Ascension by Brittany Engstrand

If you die in your dreams, do you die in reality? When Maaya Hasan is devoured by her late grandmother’s mirror, she learns a powerful shadow demon is after her soul. To remain alive, she’s forced to ally with her enemy’s heir—a flirty, cursed assassin who hides the truth about his broken past. With Ares’s help, she must collect the souls of five dead gods in order to return home. Throughout their journey, Maaya struggles to survive encounters with merciless demons, spirits, and otherworldly creatures like seer plants, heart-stealing vultures, and a demon of illusions… and to resist her desire for Ares, despite his alluring, incessant attempts to charm her. As secrets are exposed and a dark power stirs within her, Maaya learns her soul is not the only life at stake. She must sacrifice the love she couldn’t help but become entangled in, or risk the lives of innocents across the universe. For all gods covet sacrifice.

New Adult • Horror/Paranormal Creatures • Fantasy/Portal • Fantasy/Dark • Romance/Fantasy • Diversity Representation/Mental Health/Own Voices

Content Warning: Adult language Graphic sexual content Blood/Gore Bodies/corpses Descriptions of horrific images Murder Attempted sexual assault (discussed/description) Graphic eye trauma Descriptions of torture Parental abuse Discussed mental abuse Suicidal ideation Minor alcohol use Trauma bonding Themes of grief and death Death of a child, briefly described