A CURSE CARVED IN INK
Adult Romantasy
All Zhenya has ever wanted is to run away with her best friend, Shuhua. But she can't—not when her grandmother’s madness haunts their crumbling family bookstore. Zhenya is all she has, and she will not abandon her.
But then her grandmother dies, and with her, the last barrier between Zhenya and a monstrous inheritance. For her grandmother was never mad. She was cursed. Starved for decades, the Jiangshi’s Claw demands blood and Zhenya is powerless to stop it—even when it commands the unthinkable:​
Kill.
​
End Shuhua's life with her own hands. Condemn her soul to an eternity of torment.
As Zhenya grapples with the devastation of Shuhua’s death, she encounters immortals of ancient legend: Kaijun, the brooding judge of hell, and Yaori, the flirtatious goddess of death. Together, they drag her to Diyu—the underworld itself. There, five trials await, each more brutal than the last.
Emboldened by grief, Zhenya will stop at nothing to liberate Shuhua’s soul and destroy the curse once and for all.
Announcements
This standalone romantasy debut features a bisexual love triangle, and explores generational trauma through the hauntingly beautiful lens of Chinese mythology. For fans of Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun and Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess, this novel will satisfy fantasy and romantasy readers alike.
​
A Curse Carved in Ink will be published by Atria Books Australia and Simon & Schuster UK in January 2027.
