Nocturne

In this gorgeous and haunting fantasy set in 1930s Chicago, a talented ballerina finds herself torn between her dreams and her desires when she's pursued by a secretive patron who may be more than he seems. 
 
Grace has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet company. The elegance of the dance seemed transcendent to an immigrant child of the working poor, and so, when she is orphaned, it is to the ballet that she flees. 
 
Years later, Grace is on the verge of becoming the company's new prima ballerina - though she is beginning to realise that achieving her long-held dream may not be the triumph she once envisioned. Then Grace attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa, and realises that the world may not be as small or constricted as she had come to fear. 
 
But who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master's secrets, she discovers that there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought.

In Nocturne, Wees robes the classic story of Beauty and the Beast in lush prose and infinite splendor. A fever dream of a novel, surreal and intricate, and enchanting in every way.

Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman

Absolutely captivating, Nocturne is a delicious and radiant treat of a novel. Prepare to be spellbound!

Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia series

An enchanting and lyrical fever dream bursting with dazzling prose and dark romance. Nocturne enthralled me.

Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows

Nocturne reads like a fable, a mythical tale full of magical power, but imbued with the very real and wonderfully graceful power of ballet . . . You will be enchanted!

Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

Richly imagined and heartbreakingly told, Nocturne is a lush gothic romance that will dance you dizzy.

Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

No one writes the way Alyssa Wees does, and Nocturne is her latest masterpiece. Like the ballet pulsing at its core, the story is both sinuous and quick on its feet, leading the reader through a labyrinth of emotions that range from the brightest passion to the darkest grief. A powerful, haunting read.

Joan He, New York Times bestselling author of Strike the Zither

A beautiful nightmare and a fairy tale all at once. Wees's lyrical prose swept me away in this unique story about the battle between love and despair. Nocturne is not to be missed.

Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of Damsel

Haunting and immersive - like a dream poured onto a page. Alyssa Wees has deftly spun a dark tale of romance, betrayal, and destiny. Nocturne kept me in its sinister grip from the first page to the last.

Alyssa Wees grew up writing stories starring her Beanie Babies, in between training in ballet and watching lots of Disney movies. She earned a BA in English from Creighton University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. She lives outside of Chicago with her family.

Alyssa Wees

A dark, lyrical fantasy blending the world of the Fae with the stories mothers tell to keep their daughters safe - and the consequences of disregarding the truth, no matter how sinister. 
 
Gemma lives with her mother in an isolated antique shop in Michigan, near a small patch of woods that conceals an enchanted gateway to fairyland. She knows she's not supposed to go into the woods - her mother Virginia has warned her multiple times about the monsters that lurk there - and yet defiantly, curiously, she goes anyway. 
 
Virginia understands her daughter's defiance. She knows the lure of the woods all too well. Her own mother warned her about the monsters that resided there, and she also did not listen. Until a witch cursed her true love, Ash - Gemma's father - into the form of a beast in the days before Gemma's birth. And if Virginia cannot break the curse before her daughter turns fifteen, Ash will eat Virginia's heart and Gemma will belong to the witch. So Virginia will do whatever she can to protect her daughter - even if it means stealing Gemma's memories away. 
 
But everything changes when Gemma inadvertently gets too close to the truth, and the witch steals Virginia away instead. Now it is up to Gemma to venture deep into Fae lands to try and rescue her mother and break the curse. 
 
Told in alternating viewpoints between Gemma and Virginia, this lyrical novel is not only a tale of a girl's fantastical quest through a darkly magical fairyland, but also an examination of the complex bonds of love and resentment that lie between parents and their children.

Alyssa Wees

Books by Alyssa Wees

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter