Melissa Giorgio‘s brand new series, Smoke and Mirrors, begins today with THE FADING DUSK. Long-time blog readers know I’m a huge fan of her works (but also that she’s one of my best friends 😉 ) and her beta reader/editor, but I can’t recommend the book enough. It’s got magic and a Victorian-era vibe, but it’s in a made-up world. There’s danger and romance, and twists you won’t see coming. (I especially loved the twist on the “typical love triangle.”) Check it out!
In the gritty city of Dusk, seventeen-year-old Irina makes her living as the street magician Bantheir’s assistant. The job isn’t glamorous, but she loves the crowds, the shows, and most of all, the illusion of magic. But Irina’s world is shattered the night she is arrested and charged as Bantheir’s accomplice to murder—murder by magic.
Real magic, the kind that’s been forbidden since the old wars.
Irina finds the idea of flashy showman Bantheir using actual magic to kill someone laughable, but she’s the only one who sees how ridiculous the claim is. But how can she convince everyone Bantheir is innocent when they’ve already made up their minds? Desperate, Irina must decide who she can trust to help her win her freedom. Is the surly, handsome Captain Leonid telling the truth when he says he believes Irina is innocent, or is he just using her to get to Bantheir? What about Aden, the sweet soldier and longtime fan of Irina’s who claims he’s on her side?
Irina said she wanted to know the truth, but when she stumbles across a dark secret that changes everything, will she be strong enough to survive?
Amy McNulty 
Thank you so much for reading this one twice, and for loving it as much as I do. If you hadn’t, it would be sitting on my computer, forgotten about!
I hope not! ;-; I’m so glad you decided to put it out there!