Nightbirds By Kate Armstrong

'A luscious, sumptuously woven and totally addictive fantasy.' Amie Kaufman, New York Times' bestselling author of These Broken Stars, Illuminae and Aurora Rising

Magic may be illegal in Simta, but you can find it if you know which whispers to heed. None as tantalising as the ones about the Nightbirds, Simta's best kept secret. These privileged girls have the ability to gift their magic to others with a kiss – something the church would have them killed for. But protected by the Great Houses, their identities safe behind masks, the Nightbirds are well-guarded treasures.

Matilde, Æsa, and Sayer spend their nights bestowing their unique brands of magic to well-paying clients. But this Season's Nightbirds find themselves at the heart of a political scheme that threatens their secrets and their safety. When they discover that their magic is far more than they were ever told, they see the carefully crafted Nightbird system for what it is: a gilded cage.

Now they must make a choice – to remain kept birds or take control, remaking the city that dared to clip their wings.

Filled with sumptuous, cinematic writing and dazzling details, Nightbirds is a fiercely feminist fantasy debut where the most potent magic lies not in a kiss, but in the truth.