Acquisition Announcement: RELIQUARY, HAWKHEART, and The Greening Court by Hannah Whitten

Across five books and two New York Times bestselling series, Hannah Whitten has captivated countless readers and established herself as one of the premier voices in modern fantasy.

So, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be publishing not one, not two, but THREE exciting new projects from her! First up, we have Reliquary, a standalone horror novel starring a woman who, mourning the loss of her fiancé, travels to his family’s private island to observe a three-day wake. But as the island stirs up past trauma and her in-laws begin behaving strangely, she’ll have to decide if her husband’s death was caused by something darker… and if she’s next.

We’re also thrilled to be publishing Hawkheart, a breathtaking Celtic-inspired standalone romantasy featuring arranged marriages, elemental magic, and plenty of spice. Coming fast on the heels of those standalones is The Greening Court duology, a contemporary romantic fantasy that follows a young woman who discovers she’s a changeling and a gatekeeper between the realms of the fae. These books are all packed with the complex relationships, pacy writing, and lush magical worlds Hannah is known for.

Executive Editor Brit Hvide says: “Hannah Whitten is at the top of her game. Whatever project she’s working on—fairytale retellings, contemporary fantasy, epic romantasy, or horror—she raises the bar with her gorgeous, atmospheric writing, her pitch-perfect dialogue, and her messy, complicated characters who you just cannot help but fall in love with. We are excited to make this commitment to Hannah and her incredible stories.”

UK editor Emily Byron says: ‘Whatever Hannah Whitten turns her hand to writing, I want to read! She’s such a huge talent, and we are so excited to work with Orbit US in bringing these captivating new stories to a global readership.’

Read more about all three projects below, and keep an eye out for Reliquary, Hawkheart, and The Greening Court, coming soon-ish wherever you buy your books!

Reliquary:

Sometimes, you just want to belong.

When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias.
Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?

When Elias’s estranged and incredibly wealthy family reaches out and invites Claire to a three-day wake at their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to have connection again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.

Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their home built partially into the sea stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.

Claire can’t bring herself to be lonely again. And as the strange circumstances of Elias’s familial connection with the sea becomes more and more apparent, her window for escape is rapidly closing.

But does she even want to?

Hawkheart:

Gwen has done her time. As the firstborn daughter of the King of Celedria, she was married off at twenty to a lord forty years her senior. Her marriage secured Celedria’s boundaries against the Taloned King, the ruler of the mountain pass that makes up Celedria’s northern border.

Now, ten years after Gwen’s marriage, her awful husband has finally died. But instead of a peaceful reprieve, only a day after she returns home, her father announces the unthinkable. In order to stop their other enemies, the Tyr, from expanding their lands, Celedria needs the help of the Taloned King himself. The two countries have come to an agreement, and plan to seal that agreement in the traditional way.

With a marriage.

The gruff, rude, and unfairly handsome, Taloned King is on his way to Highpeak to marry her younger sister. And though Gwen deeply desires to never be married again, she’d rather suffer through a thousand husbands than have her younger half-sister face a loveless marriage like she did.

The Greening Court:

Addie Bishop is going nowhere fast. At 22, she’s a college dropout with a fistful of loans and no real options, living in her car.

So, when Addie receives a job offer as the superintendent of a run-down apartment complex, she jumps at the chance. Who cares if she doesn’t know how they got her number, or that she doesn’t remember applying, or that none of the tenants want to talk to her? It’s a steady job, a place to stay, and Addie isn’t in a position to refuse.

After a mysterious trespasser threatens Addie’s life, one of the tenants finally speaks. Ronan, too beautiful to be human. Turns out, he’s not. Turns out, Addie isn’t, either.

Addie is, apparently, a changeling. A faerie disguised as a human. And this job was given to her by the Seelie Queen—Ronan’s ruler—both to keep her safe, and to safeguard the gate to the Ritegrounds, the place where the Equinox Rite passes power from one court to another, and where the Fae’s seven-year tithe to hell takes place. And if that isn’t motivation enough, the Unseelie Queen is hunting down changelings, trying to outrun a prophecy that says one might take her place.

Addie isn’t interested in being the changeling in the prophecy. But the Unseelie Court isn’t interested in leaving loose ends, and as the end of summer approaches and the Seelie Queen’s power wanes, Addie’s survival hangs in the balance. To stay alive, she’ll have to become just as ruthless as the Folk themselves.

And with the Equinox Rite approaching at the same speed as an all-out Faerie war—and a sacrifice due to the underworld—Addie’s survival might mean the survival of them all.

You can find Hannah on Instagram and X at @hwhittenwrites, or at her website https://hannahfwhitten.com/.

Orbit US Executive Editor Brit Hvide acquired World rights for these projects from Whitney Ross at High Line Literary, with Emily Byron editing in the UK.