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The Ordeals

A Novel

Author Rachel Greenlaw
Hardcover
$30.00 US
| $39.99 CAN
Bantam Dell | Delacorte Press
On sale Oct 07, 2025 | 384 Pages | 9780593984833
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“What a wild ride! Rachel Greenlaw’s romantasy debut combines captivating worldbuilding, a seriously twisty plot, and a steamy romance.”—Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones

“A magical college with death games, a murder mystery, and dangerous magic? Yes, please!”—Tessonja Odette, author of A Rivalry of Hearts

Twenty-year-old Sophia DeWinter has only known life bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector, thanks to a blood bond he exacted from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth College, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she knows it is her only chance to finally break free. But to gain entry, she will have to compete against other illusionists, masquiers, botanists, and alchemists in a series of brutal trials that many hopefuls don’t survive—the Ordeals.

Sophia knows her skills as an illusionist are weak; she only makes it through the first challenge by teaming up with a powerful (and insufferably sexy) botanist, Alden Locke. To make it out alive, she will have to hone her magic and learn to identify who is a rival, who could be an ally, and who is a murderer.

Because now, not only does she have to protect her heart but her very life. Hopefuls are being viciously picked off one by one between the challenges. In her haste to escape the Collector’s trap, Sophia may have fled straight toward her own death sentence.
“What a wild ride! Rachel Greenlawʼs romantasy debut combines captivating worldbuilding, a seriously twisty plot, and a steamy romance. I thought I knew where this was heading, but boy, was I wrong. The way the layers of this story unfold made it impossible to put down!”—Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones

“A magical college with death games, a murder mystery, and dangerous magic? Yes, please! Deliciously dark with high stakes and a sizzling hot romance, The Ordeals is not to be missed!”—Tessonja Odette, author of A Rivalry of Hearts
© 9780593984833
Rachel Greenlaw is the author of the magical Christmas romance One Christmas Morning and The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells, as well as the YA fantasy series Compass and Blade. Greenlaw lives on an island in the middle of the Atlantic, and when she’s not wandering the beaches and nature trails with her two children and husband, she’s dreaming up her next story. View titles by Rachel Greenlaw

About

“What a wild ride! Rachel Greenlaw’s romantasy debut combines captivating worldbuilding, a seriously twisty plot, and a steamy romance.”—Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones

“A magical college with death games, a murder mystery, and dangerous magic? Yes, please!”—Tessonja Odette, author of A Rivalry of Hearts

Twenty-year-old Sophia DeWinter has only known life bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector, thanks to a blood bond he exacted from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth College, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she knows it is her only chance to finally break free. But to gain entry, she will have to compete against other illusionists, masquiers, botanists, and alchemists in a series of brutal trials that many hopefuls don’t survive—the Ordeals.

Sophia knows her skills as an illusionist are weak; she only makes it through the first challenge by teaming up with a powerful (and insufferably sexy) botanist, Alden Locke. To make it out alive, she will have to hone her magic and learn to identify who is a rival, who could be an ally, and who is a murderer.

Because now, not only does she have to protect her heart but her very life. Hopefuls are being viciously picked off one by one between the challenges. In her haste to escape the Collector’s trap, Sophia may have fled straight toward her own death sentence.

Reviews

“What a wild ride! Rachel Greenlawʼs romantasy debut combines captivating worldbuilding, a seriously twisty plot, and a steamy romance. I thought I knew where this was heading, but boy, was I wrong. The way the layers of this story unfold made it impossible to put down!”—Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones

“A magical college with death games, a murder mystery, and dangerous magic? Yes, please! Deliciously dark with high stakes and a sizzling hot romance, The Ordeals is not to be missed!”—Tessonja Odette, author of A Rivalry of Hearts

Author

© 9780593984833
Rachel Greenlaw is the author of the magical Christmas romance One Christmas Morning and The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells, as well as the YA fantasy series Compass and Blade. Greenlaw lives on an island in the middle of the Atlantic, and when she’s not wandering the beaches and nature trails with her two children and husband, she’s dreaming up her next story. View titles by Rachel Greenlaw

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