Dark Corner Selection: March 2026
In a different version of 16th-century Spain, young Luzia Cortado works grudgingly as a scullery maid for the miserable and petty Doña Valentina. Luzia can use what she calls “small magics” to make her life easier. She can mend seams, multiply the groceries, unburn bread or reassemble broken things. She performs these little spells, learned from generations of her Jewish ancestors, by singing quietly. Luzia is a convert; she dutifully goes to Mass and hides any traces of her Jewish lineage to escape the clutches of the Inquisition.
However, when Doña Valentina discovers Luzia’s powers, she sees an opportunity to increase her social standing. She makes Luzia perform for dinner guests, and before long, powerful and ambitious men show interest in Luzia’s abilities. To improve her abilities, she is put under the tutelage of the mysterious Santangel, rumoured to be immortal.
This book, a medieval alternate history, is very different from all of Leigh Bardugo’s previous books. As someone with a Master’s degree in European medieval history, I was really interested in this book, yet when I first tried reading it, in 2025, I couldn’t get very far into it, and eventually decided to put it down until the time was right.
Full review here.
