The Lies We Conjure

While working at Ren Fest in a small Colorado town, sisters Ruby and Wren Jourdain—17 and 16, respectively— are approached by a mysterious elderly woman. She offers them a cash reward to impersonate her grandchildren, who live abroad, at a private dinner hosted by Ursula Hegemony in the Hegemony Manor. Eager to peek into the beautiful gothic venue, the sisters agree, and don expensive evening wear and rabbit-foot bracelets to become Lavinia and Kaysa Blackgate. But when the host is murdered, Ruby and Wren discover that this was no ordinary gathering of reclusive millionaires: the Hegemonies are leaders of a secret witch society, and Ursula’s untimely demise has magically trapped all the guests in the estate until her killer is found. The siblings struggle to navigate the ensuing power struggle while maintaining their false identities, a task made more challenging by the scrutiny of distractingly attractive heirs Auden and Evander Hegemony. Ruby and Auden’s alternating POVs drive this propulsive drama, giving tantalizing insight into contrasting pieces of the puzzle and the complicated web of relationships between the devious and compellingly wrought cast. Most characters read as white; Evander is described as having “warm brown skin.” Ages 13–up. (Sept.)