Beneath the Starlit Sea

Description

Author: Nicole Northwood
Published: January 15, 2025 — 347 pages

Genre: Romantasy
Tropes: mystery, instalove, forced proximity, forbidden romance
Content warnings: physical altercations, explicit sexual encounters, drinking, references to partner death, references to abuse (physical and sexual), emotionnal manipulation

A sorceress caught between two worlds. A healer haunted by loss. In Castle Thorn, love is the most dangerous magic of all.

When sorceress Illyse is pulled into a monster hunt between those with magic and those without, the last thing she expects is to develop feelings for one of the humans supporting the king. Dragged into Castle Thorn by the royal guards, she expects politics and duty, not a doctor who sees her magic with wonder instead of as a threat.

Garit is a medical practitioner and a mystery unto himself, determined to finish his royal service contract before leaving the kingdom of Moningrad behind for good. After his partner was killed by the beast in the Kincade Sea, he stopped believing in the power of love or enchantments. But Illyse’s presence stirs something he thought long a fragile, forbidden longing that grows with every shared moment.

But as the monster hunt unsettles the peace between those with magic and those without, Illyse uncovers a secret hidden within the castle that’s powerful enough to unravel the kingdom. Soon, in a world where magic is feared and love can be forbidden, Illyse must choose between the life she was raised for and the one she’s only beginning to imagine.

Perfect for readers who love atmospheric fantasy romance, soft magic, and mysterious, not‑quite‑historical worlds.