Ruth Frances Long

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

A RESTLESS CITY. A DARK PROPHECY. A GOD WAITING TO BE BORN.

Amberes teeters on a knife-edge. The return of King Francisco brings chaos and resentment, while deep inside the Imperial Temple, the ambitious Inquisitor Tiberius is plotting the downfall of the divine.

When the goddess of Amberes selects Lyta's beloved Sylvian as her Chosen, he must keep the peace in a city lurching headlong into outright revolution, forcing yet another wedge between the pair. But Lyta has worries of her own. From the unnatural shine in her brother Kit's eyes and the glow on his skin, she can guess where the creature that crawled out of the Nether has taken refuge. While Kit struggles against the being nestled inside him, he finds himself drawn to the familiar siren call of sedition and Guild politics. Finding Kit caught between the divine and civil unrest, Lyta worries she may lose him for good.

As Lyta tries desperately to hold her patchwork family and her world together, a dark prophecy about two siblings heralds the coming of a newborn god, a god whose rising could bring about the end of Amberes itself.

At the heart of it all is a long-forgotten ritual. A ritual that starts with the bell, the book and the candle. Bringing all three together will take the heist to end all heists.

Tropes:
Divine magic
Childhood friends to enemies...to lovers
Second chance romance
Alt History Renaissance
Found family

“Sweeps you away with magic books, gods, and a gorgeous second-chance romance. This book is golden!”
- M.A. Kuzniar on the Book of Gold (Book 1)

“History and enchantment woven in a seamless, intricate tapestry”
- Sarah Rees Brennan on the Book of Gold (Book 1)

“Intricately plotted and vividly imagined, The Book of Gold snatched me away to a dangerous, decadent city populated by thieves and kings; scholars and gods”
- Lyra Selene

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

A STOLEN RELIC. A MISSING GIRL. A HORROR UNLEASHED.

Lyta is trying her best. She's determined to stay out of trouble, steer clear of her beloved Sylvian and the queen he is bound to serve, and-most importantly-not embarrass her brother Kit. So when Kit asks her to help the temple recover their stolen relics, Lyta can't say no. After all, who better to track down thieves than someone blessed by trickster god Ennin himself?

But the search quickly leads her into conflict with the Blacksmiths' Guild-and when Sylvian steps in to protect her, staying away from palace politics becomes harder than Lyta ever imagined.

Kit misses Ben. The scholar has been buried in a secretive project at the Blacksmiths' Guild, and their time together has dwindled to fleeting moments. But when a desperate search for Lord Alderton's missing sister pulls Kit deeper into that same shadowy world, he uncovers a conspiracy reaching far beyond one lost girl.

Because when Lyta crossed the veil, she tore a hole in it. And now something vast and ancient is clawing its way into Amberes. Something so terrible, even the gods are afraid.

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

Listed for the best Fantasy novel in the Locus Awards 2025

A desperate thief. A magical book. And a heist for the ages.

There’s only one thing notorious thief Lyta loves more than a big score: her little brother, Kit. But when Kit is arrested for producing seditious pamphlets, he stands to lose not only his printing press, but possibly his life.

In exchange for her brother’s freedom, Lyta strikes a daring bargain with the king -she will steal the infamous Book of Gold: a mysterious manuscript reputed to be hiding vast magical power within.

It’s just the kind of challenge Lyta relishes, but she didn’t bargain for a secretive scholar, her brother’s interference, or the return of handsome and brooding Captain Sylvian Chant, once her lover and partner in crime, now an incorruptible royal bodyguard . . .

