A darkness takes shape beneath the waters of Venice . . . and somewhere in the Ospedale della
Pietà there are two girls breathing beside each other legs entwined. 'Enchanting and
suspenseful' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Rich and heartbreaking' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A lush decadent fairytale' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
⭐ Maddalena and the Dark is an opulent and sensuous Venetian fairytale full of music magic
passion and betrayal perfect for fans of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride and The Invisible
Life of Addie LaRue. '[A] beguiling fairy tale' VANITY FAIR (A Best Book of Summer)
'Enchanted...A slow-burn gothic novel that will make you lose track of your surroundings . . .
An atmospheric banger' LITHUB 'Fine beguiles with this decadent tale of desire . . . With the
alluring Venice backdrop this will frighten and captivate in equal measure' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
starred review ************************ Venice 1717. Before Maddalena arrived at the Ospedale
della Pietà Venice's most illustrious music school fifteen-year-old orphan Luisa has only
wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. Luisa is good at violin but she is not the best.
She has peers but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena. Sent to the Pietà until her
noble family can find her a husband Maddalena is cunning passionate and unlike anyone Luisa
has ever met. Maddalena can promise the world to Luisa and when she does their fates
intertwine. But Maddalena has made a dangerous wager and for both girls there will be an
unimaginable price to pay. 'Maddalena and the Dark is chocolate laced with poison. To read it
is to fall under an enchantment . . . A sweeping dark fairy tale about the violent hearts of
teenage girls' KATIE GUTIERREZ 'A sumptuous feast of a novel rich and strange and heady. Julia
Fine is an extraordinary writer' KELLY LINK 'From its first sentence this novel curled its
crooked little witch's finger around my heart and still hasn't let go' AMY JO BURNS 'A tense
slow-burning portrait of how desire too easily tangles with envy and the price we pay when we
get what we want' ISLE McELROY 'An ecstatic immersive layered and astonishingly rendered
depiction of girlhood ambition violence art and desire' LYNN STEGER STRONG 'Beautiful
suspenseful sensuous real. If you love music or Venice or if you've ever simply been a young
girl aching for womanhood this is the book for you. Reading this felt like indulging in a
secret in the best way' AJA GABEL 'Maddalena and the Dark is the book of my dreams - a
feverish intimate story of obsession and ambition set in Venice's shadowy canals and
glittering palazzos' SARA SLIGAR
