Living in a world where magic is outlawed, Sadima's special gift to speak to the animals binds her to two young men who are determined to restore magic to their poor village in order to save the people they love. Reprint.

Lord Thornby has been trapped on his father's isolated Yorkshire estate for a year. There are no bars or chains; he simply can't leave. His sanity is starting to fray. When industrial magician John Blake arrives to investigate a case of witchcraft, he finds the peculiar, arrogant Thornby as alarming as he is attractive. John soon finds himself caught up in a dark fairytale, where all the rules of magic—and love—are changed.To set Thornby free, both men must face life-changing truths—and John must accept that the brave, witty man who's winning his heart may also be about to break it. Can they escape a web of magic that's as perilous as love?***"Magic, folklore, dark deeds, and hot romance combine in this wildly enjoyable, inventive story set in a lovely alt-Victorian Gothic world. More please!"—KJ Charles, RITA™-nominated author of THE MAGPIE LORD and SPECTRED ISLE"Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch is the sort of book you want to read again the moment you reach the end. Beautifully written, with a romance that is by turns sweet and scorching, it belongs on the keeper shelf of any lover of paranormal historical."—Jordan L. Hawk, author of the WHYBORNE AND GRIFFIN and HEXWORLD series***Standalone novel: 78,000 words

The Magic Skin (La Peau de chagrin) is set in early 19th-century Paris and tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. Although the novel uses fantastic elements, its main focus is a realistic portrayal of the excesses of bourgeois materialism. Balzac's renowned attention to detail is used to describe a gambling house, an antique shop, a royal banquet, and other locales. He also includes details from his own life as a struggling writer, placing the main character in a home similar to the one he occupied at the start of his literary career. The central theme of La Peau de chagrin is the conflict between desire and longevity. The magic skin represents the owner's life-force, which is depleted through every expression of will, especially when it is employed for the acquisition of power. Ignoring a caution from the shopkeeper who offers him the skin, the protagonist greedily surrounds himself with wealth, only to find himself miserable and decrepit at the story's end. (source: Wikipedia)

Reproduction of the original.

On bookshelves around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest other volumes of a distinctly strange and grisly sort: those bound in human skin. Would you know one if you held it in your hand? In Dark Archives, Megan Rosenbloom seeks out the historic and scientific truths behind anthropodermic bibliopegy—the practice of binding books in this most intimate covering. Dozens of such books live on in the world’s most famous libraries and museums. Dark Archives exhumes their origins and brings to life the doctors, murderers, and indigents whose lives are sewn together in this disquieting collection. Along the way, Rosenbloom tells the story of how her team of scientists, curators, and librarians test rumored anthropodermic books, untangling the myths around their creation and reckoning with the ethics of their custodianship. A librarian and journalist, Rosenbloom is a member of The Order of the Good Death and a cofounder of their Death Salon, a community that encourages conversations, scholarship, and art about mortality and mourning. In Dark Archives—captivating and macabre in all the right ways—she has crafted a narrative that is equal parts detective work, academic intrigue, history, and medical curiosity: a book as rare and thrilling as its subject.

In her much-anticipated debut poetry collection, Morgan Nikola-Wren has woven her signature romantic grit through a stunning, modern-day fairy tale. Chronicling the relationship between a lonely artist and her absent-albeit abusive-muse, Magic with Skin On will gently break you, then put you back together again. "Morgan's words will transport you, touch your heart and soul, even, at times, cut you. 'Magic with Skin On' will make you feel." -BROM, author of Lost Gods and The Child Thief

Famous perfectionist Honore de Balzac labored for years to bring the fascinating idea behind The Magic Skin to life in a novel, and critics and fans alike agree that it is one of the French writer's masterworks. The story follows the experiences of a young man who finds a small piece of animal skin that magically fulfills his every desire. However, over time, he discovers that the seeming miracle has exacted a terrible toll on his body -- and his soul.

Having been driven out of their home by fire, Sadima, Franklin and Somiss escape and seek refuge in the secret cave hidden in the rocks. Somiss, now exiled and desperate, continues to hoard the magic he is recovering from the ancient documents, while Sadima and Franklin struggle to contain his egomaniacal ambitions. In Haph and Gerrard's world, forced to continually endure the painful ordeals used to 'teach' magic, the boys come to an uneasy and fragile truce as they vow to work together to stop the evils of the academy. But their tenuous pact falters as they plot to destroy Somiss and the dark academy and set the magic free…