Does blood make a hero?
Tuesday Graves has learned her lesson about letting people close enough to put her in danger. Living in the margins of a decaying city, she can take care of herself, and really, she would prefer to be left alone.
But for reasons she can't understand, she's betrayed by the only person she loves, and handed over to Mattox, a man obsessed with the Ancients, known only in Avlien's folklore. Aiming to replicate their legend-and their power-Mattox shows no intention of letting her go, transforming her with superhuman abilities using one tiny blue flower.
Only with the help of four other prisoners is Tuesday able to escape. The group forges unbreakable bonds as they struggle to relearn their place in the world around them. They grow stronger, deadlier, as they realize none can return to their old lives.
Acting as vigilantes in the face of injustice, and heroes who stand in the way of Mattox's pursuit of power, they are forced to choose how they will protect their world, and to reckon with what they've become.
The Mourning Lily is a coming-of-age tale that sits at the intersection of science fiction and contemporary urban fantasy. It is overflowing with unique reworkings of beloved themes: lovers turned enemies, feminine rage, found family, and reluctant heroes. It's a meditation on power, fate, and what it means to be sculpted by someone else's hand.
A refreshing piece of hopepunk, this is a book written to captivate; one that leaves you transfigured and oddly protective of characters you met only pages ago. Tuesday's arc will resonate with readers who have ever wanted to escape someone else's control, and find who they're meant to be.
It poses a question that lingers long after you've flipped the final page: does it truly matter what you've been made into, or just what you decide to do with it?