River Enchanted

"With lush world building and lyrical prose, A River Enchanted feels like the echo of a folktale from a world right next to our own." --Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

House of Earth and Blood meets The Witch's Heart in Rebecca Ross's brilliant first adult fantasy, set on the magical isle of Cadence where two childhood enemies must team up to discover why girls are going missing from their clan.

Jack Tamerlaine hasn't stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack's childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard's music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.

As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.

With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross's brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.

"Exquisitely written with compelling characters and romance . . . I was swept away by the enchanting and magical world Rebecca Ross crafted, and loved every moment of it." -- Sue Lynn Tan, bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Enter the isle of Cadence in this novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals--a Scottish-inspired fantasy brimming with enemies-to-lovers romance, magic and spirits, and a captivating mystery

It starts with a letter and an ominous journey across dark waters. Ten years after being sent away to the mainland to become a bard, Jack Tamerlaine is summoned home to Cadence. Girls are going missing from the island, and Adaira, his childhood nemesis and the future leader of the clan, believes Jack is the only one who can find them.

The elemental spirits that dwell in every breath of air, splash of water, blade of grass, and flicker of fire find mirth in the lives of the humans, and a bard's music is the only way to summon them and ask that the girls be returned. Yet as Jack and Adaira get closer to solving the mystery, it becomes apparent that an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, and no harp song may be strong enough to stop it.

With unforgettable characters, a thrilling plot, and a lush folklore-infused world, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and creating harmony between opposing forces. This first book in the Elements of Cadence duology marks Rebecca Ross's brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.