“History and enchantment woven in a seamless, intricate tapestry.”
- Sarah Rees Brennan

“I was immediately absorbed into Lyta's fast paced, high stakes magical world. Drawing together a corrupt city underbelly, cutting court politics and a complicated romance into one epic heist . . . Every page shimmers with trickery, deception and delicious fun.”
- Cari Thomas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Threadneedle

“Intricately plotted and vividly imagined, The Book of Gold snatched me away to a dangerous, decadent city populated by thieves and kings; scholars and gods. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this smart, inventive, and propulsive debut.”
- Lyra Selene, author of A Feather So Black

“An epic historic adventure that sweeps you away with magic books, gods, and a gorgeous second-chance romance. This book is golden!”
- M.A. Kuzniar, bestselling author of Midnight in Everwood

“A brilliant, ripping-yarn of a tale.”
- The British Fantasy Society

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Young Adult Fiction

'On her first day as a bookbinder at Ayredale Library, Sophie gazes in awe at the grand, turreted building nestled deep in the English countryside. It’s where her mother Elizabeth worked too: before she disappeared. Clutching her leaf-shaped necklace – all that Elizabeth left behind – Sophie hopes to finally find the truth, and soon feels strangely at home alongside her fellow binders.’

But everything changes when a beautiful door – engraved with a leaf matching her mother’s necklace – swings open at her touch. Sophie gasps at the impossible sight inside: a silver tree growing higher than the library itself. Amidst the gentle rustling leaves Sophie hears a familiar whisper. Although there’s no-one to be seen she’s certain it’s her mother’s voice:

‘There you are, my Sophie. I knew you’d come back for me.’

Could the magical library itself have stolen her mother away? And could the necklace unlock the secrets of the tree?

Asking the enigmatic Keeper of the Library for answers gets her nothing but dire warnings – and when another face from her past appears at the grand doors of Ayredale, Sophie’s blood runs cold at his sinister smile. Will she ever find the truth about her mother – or will Sophie be the next to disappear?

An absolutely unputdownable read about long-hidden family secrets and the magic that lurks between the pages of every book. Perfect for fans of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Night Circus and The Binding.

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

'Like deep dark water, it pulls them down. The faint fire of magic within them flickers and dies. Their eyes turn black as night. They are nightborn now.’

Grace Marchant has been many things: streetwise orphan, rebellious servant, and now beloved companion of Prince Bastien, heir to the throne of Larelwynn. But their sunlit happiness is not destined to last. The golden magic which brought them together in purest passion is threatened by strange and ancient forces. Innocent people are becoming nightborn – cruel, deadly, unrecognisable to their loved ones – and these two young lovers are the only ones with power enough to stop it.

In times of peace, striking a deal with their closest enemy would be unthinkable, but now their only hope is to ally with the neighbouring Valenti royal family: manipulative, cunning, and always with an eye on the Larelwynn throne. The partnership comes at a devastating price… if Grace wants to defeat the nightborn, she must watch Bastien marry a Valenti princess.

Grace knows she must make this heart-wrenching sacrifice for the good of the whole kingdom – but she also fears the magic in her veins, usually so warm and bright, is turning cold as deepest midnight. A beguiling darkness whispers to her from within. Is Grace herself becoming nightborn?

Time is running out. With Bastien promised to another, and a stony distance growing between them, will Grace find the source of the nightborn curse before every last soul is consumed by the darkness?

Combining sizzling romance, courtly intrigue, and heart-in-your-mouth action, this dark and addictive fantasy series is perfect for fans of Graceling and Emily R. King.

“I legit just finished reading this book, and I’m speechless… my heart was breaking… the whole ending was just me switching between the sobbing, mind blown, shocked, angry emojis… There really isn’t a calm moment in this book, and it keeps you turning the page… you’re going to fall in love… kept me up until the light started shining in through my window. Perfect binge-able books. Have I convinced you yet?”
- Writing the Universe

“I don't know what to say. I still haven't recovered yet… kept me in complete suspense… led me to despair and back to earth again… At some points I was completely devastated and I couldn't believe what I was reading. I went through all the possible feelings through this story… amazing book.”
- Goodreads Reviewer

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

'In the name of the crown I arrest you and charge you with the crime of being an unregistered and unsworn mageborn. You will yield up your magic for the greater good, or face certain death…

Raised on the streets, orphan Grace Marchant has always questioned the harsh laws of the Kingdom of Rathlynn. Confronting Prince Bastien Larelwynn – keeper of a dark, golden and deadly magic – was never her plan, but when her closest friend is the next mageborn taken away to the shadowy dungeons, she has no choice but to act.

