by: Kamilah Cole
Series: Wicked Endeavors
Genre: YA Romantic Fantasy
Release Date: September 8, 2026
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us and Powerless, this high stakes romantasy follows a vengeful teen who cons her way into an elite society of tyrannical witches. But her warring feelings for two people—an enemy prince and her childhood friend—could ruin everything.
Caya was once the ward of Coventry’s royal family…until they were killed by the three witch Houses that now rule the peninsula.
Now eighteen, Caya plans to infiltrate the witches' glittering world to enact justice. With the help of a mysterious benefactor, she adopts the persona of Marisol Vinyet, a disarmingly beautiful aristocrat. As Marisol, she'll attend the annual Coronet, a cutthroat social season during which witches increase their power by binding new members to their Houses. The Coronet will draw even the prince of neighboring Domingo—Tomás Castellan—to the peninsula just in time for “Marisol” to kill him. After all, his family set the witches upon Coventry in the first place.
But Tomás is more charming than Caya ever anticipated. Worse, her estranged childhood friend, Bas Arroyo, is the prince’s protector, and she struggles to control her complicated feelings for him.
To take down the witches from within, Caya will have to keep both her identity and her desperate heart under Although she’s made herself a weapon, she might be the one to bleed.
Inspired by her home country of Jamaica and the Spanish Renaissance, Kamilah has created a fantasy world with diverse characters, set against a backdrop of the haves and have-nots, where royalty and witches rule, and those without magic survive on scraps and sheer will.
Very few of Caya’s eighteen years on this Earth have been happy. By the age of five, she lost both her parents. By the age of seven, she lost her guardian family, King Oberon, Queen Evaline, and her pseudo-sister Princess Yoselin Seaward of Coventry. Moments after those losses, she lost her childhood best friend Sebastjan “Bas” Arroyo, whom she learned was responsible for their deaths. For the past ten years, Caya has been living at Kindred Orphanage, hoping that one day she will be deemed worthy of being adopted. But as her eighteenth birthday approaches, Caya knows her time is running out and that life on the streets is no way to live.
For Caya, her saving grace is Lord Gaspar Ruiz, who informs her that he’s been looking for her. Gaspar thinks they can work together and get their revenge on the witches for taking their families. He agrees to give Caya shelter and training to become the weapon he needs, and the opportunity to make Coventry a place for all. Caya has no idea that Gaspar expects her to work alongside Prince Tomas “Teo” Castellan of Domingo, or that his guard is none other than Bas. Now, Caya wants to avenge her family and make Bas pay by killing someone he cares for, Teo, and ultimately Bas himself.
As Marisol Vinyet, Caya infiltrates the Coronet (the witches' period of galas, balls, parties, and house recruitment) with a new face, body, and name. Posing as a couple, Marisol and Teo spend time scheming while forming a friendship and romantic connection, even as Marisol sees Bas in a new light and finds herself drawn to him as well. Meanwhile, there is no denying the strong attraction between Teo and Bas.
Marisol enters the Coronet fully determined to exact revenge against the witches and Bas. However, as time passes, she gains a deeper understanding of Teo, Bas, and Noelia, a young witch who insists on becoming her friend. But can these newfound friendships be real and sustained when betrayal is like a mist off the ocean, waiting to roll in?
Wicked Endeavors contains twists both expected and surprising. Caya, Bas, and Teo are multi-layered characters who I believe are still waiting to fully reveal their true selves. Each character plays a high-stakes game of chess, convinced they hold the upper hand, leading to an ending that will leave you with a sly smile on your face. I am so looking forward to seeing how Cataleya Donant/Marisol Vinyet will truly become a legend in the final installment of this duology.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“One should never berate oneself for hoping. To hope is to be human.”
“A revolution is nothing if not anger left to kindle.”
“Trust needs to be earned.”
“If you let someone close enough to stab you, you shouldn’t be surprised by the knife between your ribs.”
“In every ending, there is a beginning.”
**Received a copy of the book courtesy of the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it.**
Rating: 5
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A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is currently based in the Pacific Northwest, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early Spongebob Squarepants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Photo by: Dasha G.
Places to find Kamilah Cole:
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