The Language of Rust and Roses: A Magical Steampunk Romantasy

In a cathedral of weeping iron and wilting magic, can an exiled floriographer and a reclusive engineer decode the language of their own guarded hearts?Emmaline Hawthorne was once London's most sought-after botanical translator-until she uncovered a scandal hidden in a bridal bouquet and was cast out of polite society. Blacklisted and with nowhere left to turn, she accepts a desperate commission at Ironwood Estate, an isolated countryside manor housing a dying architectural wonder: a multi-level glasshouse driven by Victorian steam and ancient, quiet magic.Her employer is Ambrose Whitlock: gruff, broad-shouldered, and perpetually covered in soot. Haunted by the memory of his late mother, Ambrose trusts pressure valves, blueprints, and cold iron far more than he trusts people-or the temperamental flora he is desperately trying to keep alive. He believes grease and pressure can solve anything; Emmaline knows the roots are crying out for something deeper.When a series of mechanical failures threatens to destroy the conservatory, Emmaline uncovers a chilling truth: the breakdowns are deliberate. Tangled within the shattered gears and hissing valves are spiteful floral arrangements that leave real, dangerous curses in their wake-acidic rain, treacherous mirages, and unexplainable frost.To save the estate's miraculous, silver-blooming Moonpetal before the next full moon, Emmaline and Ambrose must join forces. But working side by side in the sweltering, subterranean heat of the boiler room sparks an attraction neither can deny. As the saboteur closes in, they must learn to harmonize brass and blossom before Ironwood's beating heart goes cold forever.