“A great and mysterious event occurred. Religious talisman came fluttering down out of the empty sky. Men dressed as women. Women dressed as men. The town’s people dancing through the village. The villagers cavorting in towns. Whole populations drunk. Orgiastic behavior in the streets and paper talismans falling from the Heavens, like cherry blossoms in the wind. The world was coming to an end. A new one was apparent.” ~ Iwakura Tomomi.                                                                                                                  

    Western winds blow revolution across Japan as Emperor Meiji seeks to modernize his country. The changes, the whispers of siege and war in retaliation, sweep over Ono Aia. Her small world, wound and bound like the kimono around her body, revolves around the geishas she serves and the geisha she hopes to be.

     But upheaval cannot be stopped. Aia is flung into the arms of a swordsman with obsidian eyes and a blade that can cut more than mortal flesh. His name is Nen.

        At his side, not only does Aia learn of a mythical realm beyond human comprehension, she learns where her heart may truly lie. Perhaps it is not in the study and perfection of the geisha tradition. Perhaps, it beside a man larger than life. His size terrifies and thrills her. His black eyes dazzle and delight her.

     But the spirits of Japanese lore could destroy man’s reality. Can the fates of the mortal and fantastical world remain in balance? Or will Aia find her heart only to lose it in the uproar?

 Lose yourself in the sweep of this historical fantasy romance from author Bree M. Lewandowski!