Kaylie Smith (she/they) is a #1 New York Times bestselling writer and lover of all things fantasy. They grew up in Louisiana where they frequently haunted bookstores and practiced her craft. After college she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an author, but when she isn't writing or reading, she can be found at home with her menagerie of animals, fussing over their houseplants, or annoying people about astrology.
""Easily one of my favorite reads this year! Make it Caraval, but for grown-ups, where everything is darker, bloodier, spicier, and full of twists and turns. Kaylie Smith has created an absolute page-turner with their inventive games, creepy setting, and a swoony love interest that will gladly have you offering up the key to your heart.""--Nisha J. Tuli, bestselling author of Trial of the Sun Queen ""Sinister, seductive, and delightfully dangerous. Straight off the streets of the Big Easy, readers will be craving more with every brilliantly crafted level in this game of secrets and forbidden desires. PHANTASMA is the perfect concoction of dark opulence, sizzling hot romance, and unforgiving gore.""--Alexis Menard, author of House of Bane and Blood ""Wickedly delightful and addictively delicious, Kaylie Smith's PHANTASMA is the decadent feast that every romantasy lover dreams of. Dark magic, fraught danger, exhilarating trials and a simmering-hot romance abound within its pages. Even long after closing the book, readers will be haunted by the tenacity of headstrong Ophelia and her sinfully gorgeous Phantom. And there's a cat!""--Sophie Kim, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The God and the Gumiho Spellbinding, suspenseful, and spicy, PHANTASMA is a darkly romantic romp that will take your breath away. Smith has deftly woven the nine levels of hell into a tale that's as swoon-worthy as it is bloody, and readers will love following Ophelia through a game of wit and nightmares. Combined with thoughtful neurodivergent rep and twists I didn't see coming, this is a story that kept me reading long into the night!--M. K. Lobb, author of the Seven Faceless Saints duology