Cirrus@Austlit

'She has lived only in shadows, but now she must step into the light.

'Born and raised by the Baleful, an assassin guild spoken of only in hushed rumours, Zinha is chosen for a dangerous assignment – a game of seduction with a deadly goal that will test everything she’s trained for. The King wishes to invade the neighbouring country of Maetora, but he must first neutralise their ruler – and her dangerous magic. 

'Zinha infiltrates The Trial of Power, a magical competition during which the Maetorian Heir chooses his consort. She must seduce the Heir, uncover his mother’s secrets and topple their kingdom from within. But Heir Reyher is not what she expected, and neither are the Maetorians. Especially Mateo, a fellow contestant with his own secrets.

'As Zinha gains more distance from the darkness of her previous life, doubts begin to surface about everything she’s been told. When rumours of a rival assassin threaten her success – and the lives of the people she has come to love – Zinha is forced to choose between the powerful bonds of her past and the fragile hope of an unexpected future. Because time is running out, and the Baleful live by only one rule:' (Publication summary)

'Innocence and delight, guile and misapprehension, the hint of indifference, even disdain on her pretty features. Fickle, he called her, a mixture of surprise and confidence. She is all that and more, brought to life with the ink strokes of a genius.

'Spanish Netherlands, 1620s: raised by her father Lucas to know her mind, Antonia Vorsterman sees everything that goes on in her world - all the rivalries and jealousies that course through the artists' studios and workshops of Antwerp.

'Drawn into the lively household of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, whose work her father engraves for a living, Antonia begins to see a life of colour and possibility for herself - until Lucas entrusts her with a terrible secret that will alter the course of their family's future.

'Belgium, present day: haunted by the recent loss of her mother, art historian Charlotte Hubert moves to Antwerp to research her hero, the Baroque master Rubens, and to seek answers about the father she's never met.

'But a startling discovery hidden inside an ancient map folio turns Charlotte's quiet academic life into a dangerous hunt for long-lost treasures, missing for 400 years. In the shadowy cloisters of the university, where ambition, obsession and violence run deep, nothing is as it seems.

'Charlotte is certain of one thing - no one can be trusted.

'Centuries apart, Charlotte's and Antonia's lives intertwine as they unearth long-buried secrets about a master and his engraver where theft, betrayal and the fallout of family loyalty run rampant.

'What do you do when the weight of betrayal grows too heavy to bear?' (Publication summary)

'Complicated, driven, loving.

'Manipulative, irresistible, monstrous.

'Love or hate her, Harriet Osman is impossible to turn down. But someone in her life has finally snapped, leaving her face-down in a pool of her own blood. Harriet isn't one to die quietly though, and she is determined to reveal her killer before she goes.

'Was it her devoted husband, Malek, with a violent past? Her best friend and lover, Victoria, with a deadly secret only Harriet knew? Or the new woman in her life, fellow school mum Karen? The one with an impeccable reputation ... or so she says.

'Bullying, friendships and games (in and out of the bedroom) combine with envy, lust and revenge, creating a darkly twisted tale of drama and suspense where the question isn't who killed Harriet, but why did it take them so long to do it?' (Publication summary)