To Dream in Darkness: A Novel by Ann Liang (Hardcover) (PREORDER)

Fiction - Fantasy - Romance - Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

RELEASE DATE: 10/27/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.

China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.

Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.

Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia's disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning...

AUTHOR BIO: 

ANN LIANG is the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling author of critically acclaimed young adult and adult fiction. Her books have been sold in over twenty foreign territories. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America as a GMA Book Club pick, and on the Today show, Cosmopolitan, PEOPLE, Harper's Bazaar, Forbes, and more. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne.

Praise for To Dream in Darkness:

"To Dream in Darkness is lyrical, heart-wrenching and gloriously romantic. I luxuriated in every beautiful sentence and every twist and turn of emotion. Hades and Persephone meet Romeo and Juliet to give us the ultimate in star-crossed lovers who must defy the heavens to be together." - Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of This Immortal Heart

"Another gorgeously spun fantasy from Ann Liang, whose crystalline prose and lush, mythic worlds enchant readers into a poignant yet perilous tale of love and duty. Readers will be swept away, as I was." - Elizabeth Lim, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Forgery of Fate

"To Dream in Darkness is a sweeping tale of forgiveness, doomed love, and the exquisite pain and joy of living. Romantic, aching, and impossible to put down." - Allison Saft, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide

"The Chinese romantic high fantasy of my dreams. With her signature exquisite prose, Liang masterfully spins a sweeping tale of star-crossed love spanning lifetimes and worlds. Beauty, tragedy, destiny, and hope collide in this triumph of an epic that fans of fantasy romance C-dramas will not want to miss." - Amélie Wen Zhao, New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of The Scorpion and the Night Blossom

"Lush, atmospheric, and painfully romantic, Ann Liang's To Dream In Darkness is an enchanting read full of vivid worldbuilding and divine characters." - Lynette Noni, bestselling author of The Prison Healer

"To Dream in Darkness is a resplendent tale of two gods' ruinous and undying love, rich with Liang's enchanting prose and endearing romance. The most epic love story since The Song of Achilles." - Kylie Lee Baker, Sunday Times bestselling author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zen