A Kiss of Crimson Ash

Games of the Goddess, Book 1

De: Anuja Varghese

The first book in a new medieval India-inspired fantasy trilogy from a remarkable Canadian talent, A Kiss of Crimson Ash teems with rich storytelling, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety.

Taara, the pious newly crowned Queen of Abhaya, a resource-rich city-state, must marry whether she wishes to or not. Her betrothed is Garjan, Prince of Nandapore, a neighbouring city-state full of secrets and spellcasters. His forbidden love is Bhediya, a courtesan with magic in her blood. And then there is Roland, a thief by trade, attached to nothing and no one, who stumbles into a power-hungry king’s plot to unearth a weapon that has only lived in myth...until now.

Linked by desire, destiny, and a dangerous foe, these four must summon the power of an ancient goddess and chart a course through the empire’s brothels, temples, taverns, and palaces, forcing them to confront the darkest kinds of magic and the truest parts of themselves—before it’s too late.

Locked in a battle that will reshape the empire, they each must decide: What will they risk for a weapon worth dying for, and a love worth staying alive?

©2026 Anuja Varghese (P)2026 Viking

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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