I’m meant to trust him. But will he catch me when I fall?
THE SKY CIRCUS SERIES
by Ayla Dade
Penguin Germany, 2025
Book 1: A MILLION STARS ABOVE (January 2025)
Trapeze artist Heaven, daughter of a circus director, has dreamt all her life of becoming the star attraction at Sky Circus. The spectators waiting with bated breath and shining eyes, glittering costumes and dangerous acts – this is where she feels at home. But despite all her hard work, she hasn’t made it to the top yet. Only when her rival is injured does Heaven finally have a chance to prove herself. Overnight, she becomes the star of the show – but being in the limelight comes at a price: she is told to pretend that she and her professional partner, the recently hired strongman Hell, are romantically involved. But she can’t bear him: he’s brash, arrogant, and clearly thinks he’s irresistible, what with his big muscles and tattoos. Heaven has taken an instant dislike to him – and how is she meant to train with someone like that, let alone trust him with her life? But the more often he throws her high into the air and catches her, the more often she has to tell herself that the fire in his eyes and the wild pounding in her chest are just for show…
Book 2: A THOUSAND FLAMES BELOW (March 2025)
Will Heaven recover from her accident and will she find true love with her trapeze partner?
She was the star of the show, but now she’s nothing. Ever since her accident at the big Sky Circus show in Las Vegas, trapeze artist Heaven can remember nothing about the past few months. Not being able to trust her memory – or her body – is the worst feeling in the world. Because she has to relearn everything from scratch, Heaven joins a beginners’ trapeze class. Then irresistibly handsome strongman Hell unexpectedly offers his help. Despite the critical looks he gives her, and although he drives her hard, she realises that they’re the perfect partners on the trapeze… and when he wraps his strong arms around her, she finds it hard not to give in to the chemistry between them. But the more her body recalls the sensuous movements of the past, the more Hell pulls back – almost as if he were afraid of what else she might remember…
• Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, Bad Boy x Good Girl, Forced Proximity, circus setting without animals
Ayla Dade is a star of the New Adult genre. Her Winter Dreams and Frozen Hearts series have won her a large fan base, and every single one of her novels is a bestseller, staying at the top of the charts for weeks. The secret to her success is her addictive mix of art and glamour, secrets and intrigue, love and spice, often set in high society. Her latest series, Sky Circus, invites you to a breathtaking show that promises drama, passion and magic moments.
When Melanie’s fiancé has an accident and ends up in a coma, young Melanie fears for his life, and for their future. After weeks of desperation and paralysis, she seeks refuge and distraction on her 96-year-old great-grandmother Hanna’s estate. In the attic of the manor house, she discovers a Vietnamese fairy tale – and then Hanna tells her about her eventful past: how she grew up in Vietnam as the daughter of a wealthy family, and how she met her ‘jasmine sister’ Tanh, a girl born into poverty. As Melanie listens, fascinated, her great-grandmother regales her with tales of adventure among temples and rice fields, and the story of an extraordinary friendship between two girls separated by a fateful event. But Melanie finds solace not only in Hanna’s memories and unshakeable zest for life, but also in the company of widower Thomas, who looks after the manor’s gardens. And suddenly, she feels a little spark of hope stirring in her heart…
Karlskrona, Sweden, 1910. Liv feels constricted – and not just by the corset she puts on every day. Her loveless marriage to shipowner Sten Boregard, too, is stifling her. Her desire for freedom grows stronger when she meets Marlene, a sailor’s widow, who has been ostracised by the other sailors’ wives ever since her husband and his crew died on the high seas. But Marlene won’t let anyone bring her down, and Liv is impressed by her free spirit and energy. The pair become close friends, and when Liv unexpectedly inherits a rose-covered gamekeeper’s cottage in the woods, she and Marlene boldly decide to create a refuge where women can fulfil their true potential. They secretly breathe new life into ‘Rosenhag’ and its wildflower garden – but little do they know that not only their secret, but they themselves, are in grave danger…
Book 2: HAUS AUS ASCHE (June 2025)