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A Kiss of Crimson Ash

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Contributors

By Anuja Varghese

Formats and Prices

On Sale
May 26, 2026
Page Count
400 pages
Publisher
Orbit
ISBN-13
9780316591959

Price

$9.99

Format

  1. Audiobook Download (Unabridged)
  2. Trade Paperback

Format:

  1. ebook $9.99
  2. Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $31.99
  3. Trade Paperback $19.99

Buy from Other Retailers:

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Inspired by medieval India’s most epic love stories, this debut Romantasy blends rich storytelling, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety. Perfect for fans of Nisha J. Tuli and Tasha Suri.

Nandapore is a city of secrets and spellcasters where seduction reigns and a power-hungry king is never satisfied, plotting to unleash a weapon that has only lived in myth… until now.

To stop him, an ancient goddess seeks out a newly crowned queen, a heartsick prince, a common thief, and a courtesan with magic in her blood. Together, they chart a course through brothels, temples, taverns, and palaces, setting a trap for the empire’s most powerful men.

Linked by desire, destiny, and a dangerous foe, they each must decide…

What will they risk for a weapon worth dying for, and a love worth staying alive?

Genre:

  • Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  • Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Romance

Series:

  • Games of the Goddess

  • “Two words: beautiful chaos. And I’m here for every second of it! A Kiss of Crimson Ash is the ultimate thrilling, clever, and swoony romantasy, following the epic journey of characters who feel as real as the rich and vibrant world that they move through. Every page left me highly entertained and very much impressed. Anuja Varghese is an incredible storyteller with a knack for punching you right in the heart.”
    Thea Guanzon, New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars
  • "A seductive and magical romantasy from a wonderful new voice - a truly vibrant epic and erotic read.”
    Tasha Suri, bestselling author of The Isle in the Silver Sea
  • "Set in a lush, dazzling world reminiscent of traditional epics, A Kiss of Crimson Ash combines political intrigue, complex relationships, and dangerous magic to craft an extraordinary tale about the power of love. Varghese is a stellar new voice in romantasy!"
    Amy Leow, author of The Scarlet Throne
  • "Full of compelling characters, enticing magic, and simmering sensuality, A Kiss of Crimson Ash is a brilliant new addition to the realm of Indian fantasy."
    Tara Sim, author of The City of Dusk
  • "I loved getting tangled in this lush and twisty braid of magic, intrigue and desire. Varghese breathes new, and spicy, life into epic fantasy."
    Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer
  • "A story of love, betrayal and divine fury that grips cities and kingdoms across a great empire, A Kiss of Crimson Ash is a finely balanced book, by parts epic in scale and alluringly intimate, filled with heat and magic."
    Molly O'Neill, author of Greenteeth
  • "A Kiss of Crimson Ash lures you close with a story as sleek and dangerous as a serpent's coils, then intoxicates you with vibrant characters and sensual beauty. A smoldering debut!"
    Lyra Selene, author of A Feather So Black
  • "A sizzling read that kept me up half the night buried in its pages. Varghese cleverly twists elemental magic through vitally relevant social issues and sprinkles it with delicious queer spice. The intricately lush world building carried me away until I could feel the sand between my toes and taste the yearning on the air with the incoming monsoon!"
    Katharine J. Adams, author of Tonight, I Burn

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Anuja Varghese (Photo Credit: Jesse Valvasori)

Anuja Varghese

About the Author

Anuja Varghese writes literary fiction, SFF, and erotica/romance— and combinations of all three—where women of color get leading roles! Her work has been featured in many literary magazines and anthologies, including Best Women’s Erotica Volume 6 (Cleis Press, 2020), When Other People Saw Us, They Saw the Dead, (Haunt Press, 2022), Queer Little Nightmares (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022), and Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food (Dundurn Press, 2024). Her short story collection titled Chrysalis (House of Anansi, 2023), explores South Asian diaspora experience through a queer, feminist, speculative lens. In 2023, Chrysalis won the Writer’s Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. In 2024, it was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Fiction. Anuja lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her partner, two kids, and two cats.

Learn more about this author

Games of the Goddess

A Kiss of Crimson Ash
A Kiss of Crimson Ash
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