidarphion, god of Astrologia. The elaborate worldbuilding, persistent protagonist, simmering enemies-to-lovers romance between Claudia and Cassius, and twist-filled plot keep the pages turning. The author’s fans will be well pleased. (Apr.)