A Wild Radiance

A searing and romantic fantasy adventure about an oligarchic state on the verge of a magical industrial revolution—perfect for fans of Arcane, Wicked, and Iron Widow!

Josephine Haven is about to find out exactly where she fits into the march of Progress. Her outbursts are infamous at the House of Industry, the school for children who can wield radiance, an electricity-like magic. She’s tried to follow the rules, but her fiery nature is at odds with the core tenet of the House: Never form attachments. If she is meant to feel nothing, why are her emotions so volatile? 

No one is surprised when, upon graduation, Josephine is banished from the city to a remote Mission. In Frostbrook, she must work under standoffish Julian, the former golden boy of the House of Industry who seems determined to watch her fail. And then there’s Ezra, the flirtatious stranger who’s a little too curious about how the Mission operates.  

But there are bigger problems than Julian and Ezra’s secrets. A deadly disease is spreading across the countryside, and in Frostbrook, not everyone is eager to embrace Progress. As Josephine questions the system that raised her—and gives in to desire she’s been taught to suppress—she must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to expose not just corruption within the House, but the devastating truth about the radiance in her core.

An epic and romantic fantasy that reimagines the War of the Currents, A Wild Radiance explodes with the same queer chaotic tension, magical industrialization, and class revolution themes that made Arcane a #1 Netflix sensation.

Perfect for readers who love Queerplatonic and Poly Relationships, Anti-Capitalism, Hurt/Comfort, Sunshine/Grump/Gremlin Dynamics, Messy Exes, and Fantasy Road Trips!Mora captures the diverse and richly developed world around Josephine—a red-haired girl, who’s “pale as bone” and cued neurodivergent— through lush prose. . . . This fast-paced, romantic, abundantly queer, historical fantasy explores the intertwined pain, fear, joy, and beauty of self-discovery in defiance of oppression from an authoritarian society. Alluring and electrifying magic.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

An exciting story chock-full of world building, character development, and queer romance, executed with the perfect pacing. . . . Every aspect of the narrative and world is the perfect size for this shining self-contained novel.
—Booklist (starred review)

Balancing scenes both grim and heartwarming, Mora (The Immeasurable Depth of You) weaves a cathartic, hopeful tale of awakening to the realities of indoctrination, fighting against exploitative capitalism, and the redemptive power of human connection.
—Publishers Weekly

With immersive worldbuilding and romance, this is everything to love about YA, with refreshing queer updates to traditional tropes. . . . It is a solid book to display alongside The Hunger Games as a next read.
—School Library Journal

This successful poly love story with an inventive anti-capitalist worldview will find an audience with progressive steampunk fans.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

While the dystopian setting and perilous plot command attention, the novel’s heart lies with the romantic and queerplatonic relationships that develop among Josephine, Ezra and Julian. While the outlook on their lives often feels grim, the trio’s dynamic is layered with wit, adorably awkward moments and romantic tension. A Wild Radiance is an exceptional journey through expressions of queer identity and a celebration of challenging systems of authority.
—BookPage

Furiously tender and radically hopeful, A Wild Radiance is the book all of us need right now. It's a book for a bad world, which helps us imagine a better one-and begin the work of building it for one another. I just adored it.
—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The EverlastingMaria Ingrande Mora (they/she) is the acclaimed author of Fragile Remedy, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the Ranger Academy series, and The Immeasurable Depth of You, an Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award finalist, which earned three starred reviews, with Kirkus Reviews calling it “raw and compassionate.” A queer, AuDHD single parent, Mora lives in Florida with their two teenagers and three cats. Instagram: @MariaMoraWrites.