Deep in the castle, Grace discovers that the Queen of Rathlynn has a devastating plan to use the mageborn’s stolen powers to cement her rule forever. Begging the coldly handsome Prince Bastien to spare her friend’s life, Grace is surprised to see a flicker of compassion in his obsidian black eyes, and the fire in her blood calls out to him… but if he senses the luminous mageborn power secretly unfurling within her like liquid sunlight, it’s only a matter of time before she too will be imprisoned.

But Grace is shocked when Bastien, with a mysterious smile, keeps any knowledge of her powers to himself. Despite his duties to the realm, Bastien pities the mageborn, and the two hatch a plan that could change everything.

As raging fire melts blackest ice, passion and desire quickly quiet her fear and suspicion. But with her golden mageborn light growing stronger every day, Grace must ask herself if she can really trust her former enemy… and with betrayal at every turn, will they save the mageborn and get out alive?

A dark and addictive fantasy read, perfect for fans of Graceling and Sarah J. Maas.

“50 bajillion stars… I loved this book so much… It broke my heart into a million pieces and put it all back together again.”
- Faemance Book Blog

“Wow, wow, wow!… A showstopping book that was hard to put down… An addicting adventure you will not want to miss out on.”
- NetGalley Reviewer

“I mean, wow!… Be prepared for plot twists!!!… I highly recommend giving this book a read! I can’t wait for the next book in the series!!!!”
- Goodreads Reviewer

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

'I was born to fight,’ I used to say. But now I know it isn’t true. I was born to be a pawn in the great game of royal houses, married to someone – anyone – my family deems suitable…

Bel would do anything to spend her days alongside her best friend and childhood sweetheart Shae – training in the art of Vairian combat, hoping to some day live up to the legacy left by the mother she lost as a child. But when a mysterious and deadly attack on the capital lands Bel’s father unexpectedly on the throne, her life is forever changed.

In order to secure her father’s new empire, Bel is forced to travel to the distant land of Anthaeus to marry its recently widowed ruler, Conleith. For any other young woman the chance to become royalty would be a dream come true, but for Bel, the rigidity of court life is like a prison sentence. And while Conleith is an unexpectedly intriguing – and attractive – puzzle… could she ever love him when it would mean turning her back on her feelings for Shae, her first love and last connection to home?

Then a brutal assassination attempt nearly takes her life, and Bel learns that there’s more on the line than just her happiness. Is it the same faceless enemy who attacked her homeland and, with dangers around every corner, who in the palace can she trust?

“Took my heart out of my chest, stomped on it and then put it back, while whispering, ‘Keep reading’… I sat and ugly cried for 15 minutes... reminds me of something Sarah J. Maas would write.”
- Awesome Alitza

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Genre Fiction

'Something evil is gathering power in the kingdom. It knows the secrets in your heart, and nobody is safe…’

Petra Kel – young and headstrong – has been named General of the Queen’s Guard. But while Petra’s head may be in rebuilding the war-torn kingdom alongside her childhood friend Queen Belengaria, she left her heart miles away in their homeland, the day she turned her back on the only man she ever loved and fled.

But then Petra’s past – in the form of Bel’s roguish brother Zander – comes crashing in, just as rumours of dark magic begin to swirl at court. Petra can’t afford to be distracted… but the unfinished business between herself and Zander is like a vice upon her heart.

When evil takes hold of the kingdom and threatens Bel, Petra is forced to make the impossible choice between love and loyalty. And will the insidious magic of the Stone’s Heart reveal the heart-breaking reason why she left Zander behind all those years ago?

A gripping and magical read that will captivate you from the very first page. Perfect for fans of The Selection, Fourth Wing and Sarah J. Maas.

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Fiction, Children’s

'Welcome to The Other Side ...’

