Illusions of Fire - by Nisha Sharma (Hardcover)

About the Book

Every morning Laila Bansal wakes up before dawn--hours before her job at the family winery--and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila's mythological bloodline. Despite the whole "descendant of Draupadi" thing, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. That is until Karan, the mysterious and gorgeous new archer in town, tries to cut off her head. Like Laila, Karan and his family are connected to the world of gods and demons. He's on a mission to save his parents, but with him he brings an influx of immortal beings, and mortal ones--all of whom are ready to, you guessed it, destroy the world.

Nisha Sharma, a lifelong paranormal and fantasy fan, finally brings her hilarity and whit to the genre. She grew up being inspired by pop culture touchstones like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Supernatural. Illusions of Fire is her homage to those works--showcasing a powerful female protagonist, with tremendous responsibility and expectations, simply trying to survive while delivering elite one-liners and falling in love with the wrong person.

Book Synopsis

From an award-winning author, an enemies to lovers romantasy that's perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural.

Every morning Laila Bansal wakes up before dawn--hours before her job at the family winery--and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila's mythological bloodline. Despite the whole "descendant of Draupadi" thing, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. That is until Karan, the mysterious and gorgeous new archer in town, tries to cut off her head. Like Laila, Karan and his family are connected to the world of gods and demons. He's on a mission to save his parents, but with him he brings an influx of immortal beings, and mortal ones--all of whom are ready to, you guessed it, destroy the world.

Nisha Sharma, a lifelong paranormal and fantasy fan, brings her hilarity and whit to the genre. Illusions of Fireshowcases a powerful female protagonist with tremendous responsibility and expectations, simply trying to survive while delivering elite one-liners and falling in love with the wrong person.

Review Quotes

"This is a fast-paced continuation of a Hindu epic with all the trappings of truly riveting YA fantasy:
mythology, prophecies, magic, fiery romance, and gripping fight sequences."
--Booklist, STARRED Review

About the Author

Nisha Sharma is a YA and adult contemporary romance writer living in the Philly suburbs with her Alaskan husband, and a plethora of animals named after characters in literature. Her books have been included in best-of lists by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and more. Before she left the corporate world, Nisha spearheaded DEI initiatives at billion-dollar companies. She has continued her advocacy work by fighting for marginalized authors in publishing. When she's not writing about people of color experiencing radical joy or teaching about inclusivity, Nisha can be found hitting the books for her PhD in English and Social Justice. She often consults with her very proud parents on the stories in the Mahabharata, the epic poem upon which Illusions of Fire is inspired by. You can find her online at Nisha-sharma.com or on TikTok and Instagram @nishawrites.