Harrowmark

by Deva Fagan

In a shattered, fading world, the last vestiges of a once-revered order are all that stand against the return of an insidious evil

With the depth of Antonia Hodgson’s The Raven Scholar and the rugged found family of Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils, this lush dark fantasy urges us to confront the monster within

The world is a broken one, held together only by magical portals and the Vespers, an ancient order clinging to its fight against the darkness. The Vespers are noble. They are gifted. They are pure. Or are they?

Three new recruits are poised to learn the unholy truth hiding behind the legends.

Princess Sennia is sick of political games. She longs for the simple, clear life of a Vesper, battling the wraiths that menace her crumbling world. But she soon discovers that the order, much like the court she left behind, is guarding dangerous secrets.

Ezerye, an idealistic scholar, has always believed the only true evil is ignorance: no harm could ever come of an honest search for knowledge. That conviction is tested when a mysterious presence begins to speak to her from within the portals, and Ezerye must decide just how far she’s willing to go for answers.

Jaskin has spent his entire life waiting to be consumed by his monstrous brother’s magic. Desperate for sanctuary, he casts himself upon the mercy of the Vespers—and gets far more than he bargained for. Flush with newfound powers, Jaskin finally has the chance to teach his dear twin what it feels like to be hunted.

In a world of perilous faith and unthinkable sacrifice, a princess, a scholar, and a runaway mage must join together and find the strength to confront the monsters without and within.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Adult

Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 19, 2027

About the author

For updates on my books please sign up for my newsletter: https://devafagan.com/newsletter/

I write fantasy and science fiction for readers of all ages. I live in Maine with my husband and our dog. When I'm not writing I spend my time reading, playing video games, doing geometry, and drinking copious amounts of tea.

NOTE: My comments on books I've read are not meant to be critical reviews, but are just my own reactions. I don't generally use stars, but I do occasionally mark a book with five stars if it's one that feels like it will become a long-term favorite, because it's exactly my sort of book, and caters to my specific tastes as a reader. There are plenty of books I read and really admire that are clearly excellent books, but which are not so exactly "for me" that I give them five stars. I will unabashedly stop reading books I really don't care for, so if a book is on my read list at all it means I liked it enough to finish it.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This was a good title and the atmosphere is almost as promised with a Dragon Age or Baldur's Gate feel. The characters are fairly interesting with a good mix of personalities and motivations. I feel like the world building and plot development could have been worked out a little more but it wasn't a bad read. The ending does leave it expecting another novel and I would certainly be interested in reading it.

[takeeveryshot]

i wish this was better BUT i do love dragon age

[ʚɞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for providing this ARC! All opinions expressed are my own.

When I first applied for an ARC of Harrowmark on NetGalley, it was by random selection. I didn’t know who Deva Fagan was, and I didn’t bother to understand the description of the book. All I’d thought was, “woah, pretty cover. I like.” It was only after I’d picked up the approved ARC that I realized I’d just hit the jackpot.

Miss Fagan, I was unaware that I was in the presence of greatness. I apologize for my initial insouciance toward your book.

Harrowmark is a PHENOMENAL fantasy set in a broken world absolutely dripping with lore. This is exactly the kind of story I love, featuring otherworldly wraiths that could strike at any minute, the Vespers who are tasked to handle them, and an intricate system that connects them to paint a picture suggesting a far darker truth. This story raises questions about good and evil, faith and power, and what people are willing to sacrifice for what they believe is right.

The book follows the perspectives of three main characters — Ezerye, a disgraced Schola; Sennia, a princess-turned-knight; and Jaskin, a mage on the run. Though they came from completely different places, their stories were intertwined long before they got to meet each other as newly-turned Vespers. Watching their paths slowly converge was incredible!

We also get to interact with so many other memorable characters—Rax, Flymark, Cypria, Valan, Wyelle, Rhode and Tiecelin. Every one of them has a unique personality, with varying strengths, weaknesses and flaws that, even if it could be annoying or illogical given the circumstances, I couldn’t bring myself to hate them for. I was impressed by how the author managed to make them so clearly distinct in their dialogue and mannerisms. Their relationship gives this story so much life, and I can’t wait to meet them again.