Chasing a thief, Izzy Gregory takes a wrong turn down a Dublin alley and finds the ashes of a fallen angel splashed across the dirty bricks like graffiti. She stumbles into Dubh Linn, the shadowy world inhabited by the Sidhe, where angels and demons watch over the affairs of mortals, and Izzy becomes a pawn in their deadly game. Her only chance of survival lies in the hands of Jinx, the Sidhe warrior sent to capture her for his sadistic mistress, Holly. Izzy is something altogether new to him, turning his world upside down.

A thrilling, thought-provoking journey to the magic that lies just beside reality.

“Three things make this a great book. Firstly, the author has populated the book with wonderous characters, that are fresh, believable, memorable, and at the same time most definitely are archetypes. Somehow the author has managed to flesh out archetypes so that the feel like real people. The second thing is the author's choice of locations. Like the characters, the settings are fresh, believable, and memorable. Lastly, the story is good. It is fast paced, kept me guessing until the end, and is full of memorable surprises: I'll never be able to think of an angelic choir the same way ever again.”
- John Corrigan

“An excellent fantasy, with strange but memorable characters set in believable settings…. tense and exciting.”
- The Irish Examiner

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Fiction, Children’s

'Something is stirring beneath Dubh Linn.’

When an ancient and forbidden power is unleashed, Izzy, who is still coming to terms with her newfound powers, must prevent a war from engulfing Dublin and the fae realm of Dubh Linn. But by refusing to sacrifice Jinx – fae warrior and her 'not-really-ex' – Izzy sets in motion a chain of events which will see them hunted across the city and into the hills where she'll face the greatest challenge of all.

In the deepest and darkest Hollow, an angel of death is waiting … and the price he asks for his help might be too high …

“An exciting cocktail of the magical and the mundane in modern Dublin.”
- Books Ireland

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Children’s

A darkly compelling mix of romance, fairy tale, and suspense from a new voice in teen fiction

The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own.

“Delicious and wonderfully romantic…Lyrical prose, along with highly imaginative and descriptive phrasing, makes the forest setting–and its creatures and people–immediately present and sparked with magic.”
- Bookist Online

“Entrapment in a faerie forest has never been so delectable…A worthy, memorable read (with movie potential)”
- Kirkus Reviews

“A dazzle of strange creatures, unknowable motives, and threat….Each scene is vividly, often horrifically imagined.”
- Publisher’s Weekly

“A heady atmosphere of folk tales, suspenseful terror, and passionate romance.”
- VOYA

“[The] malice that underlies the world’s beauty plays out the title to the fullest and adds a substantial bit of true gruesomeness to what is already a suspenseful story”
- BCCB

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Genres: Children’s

The final book in the contemporary fantasy trilogy set in Dublin: and Dubh Linn, the fae world that exists in the cracks and corners of reality.

Angels, fae demons and humans are drawn into lethal conflict as the fate of the world hangs in the balance in the final installment in this urban fantasy. Holly, the fae matriarch, tries to sieze the power of heaven for herself, while Izzy has lost her memory and Jinx is dead ... or is he?

Confronted with ancient powers, sacrifice and treachery. War is looming within the ranks of the Sidhe. The angels and the demons begin to draw lines, daring each other to transgress and start another war ...

“Gripping and dramatic … I loved the third Dubh Linn book, I couldn’t put it down … As always, Long makes excellent use of locations in Dublin – Marsh’s Library, the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin, the National Gallery of Ireland and Glasnevin Cemetery all feature in this volume. She skilfully melds real Dublin and magical Dubh Linn, making excellent use of the history surrounding the locations. She writes about Dublin as a place of magic and story, making the (Irish) reader see their place in a new way … a brilliant read, both heart-pounding and heartbreaking”
- TheBooksTheHeartAndMe

“Powerful, enthralling, unnerving and an incessant pace, A Darkness At The End will haunt you long after the book is done”
- Fallen Star Stories

“The story is full of atmosphere, rich with legend and history, and full of excellently drawn characters”
- Parents In Touch