The Shard Born - Laurie Bowler

Some connections defy death itself. In a village carved from mist and secrets, an orphaned girl discovers that the most dangerous thing isn't grief-it's hope.

Kali Peterson arrives in Aelridge broken. The car accident that killed her parents has left her hollow, a ghost inhabiting her own life. Her new home is a stone house in a timeless village where fog conceals more than landscape, and her only anchor is an aunt she doesn't remember. Then Atlas Sorenfell looks at her across a classroom, and the world shifts. He is beautiful in an inhuman way-ash-blond hair like silver, eyes that hold ancient knowledge, movements too fluid to be natural. He is drawn to her with frightening intensity, yet fights to stay away.

As they're forced together for a school project, Kali begins to notice the impossible: his touch sparks electricity, his eyes sometimes glow, and he speaks of obsession and loss as if he's lived them for centuries. His three equally otherworldly friends watch her with assessment that ranges from protective to cold. The more time she spends with Atlas, the more the careful walls between them crack-revealing a longing so profound it terrifies them both.

But if Atlas isn't human, what is he? And if loving him means entering a world where the supernatural walks among the living, what price will Kali pay for a connection that feels like destiny?

This spellbinding Gothic Romance weaves grief, supernatural mystery, and forbidden desire into an unforgettable story. If you love atmospheric settings, tortured heroes, and love that transcends the boundaries of mortality, then you'll be consumed by this dark, beautiful novel.

Pick up your copy now and lose yourself in the fog-shrouded world of Aelridge.