Plot-wise, Harrowmark is filled with twists, morally gray situations, a few dark elements, and just a dash of swoon-worthy romance. As the story progressed, I was sometimes unsure who I could trust. Every character is multifaceted, and every choice is made with deliberate caution. The story also covers significant amounts of substantial lore about the world it’s set in, that somehow, the author manages to fit into one book—without making the pacing feel rushed or sluggish.

By the end of it, Harrowmark had completely caught me in its grasp. It’s imaginative, passionate and wonderfully extraordinary. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I wouldn’t be forgetting these characters anytime soon.

I wish all the best for this book, and sincerely hope it gains enough traction for loads of amazing fanworks and special editions. I cannot wait to see how the characters are interpreted by artists!

For anyone looking for a great read that masterfully blends the found-family dynamics of Six of Crows and the worldbuilding of Mistborn, this is most definitely the book for you.

[Shirin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!
What a phenomenal book!! I cannot possibly be more impressed by this author! The writing is so engaging and the characters so vivid. We are introduced to a cast of characters, each with their own flaws and histories. Each one is involved deeply with the fate of this world and only through their collaboration are they able to discover the ultimate secret.

Ezeyre, the scholar, is so brilliant it hurts and many times she ends up disregarding the feelings of others to prioritize her research. Throughout this book she is able to discover more about herself and is the brilliant mind that puts so many pieces together. She is such a delight to read and reminds me heavily of the fmcs in "The Raven Scholar' and 'Blood Over Bright Haven'.

Sennia is a princess whose true wish is to give back to her people and be helpful. She is constantly trying to be of service to others and is truly selfless. She, too, has glaring flaws and I find that really refreshing in a 'heroic' character.

Jaskin is one of my favorite characters. He is destined to be drained of his powers for his brother and will not stand by and let this happen. So, he escapes and is able to obtain the power he needs to escape his fate, but at what cost?

These are the POVS we follow throughout the book but we interact with so many other beloved characters - Rhode, Rax, Tiecelin, Wyelle, Valan, Cypria, and Flymark. Each person has such a vivid personality and I'm so impressed with how each one has their own strengths and weaknesses but it doesn't make me vehemently despise anyone - just understand them more.

This book covers so many plot points and uncovers so much research, and I cannot overstate just how incredible it is that this author is able to fit such a spanning plot in just one book and make the pacing just right. I cannot recommend this book enough!!

[Rudi McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, I didn't expect to get this emotionally invested in Harrowmark, but here we are.

This is the kind of dark fantasy I absolutely love—an eerie, broken world, dangerous magic, secrets hiding behind supposedly noble institutions, and characters who are far more complicated than they first appear.

The worldbuilding was one of my favorite parts. The magical portals, wraiths, and the Vespers created this unsettling atmosphere where you never quite know what is waiting around the corner. I also loved the questions the story raises about good and evil, faith, power, and what people are willing to sacrifice for what they believe is right.

But the characters really made this book for me. Sennia, Ezerye, and Jaskin each come from completely different places, and watching their paths come together was fantastic. Their personalities and motivations felt distinct, and the growing found-family dynamic gave the story so much heart.

There are twists, moral gray areas, dark magic, a little horror, romance, humor, and plenty of moments where I genuinely wasn't sure who I could trust.

And that found family? YES. Give me a group of complicated misfits trying to survive a terrifying world together and I'm in.

Harrowmark felt like the kind of fantasy adventure that completely pulls you into its world and makes you care about the people fighting to survive it.

Dark, imaginative, emotional, and wonderfully strange. Five stars from me. 🖤✨

[Nick Wilford · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Harrowmark is an engaging, briskly written fantasy adventure I enjoyed from beginning to end. I knew nothing about the author beforehand but was taken by the cover and the premise - a world of heroes, deadly wraiths, shifting alliances and betrayals. Those who hold the power in this world definitely come off as the bad guys and it's up to a ragtag bunch of assembled "Vespers" to fight off incursions from wraiths while avoiding destroying entire regions. This motley crew includes scholars, convicted killers, performers, and members of royalty with a grudge against their relatives. The POV shifts from chapter to chapter, moving from one character to another. This isn't jarring but keeps the momentum of the book going. I have to say, I liked all the characters - even the ones I wasn't meant to like were interesting - but I didn't fall in love with any of them, meaning I was invested and engaged with the ideas and the worldbuilding but it didn't feel essential to devour the book in one sitting. I liked Ezerye, her obsessiveness and need to analyse and take notes on everything could be related to by any writer. Flymark was a little irritating, but I warmed to him by the end, and Sennia was also a good character as a hero with something to prove. The world building was dense, and a lot of work clearly went into it, which I admire. This feels like the first part of a series so I'm interested to see where the author goes from here. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy.

