Three teens infiltrate the magical ivy league in this heart-stopping dark academia romantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.The special first edition of the hardcover edition features stunning stenciled edges and designed endpapers!Raven, Atticus, and Dorian have dreamed of attending Sibylline for as long as they can remember. But when the magical university rejects them, the friends’ plans for a future studying the arcane together begin crashing down.
Until they decide to steal an education.
Getting jobs on campus, they sneak into lectures and swipe forbidden texts, dodging the administration’s watchful eye. In the quiet of night, in the thrill of secrecy, their magic awakens. And so do long-buried attractions that turn their friendship into something more.
But like magic, love can create, and it can destroy. As unrequited feelings and resentment threaten to fracture their bond, the trio discovers an insidious magic that has sunk its claws into Sibylline, killing students and corroding the very bones of the university. Now the three intruders may be the key to saving the institution from wreckage . . . if they don’t wreck one another first.
On sale: February 3, 2026
Age: 14 and up
Grade: Grade 9 & Up
Page count: 304 Pages
ISBN: 9798217002610
Melissa de la Cruz is the #1
New York Times,
USA Today,
Wall Street Journal,
Los Angeles Times, and
Publishers Weekly internationally bestselling author of many critically acclaimed books for readers of all ages, including the Blue Bloods series, the Queen's Secret duet, Disney's Descendants novels, and the Summer on East End series. Her books have sold over eight million copies, and the Witches of East End series became an hour-long television drama on the Lifetime network. Visit her at melissa-delacruz.com
★ “In addition to high-caliber lyrical writing and thought-provoking style, de la Cruz ('Blue Bloods') also provides a vehicle for reflection. This book combines elements of magic, a dark sense of danger, and characters with powers who need to decide whether they could or should use them. . . A must-have.” —
School Library Journal,
starred review“In her signature lush prose and twisty plotting, De la Cruz's cinematic, emotionally charged duology starter sets realistic romantic tension against a compelling central magical mystery that will have readers eager to find out what happens in book two.” —
Booklist“This duology opener, with its shadowy library, cobblestone streets, and bookshop cafe . . . captures cozy dark academia at its best.” —
Kirkus Reviews
“The protagonists’ electric banter and shifting relationships act as an emotional anchor as the kinetic plot unfolds throughout a tense and exciting series opener that will have readers clamoring for the next volume.”
—Publishers Weekly
