The Library of Fates

Harrison (The Midnight Club) threads tropes of dark academia, witchcraft, and second-chance romance throughout her spellbinding latest. Eleanor Dennet, a new librarian at Harvard University’s Library of Fates, is adrift following the mysterious death of her predecessor and mentor, Odile Vernet. When Odile’s son, Daniel, shows up on campus, Eleanor is surprised that he doesn’t remember they were classmates and lovers there decades earlier. The two met in Odile’s seminar in 1995, where they learned of the Book of Dark Nights, written centuries ago by a French witch. In a parallel narrative, the students discover the book’s magical powers, including its ability to offer predictions of the future in the reader’s own handwriting, which only the reader can see. Harrison also shows how the Library of Fates could magically match readers with the perfect book. Now, Daniel and Eleanor discover the Book of Dark Nights is missing from the library, and they must recover it or risk losing the library’s special qualities. As Daniel gradually remembers his time with Eleanor, the pair rekindle their romance and unearth clues about the missing book. Harrison keeps the reader guessing with her taut mystery plot, which builds to wild revelations about the depth of the book’s power. Readers will be riveted. Agent: Jessica Sinsheimer, Context Literary. (Dec.)