R. M. Gray Nightweaver 2025 Penguin Books, Limited 2025

Synopsis

Aster Oberon had never stepped foot on land. Six hundred years after the Nightweavers claimed human lands for their own, the ocean is a haven for seventeen-year-old Aster and her family. Notorious pirates of the Western Sea, the Oberon clan are undefeated in battle -- until an Underling murders Aster's brother, and she discovers there are monsters more fearsome than the Nightweavers that have taken them captive. When the son of a wealthy Nightweaver shows Aster and her family mercy, offering employment at his estate rather than enslavement, aster vows not to forget that he is everything she hates. But as she adjusts to her new role as a kitchen maid at Bludgrave Manor, she finds that hatred is a curious thing. Arrogant, entitled, right hand to the wicked prince, William Castor might be the key to avenging her brother -- and reclaiming her freedom. But mercy always comes with a price. As Aster hunts the Underling responsible for her brother's death, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she thought she knew about the Nightweavers, herself, and her world. Torn between family loyalty and a chance at revenge, the cost of learning the truth about her brother's murder could be her life.