A YA fantasy about the young firewitch Fiamma and prince Joseph, who embark on a dangerous journey together to free their homeland from a curse freezing it to ice. Cozy, romantic, and brimming with magic, this reimagining of The Snow Queen is perfect for fans of Defy the Night and The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

EMBERS OF MAGIC
by Catherine Bakewell
HarperTeen, November 2026
(via JABberwocky)

Fiamma has never trusted her fire magic. It’s volatile, unpredictable—destructive. All she wants now is to leave her past and her magic behind her, and search for the parents who vanished long ago.

Yet when she seeks aid from the king, he issues a chilling demand: To earn his help, she must first assist his son, Prince Joseph, in ending the magical frost creeping across the kingdom… by killing the witch responsible.

Joseph is sweet, thoughtful. He seems entirely unlike his father; gentle in ways that Fiamma doesn’t expect, despite his mercurial moods. As the two work together, Fiamma finds herself drawn to him, something beginning to spark between them.

But their newfound closeness uncovers a terrible truth: this unnatural winter isn’t just consuming the land. It’s consuming Joseph, too, freezing his heart into something cold and unrecognizable.

To save him, Fiamma must confront the past she’s so desperate to forget, and the true, devastating nature of her fire—even if doing so might unravel everything she’s begun to hope for.

Catherine Bakewell is a writer, artist, and opera enthusiast. She has lived in Spain and in France, where she romped through gardens, ate pastries, and worked on her novels. She is also the author of We Are the Song and the bestselling Flowerheart, and you can find her at catherinebakewell.com.