Beyond the Ruby Veil

Book #1 in the Beyond the Ruby Veil duology.

Beyond The Ruby Veil cover

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Young Readers
HARDCOVER / ISBN-13: 9781368052139
PRICE: $17.99 / $22.99 (CAD)

A dark, queer YA fantasy. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst.

Cunning and unapologetic, Emanuela Ragno is a socialite who plays by her own rules. In her most ambitious move yet, she’s about to marry Alessandro Morandi, her childhood best friend and the heir to the wealthiest house in Occhia. Emanuela doesn’t care that she and her groom are both gay, because she doesn’t want a love match. She wants power, and through Ale, she’ll have it all.

But Emanuela has a secret that could shatter her plans. In her city of Occhia, the only source of water is the watercrea, a mysterious being who uses magic to make water from blood. When their first bruise-like omen appears on their skin, all Occhians must surrender themselves to the watercrea to be drained of life. Everyone throughout history has obeyed this law for the greater good. Everyone except Emanuela. She’s kept the tiny omen on her hip out of sight for years.

When the watercrea exposes Emanuela during her wedding ceremony and takes her to be sacrificed, Emanuela fights back…and kills her. Before everyone in Occhia dies of thirst, Emanuela and Ale must travel through the mysterious, blood-red veil that surrounds their city to uncover the source of the watercrea’s power and save their people—no matter what it takes.

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praise for beyond the ruby veil

“Perfect for fans of Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince and Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints…a must-purchase for YA collections.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

“A fast-paced debut that reaches spectacularly bloody heights.”—Kirkus

“Fitzgerald populates her story with fierce women who rule cities and seek glory.”—Booklist

“Emanuela is an undeniably interesting narrator who propels the plot with sheer force of personality as a power-hungry, attention-grabbing lesbian…” —Bulletin

press about beyond the ruby veil

• Interview with Magical Reads

• Interview with The Book Bratz

content warnings for beyond the ruby veil
  • Throughout (literally every chapter): a fantasy world based around blood magic and violence that includes descriptions of blood, stabbing, needles, wounds, and murder
  • Throughout: main characters who commit violence against each other
  • Throughout: main characters who commit self-harm (for magical “bloodletting” ritual)
  • Throughout: eye horror and injuries as a prominent theme
  • Throughout: parents committing violence against their children (and children retaliating)
  • Chapter 2: character has clothes removed against her will (for purpose of confirming the presence of a magical mark/bruise on their skin)
  • Ch 3, Chapter 4: on-page murder
  • Chapter 5, Chapter 8: mention of alcohol use
  • Chapter 10: stabbing
  • Chapter 13: extensive depiction of self-harm as a way to access magic
  • Chapter 14: graphic on-page murder
  • Chapter 16: violence (stabbing) and mention of blood
  • Chapter 16, Chapter 18: the worst of the eye horror
  • Chapter 19: extensive descriptions of blood and traumatic death
  • Chapter 18, Chapter 20: the most extensive discussion of violence between family members, including on-page depiction in Chapter 18