Graceless Heart
#1 New York Times bestselling author Isabel Ibañez makes her adult debut with a gorgeous, historical, and romantic fantasy perfect for fans of One Dark Window and Ever After. A lush tale full of enemies-to-lovers tension, whimsical magic, villain romance, and slow-burn desire, set in an enchanted, perilous Florence where forbidden power could ignite a war.
“Truly radiant.” Rachel Gillig, New York Times bestselling author of One Dark Window
LOVE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAGIC.
As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence’s most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.
Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family's mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence’s walls.
The Pope’s war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope's obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her ― or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war.
“This book will carve itself into your heart and never let go.” Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author
Read if you love:
· Enemies to lovers
· Forced proximity
· Villain romance
· Whimsical, atmospheric magic
· Slow-burn tension
· Moral grayness
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Isabel Ibañez
Isabel Ibañez writes fantasy that feels rooted in memory, where magic grows out of history and emotion rather than spectacle alone. Her stories often begin with a sense of place, sun-bleached cities, ancient rivers, lost empires, and then slowly reveal the human cost of power, love, and ambition. Readers are drawn to her work for its immersive settings and its insistence that fantasy can question who controls history and whose voices survive it.
Raised in South Florida by Bolivian immigrant parents, Ibañez grew up navigating multiple cultures, languages, and traditions. That lived experience shapes the heart of her novels. Latin American influences, archaeology, folklore, and political tension appear not as decoration, but as integral forces that shape her characters’ choices. Before turning fully to writing, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator, even founding a letterpress studio. That visual sensibility still lingers in her prose, which tends to be textured and atmospheric, attentive to color, ritual, and detail.
The Spellbound History Quartet
In a Renaissance Italy where art, politics, and magic intertwine, The Spellbound History Quartet invites readers into a world as beautiful as it is dangerous. From the sun‑baked streets of Volterra to the opulent courts of Florence, every alley and cathedral hides secrets, power struggles, and forbidden enchantments that can change the course of history.
The Spellbound History Quartet consists of one book and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