[Michelle Fecio · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I wouldn't say anything in this book was particularly ground-breaking or surprising, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I found myself getting immersed in the world and the characters in a way that is rare for me these days. The world building was so well-developed and while I think some aspects could have been introduced in a clearer manner (the way that some of the information about the cleavings and the history of the world as well as some entities/concepts like the Sorcannon were introduced without any context left me briefly uncertain what characters were talking about in some of the early chapters due to a bit of a clunky attempt to trickle information to the reader in a natural way), I do appreciate that infodumping wasn't used as the primary means of relaying the world-building and that concepts and characters were allowed space to breathe and develop. I absolutely adored the whole concept of the Vespers and the found-family nature of their relationships with each other, and although most of the twists were fairly predictable, that lack of surprise didn't diminish any of the enjoyment for me. The characters themselves were varied and multi-dimensional, and while they're weren't all necessarily likeable (Ezerye didn't stop being insufferable to me until about halfway through), they were all interesting.

Thank you to DAW for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Amanda · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC!

Once I hit a certain point in this book, I genuinely had to force myself to put it down so I could get up at a reasonable hour. It hits a LOT of the things I like in a book -- deep worldbuilding, interesting characters who get to bounce off of each other in fun ways, occasional action that sucks me in, casually queer characters.

I am ALSO deeply fond of characters that are little nerds. Shout out to Ezerye for being an acerbic nerd, and to her interests and skills being very relevant to the plot. The note about this being for fans of Dragon Age WAS spot on for me, and I have to point that out because it did kind of make me see the twists coming, but I do think it was pretty telegraphed even without me having that floating in the back of my head. Regardless, the Vespers are cool, I felt that the moral concerns and entanglements were suitably serious AND treated seriously -- no clear black-and-white choices, only less bad options and the uncertainty that you could even justify the less bad option you had to take to yourself.

Lots of fun. I'll be looking forward to future books in this series and by this author.

[Across Pages Unknown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for offering me a chance to read and review this book in advance of publishing.

Actual score - 3.5/5

Haunting - or perhaps harrowing? - and ephereal, Harrowmark is a tale of injustice and introspection. It follows three main characters through their disillusion with their world and society as they battle themselves and the forces of nature around them. I found myself absorbed in the world and the characters within it. The stakes were high, and developing relationships and friendships felt both rewarding and meaningful. Fans of Attack on Titan will enjoy this novel, as the basic setup and premise is very similar between the two. The overall plot was fairly predictable, but by no means was it not enjoyable. I enjoyed my time with these characters and their world. I look forward to reading the second installment and seeing where we go from here.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowmark has all the marks for richly developed high fantasy. The story follows three new recruits into "The Vespers" who fight the wraiths and through Princess Sennia, scholarly Ezerye, and runaway Jaskin we see the costs of their choice. The new class of recruits each enter service with different motivations but they find unity, and even found family in their shared experience. The world-building and magic system is quite good and the characters are such a varied lot that, I dare say, just about anyone can find someone to like or be irked by enough to follow their adventure. The narrative is paced well and transitions nicely between POVs. Overall, this seems like an interesting read for anyone looking for a slightly dark take on high fantasy with a motley crew of heroes.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, DAW) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

[Thye DeForest · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, this was a great fantasy read with incredibly unique worldbuilding, some really compelling characters and a tone that reminded me of Vox Machina. I was so fascinated by all of the worldbuilding and the interpersonal relationships and I wish we had gotten to spend more time in the world. It feels like there will be a second book, which I'll definitely read, but some atmospheric moments felt rushed and emotional punches weren't quite punchy enough. I just wish the book was longer and the characters got to spend more time together to really build that found family dynamic. Before I say this, I do want to make it clear that I mostly enjoyed this book, BUT it did also commit one of my pet peeves which is when I'm able to guess the twist before the "genius" character. But maybe I'm just...even more of a genius. A fun fantasy that feels like Vox Machina meets Blood Over Bright Haven. 3.75/5 stars

