Immortal Artifacts – Leanne Lukacs
COMING SOON: A contemporary urban fantasy / historical fantasy crossover with a dark academia twist for fans of True Blood, Penny Dreadful, A Discovery of Witches, and Kate Daniels.
#1: The Blood Alchemist
Release Date: TBD (2024???)
Scarred by her past, archaeologist-in-training Alexandra Horvath is desperate for a fresh start. Starting over from scratch at 27 isn’t easy, but at least no one on campus knows that she was once Teresa Bodnar, onetime runaway bride of dark and dangerous business tycoon Kellan Wakeham. With her Ph.D. studies finally underway, things are looking up for “Alex”… until she finds herself embroiled in two murder mysteries: that of her professor, and her own.
Now a vampire and in possession of a medieval manuscript she doesn’t remember stealing, Alex is begrudgingly taken under the wing of biology instructor and fellow undead Dr. Elizabeth Csaszar, alias of none other than the infamous Erzsébet Báthory. As the so-called “Blood Countess” recounts a life story filled with war, forbidden love, obsessive alchemical study, shocking betrayals, and horrific tragedies, the truth behind her alleged crimes turns out to be far more complicated than the history books would have it. Yet for every truth that Erzsébet reveals she hides countless more secrets, including just how much she knows about the mysterious manuscript and its connection to the strange artifacts Alex’s professor had been studying–artifacts that may also be linked to a string of other murders. Together, they could unlock some of the biggest mysteries of the Bronze Age… or have devastating repercussions should they fall into the wrong hands.
It’s only a matter of time before the fledgling vampire attracts the attention of the wrong supernaturals. With her bloodlust barely under control, vengeance on her mind, ancient mysteries to crack, at least one killer to catch, and her utterly off-limits neighbor looking delicious in more ways than one, Alex needs a mentor she can trust; but can she trust Erzsébet? Teresa Bodnar may be dead, yet her past refuses to stay buried… and the 400 years of bad blood threatening to catch up with Lady Báthory may be more entangled with it than she could have imagined…