Sheila Masterson lives outside Philadelphia with a small army of underwatered houseplants that survive out of spite. The Poison Daughter is her fourth novel and her first USA Today bestseller. Her other works include the gothic fairytale fantasy romance Song of the Dark Wood, the angsty epic romantasy quartet The Lost God Series, and its next-generation standalone spinoff, A Legacy of Stars.
In The Poison Daughter, every person Harlow Carrenwell kisses dies immediately, and that’s the way she likes it. The poison-lipped youngest daughter of Lunameade’s magical founding family has used her power to annihilate their opposition. Her first husband is in the ground. Her new betrothed is next. But the merry widow has a secret. When she’s not acting as an assassin at her parents’ whims, she moonlights as a vigilante for abused women in their walled-off city. Until one night Harlow kisses a mark and he doesn’t die.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the USA Today bestseller list, Masterson said: “I honestly think this is a case of the right story, right genre, right time. The Poison Daughter is a high-concept book with timely themes and a heroine whose experiences with chronic pain and mental health are informed by my own struggles.”
The Poison Daughter features older characters facing heavier topics with humor and honesty. “Over the past few years there have been a slew of reductive articles about how fantasy romance is all ‘fairy smut’ or ‘spicy dragon books.’ At its core, romantasy is a swiftly evolving genre that holds up a mirror to modern culture while providing the distance and literal power dynamics to see conflict in a new light. Romantasy readers have displayed a voracious appetite for stories about feminine rage.” Readers also indicate The Poison Daughter stood out as a longer standalone novel (235,000 words) in a genre dominated by series. “I wanted readers to feel like they could really sink into the world and fall in love with the characters, the same way they do in a longer series,” Masterson said.
Masterson also believes the reader base built over her first books paid off. “I have a small but mighty street team who make hilarious and authentic content,” she said. “A lot of people look at this book and see an overnight sensation, but for me this was years in the making. The real magic is not quitting too soon.”
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
