ARCANE MECHANICALS

The Night Circus meets Ninth House meets Babel, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dana Schwartz and acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy writer Dan Frey: a fantasy-romance novel set at an elite graduate school where magic is something to be studied only very, very carefully.

Newlyn University is an elite Vermont college where students can pursue degrees in medicine, history, technologyor the Arcane Arts. But the study of magic has become a niche academic interest, largely displaced by technology for daily use, with its most powerful applications banned after a series of magic-fueled atrocities throughout the 20th century. Ellsbeth Shore, a plucky and ambitious graduate student, is determined to study Arcane Mechanicalseven though she failed her Arcanus exam to qualifyand has set her sights on working under acclaimed professor Thaddeus Rawlins. Once the rising star of his field, now reeling from a string of professional disappointments and a messy divorce. Rawlins is irritated by Ellsbeth's reckless persistence, but reluctantly agrees to serve as her adviser, and grudgingly finds his own passion rejuvenated by hers. Against his better judgment, Rawlins decides to let Ellsbeth pursue a thesis on writ magic, the controversial and banned field of the Arcane Arts that involves controlling other people. Both student and teacher profess to be interested in the topic for purely academic purposes, but they harbor equally dark secretsone intending to use the magic for redemption, the other for revenge. As Rawlins and Ellsbeth undertake their clandestine research, their relationship evolves beyond the professional. Harmless flirtation crosses the line into uncontrollable desire, which threatens to bloom into something even more troubling: love. But when two people are mastering the ability to control others, will they ever be able to trust each other? As their project spins wildly out of control, they become entangled in a web of lust and power that could destroy them both. Told in dual perspectives, ARCANE MECHANICALS uses fantasy to explore real questions about modern relationships. Can romance transcend power? Is there anything pure that runs deeper than the dynamics of domination and desire? Or is love just another word for control? Dana Schwartz is the author of five books, including the #1 New York Times-bestselling novels Anatomy: A Love Story, and Immortality: A Love Story. She's the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Noble Blood which reaches over 250,000 listeners every week. Dana has also written for Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The Washington Post, and for Marvel Comics. Her writing has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She's developed television pilots for CBS, Disney+, and ABC. Dan Frey is the author of three novels, including the recent contemporary-fantasy Dreambound. As a screenwriter, he has worked extensively in both television (Magic: The Gathering at Netflix, pilots for Fox and HBO Max) and film (Descendants: The Rise of Red at Disney, where he is under a deal), and he is currently adapting his sci-fi novel The Future Is Yours at Hulu.