Mothsblood

WELCOME TO UNIVERSITÉ MEURDRAC.

HOME TO BRILLIANT ALCHEMISTS.
THE HEART OF AN IMPOSSIBLE CRIME.

Step into the heart of Paris with this lush and thrilling dark academia fantasy that follows a young alchemist running from a dark past - perfect for fans of Babel, Ninth House and Blood Over Bright Haven.

When Larkspur Lee arrived in Paris, it was with nothing more than the ambition in her veins and the magic under her skin.

As a student of Meurdrac, one of the few remaining alchemical universities, she burns to prove herself; she must fight twice as hard - and be twice as cunning - if she wants to be considered worthy of immortality.

But after the shocking death of the university’s headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel, she instead finds herself at the heart of an impossible crime - one where the only evidence whispers of Lark's past. Matters are further complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own.

As the mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, becomes convinced that more sinister works are responsible for the murder, Lark must wrestle with both the university's dark secrets and her own as the life she's meticulously built for herself begins to unravel.

And as everything around her delves into chaos, Lark has no choice but to decide if the power she desires is truly worth the price.

Review

Sinister, sexy, and in utter command over its own allure. MOTHSBLOOD carves to the innards of dark academia, landing every strike amid questions of knowledge, prestige, and belonging. A triumph of a debut. ― Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings

An absolutely captivating and lusciously vicious tale, Jung's debut is a must-read for lovers of complex protagonists and dark academia fantasy. ― Kiersten White, No.1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Lucy Undying

MOTHSBLOOD is dark academia in its truest sense - a world balanced on the knife-edge between magical old-world opulence and the grime, rot, and actual bones hidden beneath it. With prose so beautiful I wanted to underline every single line, Lynn D. Jung crafts a world that feels vividly, tangibly real and characters that feel even realer: flawed, full of longing, and wonderfully complex. MOTHSBLOOD is a gorgeous, haunting debut, perfect for readers who loved Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. ― Bar Fridman-Tell, author of Honeysuckle

MOTHSBLOOD is literary alchemy - by turns a piercing interrogation of academia, a riveting mystery, and an intimate portrayal of the diasporic identity. In her brilliant debut, Jung claws off the varnish of prestigious institutions, laying bare the monstrous truths within, and the nuances of trauma, achievement, and survival. This is dark academia examined through its most illuminating and necessary lens. Jung is carving out a league of her own. ― K. M. Fajardo, author of Local Heavens

About the Author

Lynn D. Jung is a speculative fiction writer and educator born and raised in southern California. She has since lived in France, Thailand, and Costa Rica, and is currently based in Wisconsin. Lynn loves writing about complex worlds and the messy characters that inhabit them, and she spends her free time identifying native flora, knitting socks, exploring new cities, and making YouTube videos about writing.