Bitterbloom Teagan Olivia King 9798887981253

For fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid comes a thrilling new fantasy by the author of Spit Back the Bones.

In a village plagued by mysterious deaths, Adelaide Thorn wonders if she is truly touched by the Devil.

The villagers of Rixton-including Adelaide's father, the vicar-believe her to be the monster responsible for all the town's tragedies, spurred on by the strange visions and blackouts caused by her chronic illness. Kept locked away except for funerals, even Addie herself begins to wonder if she is the one with blood on her hands.

But when she discovers a peculiar bell nestled in a riverbed, Addie realizes the truth behind her strange visions-they are actually the ghosts of the village's dead searching for rest. With the bell's strange power allowing her to see the lost souls and open a doorway to the Rowan Wood where they are trapped, she strikes a deal with the ghost of Bram Avery and the young lord Ransom Black to venture into the hellish purgatory.

As the three make their way deeper into the Wood, each motivated by their own desperate desires, trust turns to betrayal and flawless facades begin to flicker. It may be that the ones Addie has so longed to reunite are those who have been lying to her her entire life.

Teagan Olivia King grew up in Michigan's wild Upper Peninsula but traded in the stormy shores of Lake Superior for the wind-beaten sandbars of Lake Huron. She holds a degree in Creative Writing from Northern Michigan University and is the author of several works of short horror fiction. She lives in an old farmhouse with her beloved, a rescue pup named Remus, a black cat named Chester, who may or may not harbor the soul of some long-dead deity, and probably some ghosts. She is the author of several works of adult horror and dark fantasy.

Praise for Spit Back the Bones

"Beautiful and impossibly filled with the stench of stagnant water and loamy earth, Spit Back the Bones is a slurry of pain, rage, and hope. In her haunting debut, King exposes the horrors of coming home to the ghosts we never really bury and the pervasive rot of regret." -Tanya Pell, author of Her Wicked Roots and Cicada

"Gruesomely romantic, Spit Back the Bones pulls you in as surely as the bog does. Gripping, ethereal, and ultimately hopeful." -Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

"Emotional and atmospheric, Spit Back the Bones is dripping in heady bog water. You'll never look at black flies the same way again." -Saratoga Schaefer, author of Serial Killer Support Group and Traditional Wife

"Spit Back the Bones is at once grotesque and hauntingly beautiful, exploring grief, rage, love, and of course, power-those who take it, and those who reclaim it. A monstrous debut that yanks at the heartstrings so well it hurts." -Amanda Linsmeier, author of Starlings and Six of Sorrow

"Teagan Olivia King's debut tears through you like a scream and shows how home can be a place that holds you and haunts you all at once. Mila's dedication to her family will speak to anyone who has a sordid past they just can't shake-but can't bear to let go. Small-town religious corruption, a rekindled romance, and a bloodthirsty bog culminate in a story that will creep you out as much as it will lovingly embrace you." -Isa Agajanian, author of Modern Divination

"Spit Back the Bones will consume you. King's world is nightmarishly beautiful; her setting will claw beneath your skin and settle deep in your bones. Beyond its delectably dark prose, this debut offers a deeper exploration of love and loss and the monstrous form one's grief can take in the dark." -Skyla Arndt, author of Together We Rot and House of Hearts

"Lush with dread and steeped in folklore, Spit Back the Bones is a spellbinding fever dream of grief, rage, and the monsters we inherit." -Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart

"Grief, family legacy, and religious trauma make for a truly authentic American gothic, this one possessed by the grasping hands of a living bog. Spit Back the Bones is equally gruesome as it is beautiful." -Dawn Kurtagich, bestselling author of The Thorns