Top

Tales of a Monstrous Heart

On sale

26th June 2025

Price: £9.99

Selected:  Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781399615990

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

Be careful of the dark and those that call it friend.

Katherine Woodrow is fey, and all she wants is to graduate from the Institute of Magic. But when the prejudiced mortal council threaten her position at the institute, she is left with only one option: accept a Mage Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn.

Emrys Blackthorn is a riddle Kat is fearful of solving. The mysterious, cursed war hero with his stormy eyes and unpredictable ways leaves Kat with more questions than answers. What she does know is that she is irresistibly drawn to him . . . no matter how forbidden it might be.

When a string of murders and fey disappearances herald the return of dark magic, Kat and Emrys are thrown into a world of ancient books that hide hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares and mortal men who wish nothing more than to see them both burn.

But what haunts them both are secrets even ghosts dare not whisper, while insidious shadows lick their teeth and sharpen their claws, waiting for the moment that all tales will come to light – even the monstrous ones.

Reviews

Jen Sugden author of High Vaultage
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is an absolutely stunning debut full of sumptuous world building and a tantalisingly forbidden romance that will leave you desperate for more. It's a magical Jane Eyre that is perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone and A Discovery of Witches. I was utterly captivated from start to finish. There is a new queen of gothic fantasy and her name is Jennifer Delaney
Sarah Hawley
TALES OF A MONSTROUS HEART is a sensual, gothic feast, full of forbidden romance and wild magic. Fey scholar Kat is a compelling heroine: intelligent, resourceful, and daring, with private wounds and deadly secrets. She meets her match in Emrys, the brooding lord of the manor and an expert in dark magic who hides secrets of his own. As Kat and Emrys struggle with rogue curses, magical blight, and the looming specter of war, they also battle their own suppressed desires. This slow-burn romance is set in a detailed and fascinating fantasy world, and Delaney spices her luscious prose with sharp commentary on class politics and the cyclical nature of violence. I loved this and can't wait for the next book!
Ella McLeod, author of The Map That Led to You
With a cast of characters so fully realised I missed them long after the final page, Jennifer Delaney's debut is a richly atmospheric, darkly seductive masterclass in fantastical academia. The slow burn romance will leave you tingling