The Spellbound State of the Universe

Magic, Paris, forbidden love, and a quest to save the world before a spell book ruins it all...ready to find out more?

----Seventeen-year-old Sheera Oden has turned so many lemons into lemonade she could hydrate a stadium full of people in the heat of summer. Orphaned at twelve, struggling to make ends meet with her foster family and accepting that she can't afford college...it's hard to believe she spends the whole day smiling at Dee-Lightful Donuts, serving up hipster pastries to the artisanal junkies in Manhattan.

Somewhere in-between accepting fate and longing for adventures that don't exist, a strange encounter with a woman at the donut shop sparks the upheaval of Sheera's entire life. Before the day is over the woman reveals an ancient spell book, a book so connected to the souls on earth that the magic only works in certain hands, and only when disillusionment reigns supreme. With humanity growing increasingly cynical, the risk looms large with the book's most dangerous spells held hostage by the Shadowers, a society of dark souls capable of bringing the magic to life.

Sheera isn't sure whether to find out more or run, until the woman proves her powers as the leader of the Kindreds, a society of vibrant souls who defend free will. When Sheera learns she is also a Kindred and essential to their quest, the inertia of her life gives way to Paris, where the Shadowers hide out and build their power as they wait to unleash the final spell. It's in Paris that Sheera discovers the dangers of an adventurous life; the struggle to learn magic...the life-threatening missions...and a romance with a Kindred that clashes with her soulful connection to a Shadower, a bond that is likely doomed if humanity hopes to survive.

Maybe she should've stuck to the donut days, or maybe feeling alive is worth the risk...