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Harrowmark is a dark fantasy following three main characters as they navigate a shattered world filled with mystery, politics, and a magic. The books greatest strength is in the world building , which I thought was really interesting with the use of magic portals as well as the dark undertones that exists within the institutions that manage the world. The POV shifts felt smooth and didn’t interrupt the flow of the narrative. My main criticism would be that the plot felt a little predictable sometimes, but it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. If you are a fan of world building and heavy fantasy this is the book for you.

[Jeremy Reppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early in the story, the author kills the character (Tiecelin) who, to that point, seemed most interesting, making me wonder how much I would like the rest of the story. However, the author makes up for her choice with the broader story. She assembles an unlikely cast of “heroes” in Ezerye, Sennia, Jaskin, Flymark, and Rax. A stubborn scholar whose single-minded focus makes her socially inept; a princess known for her brawn/combat skills; the “lesser” twin son of the chief mage; the jokester using humor to hide his pain; and a vengeful brother who hates mages. As Vespers, their role is to kill wraiths. However, their lives are a lot more complicated than that, as the people in power are hiding some rather significant secrets which could alter the fate of civilization.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harrowmark was a mildly frustrating reading experience. To expand, I LOVED the concept. I loved the setting, I actually really liked the characters, I thought the BONES of this story were so good. I just found something.... lacking. I was so interested in the ideas in this book so I kept reading but something was not engaging or capturing. I don't think anything surprised me at any point in the plot, so maybe the issue was that the ideas didn't seem unique to me? I did finish the book so I need to stress that it was a perfectly acceptable 3 stars, nothing terrible, just nothing groundbreaking.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book. The setting, magic and characters were high on my list of things I love about fantasy books. I was intrigued with one of the tags for this book being LGBTQIA+ as I am trying to venture out of my typical reading. Finding out the twists in the book was definitely keeping the storyline alive for me. The names of the characters and places made it challenging to follow at times especially in the beginning. Deva Fagan, I would love to try another one of your books! Thank you

[MiloBiblio · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

I was initially drawn to this book by its intriguing premise and the promise of a richly imagined dark fantasy world. Unfortunately, despite my interest in the concept, I struggled to actually keep reading the book.

I think the pace was just too slow for me. Which isn’t a criticism of the author at all, if anything it’s a criticism of my squirrel like attention span.

I do see how someone else could love this book though. It was atmospheric and I knew there was more to the world waiting to be discovered, I just didn’t have the patience to uncover it.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhhh I love this book!

This is the blurb I just sent off after devouring my e-ARC:

“A gorgeously rich and complex adventure, full of magical mysteries, dry humor, fascinating worldbuilding, heartbreaking romance, and the kind of found family that might just save everything. There’s a whole world in this book, and I loved every bit of it!”

I cannot wait to hold my preordered hardcover copy of the published book!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Easily one of my top 3 reads of 2026. The only downside to this book is that it isn’t released until January, which means I have to wait until 2027 to get my hands on a physical copy.

Harrowmark brings us to a world on the verge of destruction. Where multiple smaller worlds are at risk of, or have already fallen victim to, a fate possibly worse than death. On the other side of reality, where the world’s edges waver and dissolve and flake away, await beings created by a hunger that cannot be calmed without sacrifice.

While there were a few parts nearer to the end that felt like they moved a little fast, Harrowmark was a solid read, and I plan to check out more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

[maria p · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book checked all the boxes for me. The world-building and plot were so interesting and well done and the magic system was uniquely crafted. I could really connect with all the characters, their backgrounds were so different, yet they fit together so well.
I really liked the ending, it was probably my favorite part of the book

[Venneh · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This is a pretty solid debut fantasy novel. We get a post apocalyptic-ish setting, a world that's supposedly being held together by a magical order (but is it really??), a scholar, a princess, and a young man who ends up finding unexpected powers among the Vespers. This was largely a predictable book for me, in that I could tell where a lot of the beats that were introduced were going to end up, and I honestly don't remember a lot about the characters, but it's still a relatively solid read.