Where the Bones Took Root

by Juniper Klein

Four times, Jayde has tried to resurrect Soleste, the girl she loved, with forbidden magic. Four times, she’s failed—and she’s convinced it’s because she’s missing the secret ingredient: the life of Soleste’s murderer.

When an alchemist’s son named Barrick catches her in the wake of her latest failure, he offers her a choice: he can expose her crimes, or she can help him infiltrate the alchemy cult she’s certain is hiding Soleste’s killer. Desperate, Jayde agrees—and binds him to her side with a magical oath.

But as Jayde and Barrick deceive their way through the cult’s hierarchy, her hunt for Soleste’s killer unearths buried truths. Soleste may have been keeping secrets of her own, and Jayde’s growing feelings for Barrick can no longer be explained by the magic that binds them.

The closer Jayde gets to the truth, the more it threatens everything she believed—about Soleste, the night she died, and her enemy-turned-accomplice.

To bring Soleste back, Jayde will have to confront her grief and decide how far she’s willing to go for the girl she loved… and whether it’s worth sacrificing the boy who accepts every dark piece of her.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

400 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Juniper Klein writes YA Fantasy and Romantasy filled with moody magic, flawed characters, and sharp banter. Her debut novel, Where the Bones Took Root, delves into grief, memory, and the dangerous things we do for love.

A Texas A&M graduate and former engineer, she brings a love of structure to stories that thrive on emotional intensity. Juniper lives in Houston, Texas with her partner and their dog.