Chrysalis and Requiem by Quinton Li

At Adraredon Academy, fervent passion, contemporary companionship, and forbidden desires intertwine with tall gothic spires, ancient halls, and centuries of history. Veaer Rosell can't imagine a better place to satiate her craving for beauty, knowledge, and art. Yet senior year shatters her illusion of tranquillity and civil intellect when she witnesses the headmaster's daughter murder another student and is confronted by an unthinkable choice: avenging her fallen peer or taking this secret to the grave, one way or another. But fate laughs at Veaer's expense when the headmaster's daughter requests her aid. Driven by an all-consuming thirst for answers, Veaer becomes an untimely partner in solving a murder they both know the answer to, unaware of the intricacies that come with learning the bigger picture and playing with death. Chrysalis & Requiem is a haunting thriller of tragic obsession and relentless grief, weaving two young, queer women in a spiral of clandestine violence and illicit love.

New Adult • Diversity Representation/Neurodiversity/Own Voices • Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense/Supernatural and Paranormal • Fantasy/Cozy, Low, Mundane, and Slice of Life • Horror/Supernatural and Occult • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+/Own Voices

Content Warning: This book contains references and themes to alcohol/drug use, blood, confrontation to abuser, death, emotional abuse, escalating violence, gaslighting/manipulation, gore, lifechanging injury, murder, corpses, nightmares/visions about traumatic events, panic attacks, paranormal/occult content, PTSD, self-harm, sexual content, suicide ideation, trauma.