Bridgerton meets Pacific Rim in this sapphic crossover romantasy set in a glittering alternate Regency in which the London Season is more cutthroat than ever…literally.

SEASON OF STEEL
by Maia Kane
PRH/Dutton, Spring 2027
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

In an alternate Regency England where marriage to eligible noblewomen is decided by deadly mecha dueling tournaments, half-Chamorro bluestocking Lady Wilhelmina Applewhite will choose her own destiny, thank you very much. But when her father’s sudden death leaves Willa as his sole heir, her hand in marriage—and the enormous ducal estate she stands to inherit—becomes the upcoming Season’s grand prize. Determined to seize her fate—and protect her little sisters’ freedom—Willa shocks the ton by declaring her intention to hire a Bloodsworn fighter to compete for her own hand.

Except, the only one mad enough to even consider it is rakish, brooding Thomasin Drake, the first and last woman to have ever fought in a Season…until her final duel ended in defeat and disgrace. Thomasin is more interested in drowning her sorrows in whiskey than risking her life fighting for a fussy spitfire like Willa—and she swore never to return to high society after her loss. But when she discovers that the man who beat her is competing with her own old mech, she agrees to enter on one condition: if she wins, the rig belongs to her.

Together, the two women must navigate both the Season’s high society balls and dangerous duels, or Willa risks losing her family, her estate, and her freedom to fortune hunters. But if she isn’t careful, she might lose her most valuable possession—her heart—to Thomasin before the Season is over.

And in a world where marriage is a matter of life and death, falling in love is the last thing she can afford.

Maia Kane is a hapa CHamoru writer, Shudokan black belt, and media studies graduate student who completed her education in London. When not writing books or academic essays, she enjoys playing video games, reading comics, and backpacking around the world.