Innamorata

A conqueror has broken the seven noble houses that once held an island through the power of necromancy. Only the House of Teeth remains, and its last members are the heiress Marozia and her cousin, Lady Agnes.

Agnes has not spoken in seven years, yet she is the one who truly carries the House's legacy. She is sent to arrange a betrothal between Marozia and Liuprand, the conqueror's heir. If the match succeeds, Agnes gains entry to the forbidden library in his castle, an absurdly grand place, and with it a chance to recover the House's death magic.

Vengeance drives her, but other, stranger feelings stir as well. Her final instruction is to avoid falling in love with the man she is meant to deceive, and the plan depends on her obeying it.

This is gothic fantasy, with necromancy, a revenge plot and a forbidden attraction at its centre. The mood is dark and ornate, and the tension comes from a woman who cannot speak, a deception that must hold, and a heart that may not cooperate. It is the first book of the House of Teeth duology, so the story continues in a second volume.