Maddalena and the Dark

When an ambitious young violinist makes a deal with the devil in a Venetian canal, she can’t possibly foresee the consequences of getting exactly what she wants. The author calls her third novel a “baroque Venetian fairytale about two young female music students and their all-consuming hold on one another,” with jealousy, Vivaldi, and ghostly lagoons. Or for a punchier version: her “Faustian Little Mermaid fever dream.” A lushly rendered tale of dark fantasy, art and ambition, forbidden love, and a love letter to Venice and its history. For fans of V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic.