A gender-flipped loose retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, containing a sapphic romance, a love triangle, and inspired by Chinese mythology – with winged horses! Rollicking, original, and hugely page-turning: perfect for fans of She Who Became the Sun and Sue Lynn Tan, and the thrilling romance of a Callie Hart novel.
THE HEART OF VENGEANCE
by Mei Goodwin
Michael Joseph UK/Del Rey US, Spring 2027
(via Mushens Entertainment)
Aviva has trained all her life to become an Ailier, a military officer chosen to ride one of the great winged horses known as the Thousand. The only thing more important to her is being worthy of the love of the court’s Princess, heir to the Vridan nation – one of the richest families in the world, thanks to their seemingly unlimited stores of lustre, the natural substance that helps the family perform feats of magic to keep them in power. When Aviva connects with one of the Thousand on her first try, she and Leyla officially become betrothed. All her wildest dreams are made real.
Her happiness is ripped away when she is arrested for a crime she didn’t commit – being a ‘Usurper’ who uses soul-possession magic – and hauled to a remote prison to have her spirit broken. Trapped on the island, guarded by brutal guards, Aviva knows that she is innocent. They know she is innocent – but they torture her anyway, breaking her spirit. Meanwhile, Leyla is reeling from the news that her beloved committed such a heinous crime. But as she begins to investigate she realises that there is more to the story than she first thought, casting doubt on everything she believed.
As the two are set on a collision path – can love prevail in the face of revenge?
Mei Goodwin is a Chinese-White author, based in London. She started her career as an editor of SFF at one of the largest genre imprints in the UK. Under her real name, she has published novels in every genre from non-fiction, to thriller, to middle-grade. This is her fantasy debut, and the book she believes she was meant to write.
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