THE INSTANT #1
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
HOLT Medallion award winner for Speculative Romance of 2025
Goodreads Choice Awards Romantasy nominee of 2024
“This story is my latest obsession.”
—
USA Today
bestselling author, Devney Perry
The gods love to play with us mere mortals. And every hundred years, we let them…
I have never been favored by the gods. Far from it, thanks to Zeus.
Living as a cursed office clerk for the Order of Thieves, I just keep my head down and hope the capricious beings who rule from Olympus won't notice me. Not an easy feat, given San Francisco is Zeus' patron city, but I make do. I survive. Until the night I tangle with a
different
god.
The
worst
god. Hades.
For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible—the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name
mortals
to compete in their stead.
So why in the Underworld did Hades choose me—a sarcastic nobody with a curse on her shoulders—as his champion? And why does my heart trip every time he says I’m
his
?
I don’t know if I’m a pawn, bait, or something else entirely to this dangerously tempting god. How can I, when he has more secrets than stars in the sky?
Because Hades is playing by his own rules…and Death will win at any cost.
The Crucible series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 The Games Gods Play
Book #2 The Things Gods Break
Book #3 The Wrath Gods Reap