House of Dusk

YA author Fagan (A Game of Noctis) bites off more than she can chew in her mixed-bag adult debut. Soldier Sephre left military life to devote herself to the god, known as the Phoenix, as an ashdancer with the House of Dawn, responsible for the ritual burning of the dead. When an unusual number of dead bodies start piling up, possibly due to attacks by evil lizard beasts called skotoi, the House of Dawn tasks Sephre with investigating—a mission that leads to unexpected love with a mysterious stranger, Nilos. Meanwhile, Bassaran spy Yeneris goes undercover as a bodyguard for Helissoni Princess Sinoe, whose gift for prophecy is exploited by her father, Hierax, the self-proclaimed Ember King reborn. Yeneris’s mission is to recover a saint’s bones on behalf of her people, but as she and Sinoe spend time together, love blossoms. These two narrative threads eventually merge as Sephre, Yeneris, and Sinoe recognize the true enemy lurking within the kingdom. The worldbuilding is atmospheric and the ritualistic magic system fascinates, but the narrative isn’t particularly fresh, and Fagan’s attempt to juggle two couples leaves both underdeveloped. It’s a rocky start. (Aug.)