A Third Kind of Madness by Christiane Knight

When Denny isn’t working as a photographer, they spend their time at the local coffee shop mooning over one of the regulars, the mysterious and beautiful Peri. No one’s more surprised than Denny when she asks them out on a date. What happens that night throws the couple into a world where nothing is as it appears and everyone wants to get their hands on Peri and her powers to inspire artists – especially Joolie, the controlling and egotistical leader of Denny’s art collective. If that wasn’t enough, the powerful, capricious water elementals known as Nyxen have inexplicably taken an interest in Denny. They warn that Peri’s gifts bring nothing but trouble to those around her. It’s hard to argue with them when the magic starts to go wrong; paintings greedily come alive with grasping tentacles, an obsessed ex-lover returns to threaten the couple, and Denny begins to wonder if their grip on reality is beginning to slip…

Adult • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+ • Diversity Representation/Mental Health • Fantasy/Contemporary • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+/Own Voices

Length: 119,491 words (about 341 pages)

Content Warning: Violence, death, anxiety/panic attacks, drowning, injury, kidnapping/abduction, abuse, obsession, manipulation

Reviewed by JorahMoss on 2025-12-23T10:22:21Z: