Emily Wilde meets Divine Rivals in this romantic fantasy epistolary novel about a grumpy apothecarist, the whirlwind woman who comes to save his shop and the letters that secretly unite them. You've Got Mail with a magical twist!
The day after Josie Pinova is fired, she wanders into the last magical apothecary in Tressport and lands an unexpected job. It buys her time - and a paycheck - while she waits to hear if she's been accepted into the city's prestigious Institute of Magic.
Outsmarting him at every turn, Josie makes apothecarist Aufidius Reid feel like he's always a step behind. To her, he's uptight and impossible. Neither suspects they're falling for each other - through a months-long exchange of anonymous letters as fellow Institute hopefuls.
In the shop, they clash. On the page, they fall in love.
But with the apothecary slated to close in six months - a casualty of rapid industrialization and rising anti-magic sentiment - they'll have to fight for more than just their livelihoods. Saving the shop might be their only shot - at meaningful magic, at true purpose and at each other.
Set against the smog-choked skyline of Tressport inside a lush, green sanctuary of plants and old magics, this is a story of mistaken identity, reluctant partnership and the quiet magic of being truly seen.
