A darkly compelling fantasy romance in which a young woman is cursed to end the world if she ever falls in love. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Brigid Kemmerer and Stephanie Garber.

THE DANDELION RIOTS
by Kim Smejkal
Pushkin Press, March 2025
(via Writers House)

Sixteen-year-old Drinn has been kept isolated her entire life by Aunt Melusine, and she’s determined to find out why. But when Drinn confronts Melusine, things go spectacularly wrong—leaving one person dead, and Drinn on the run. Heartbroken, terrified, and alone, Drinn learns she is one of the damned: girls cursed at birth to cause everything from drought to disease to rat infestations. The damned are the dregs of society, and Drinn is the most infamous of them all—if she ever falls in love, the world ends.

Drinn may not understand much, but she recognizes injustice when she sees it. Shielding her heart against a handsome, charismatic boy (is he a test, put in her path?) Drinn tracks down another cursed girl named Story—a grumpy mechanic who kills anyone she touches—and together they rally others to their cause. By transforming their curses into assets, Drinn and Story fight back: against the Aunts who cursed them, and a world that shuns them.

Unfortunately, the powerful—and now furious—Aunts may be the least of their worries. It turns out the threat to Drinn’s heart was not the handsome, charismatic boy; in fact, it was never a boy at all. By the time Drinn learns deeper truths about herself and all the ways that love can surprise you, will she have already summoned the apocalypse?

Kim Smejkal lives with her family on Vancouver Island in Canada, which means she’s often lost in the woods or wandering a beach. She writes dark fantasy for young adults and not-so-young adults, always with a touch of magic. She is the author of Ink in the Blood (Clarion Books, 2020) and Curse of the Divine (Clarion Books, 2021).