The Ordeals

Rachel Greenlaw

$32.99

Paperback

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English

HQ
30 December 2025

Adventure; Romance; Fiction: special features; Romantasy; Romantasy

Series: Killmarth Trials

A Waterstones' Best Romantasy Book of 2025'A rich romantasy ideal for fans of dark academia' The Mirror

'The magic system is captivating, and the ending will leave you yearning for the second book' The Express

'Sizzling and addictive romantasy' Sunday Post

'I absolutely treasured it from beginning to end' Cecelia Ahern, Sunday Times Number One bestseller on The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells

Old Magic. New power. A contest to die for.
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Sophia DeWinter has been bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector since he exacted a blood bond from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she grabs it as her only chance to break free.

Each hopeful must prove their worth by competing in brutal and deadly challenges – the Ordeals. And that’s just the beginning, because hopefuls are also being viciously picked off one-by-one. To survive, Sophia could team up with another challenger. Perhaps the powerful wielder Alden Locke. But how to identify an ally from a rival? Or even a murderer?

In her haste to escape the Collector's power over her, has Sophia risked everything only to run from the flames and into the fire?

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Scholomance series!' Reader review
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'Combines captivating world building, a seriously twisty plot, and a steamy romance… impossible to put down' Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones

'Deliciously dark with high stakes and a sizzling hot romance, The Ordeals is not to be missed!’ Tessonja Odette, author of A Rivalry of Hearts

Readers ADORE The Ordeals:

'Mysterious, chilling, and utterly addictive' Reader review,
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'This completely swept me away. The world-building is absolutely stunning' Reader review,
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'Exciting and unique, quick paced and kept you guessing throughout' Reader review,
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'I could not put down and devoured in one sitting. I absolutely recommend this book' Reader review,
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'A quite creepy atmosphere and… Buffy-esque vampire slaying into the mix' Reader review,
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PRAISE FOR RACHEL GREENLAW:

'It is an absolute masterpiece' Frost magazine

'Completely captures the imagination' Muddy Stilettos

'The characters are so raw and relatable and the mystery so intriguing that I hated slipping out of this magical world and back to reality.' Kate Robb, author of This Spells Love

By: Rachel Greenlaw
Imprint: HQ
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 34mm
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9780008741266
ISBN 10: 0008741263
Series: Killmarth Trials
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 30 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rachel Greenlaw studied English with Creative Writing at Falmouth University before moving to an island in the Atlantic, where she lives with her husband and two children. The Compass and Blade trilogy is her first YA fiction series. Rachel's first novel for adults, One Christmas Morning was shortlisted for The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award 2024. Her second, The Woodsmoke Women's Books of Spells featured on Waterstones' Best Romantasy Books of 2024.