Darkly romantic and hauntingly beautiful, Nicki Pau Preto’s Portuguese folklore-inspired adult debut is perfect for fans of Witch of the Wolves and A Dawn of Onyx.

The Wood takes what it is owed.

Lua is a seventh-born daughter, cursed and claimed by the dark forest. Among its ancient trees and dangerous denizens, she runs barefoot and wild with the wolves who raised her. But by night, she watches the family that abandoned her at birth, curious about the strange world of humans.

Humans like Cristiano. Though Thorne—the surly, handsome protector of the Wood who Lua once called friend—warns her of the risk Cristiano poses, she can’t help but be drawn to his charm. He offers the acceptance she longs for, enchanted by her connection to the forest. While the painful distance between Lua and Thorne only seems to grow, she can’t deny that he knows something Cristiano doesn’t: Lua is a shapeshifter unable to take on her wolf form.

As Cristiano’s affections bring her into the human world, dead bodies begin to appear near the border of the Wood, with villagers casting blame on the denizens of the forest. And the tenuous peace between them starts to fray. Now Lua must spy on the humans, uncovering the truth behind the deaths—or risk losing the only home she’s known, the family she’s always dreamt of finding, and the man who loves her for who she truly is.