These Vile Hearts
A delightfully wicked, fizzy debut romantasy–an enemies to lovers tale about a desperate mortal woman and a cursed fae prince
Maddox Sinclair has run out of options. No job means no health insurance —a death sentence for a type one diabetic like herself. She flees to the forest to make a desperate deal with a dryad queen: kill the Redwood King and be cured of the illness that threatens her life.
In the redwood treetops, Prince Castor, is cursed– anyone who loves him is doomed to die. Like Maddox, he has made an equally unwise pact with his brother, the Redwood King: get a mortal to fall in love with him by solstice and be free of his curse forever.
When Maddox mistakes Castor for the king, sparks fly and troubles ensue. Each must decide what is more important—survival and freedom, or the love they (kind of, almost) feel in their traitorous, vile hearts.
Darkly funny and brimming with magic, These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette manages to be both wicked and warm, beguiling and moving—a richly woven story of survival and fate.
Additional information
| Genre | Contemporary, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Romantasy, Speculative |
|---|---|
| Age | Adult |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House |
| Imprint | Putnam |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format(s) | Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover |
| Author | Melody Robinette |
| Release Date | 11 August 2026 |
| Release Month | August Releases |
| Author Identity | Chronic Illness, Disabled, LGBTQIA+ |
| Content Rep | Bisexuality, Chronic Illness, Disability, LGBTQIA+ |
About the Author
Melody Robinette is a speculative fiction author with a love of all things gothic and macabre. Born and raised in Texas, she now lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their two cats. When she isn’t reading, writing, or checking her blood sugar app, she can be found playing D&D, binge-watching Love Island, or fawning over her feline son Edgar Allan Poe Tato.
