Renegade falls for Adi Denner's 'dazzling' romantasy in three-way auction

Renegade Books – an imprint of Dialogue Books – has won a three-way auction forThe Kiss of the Nightingale.  A romantasy set in an alternate Paris, it will be the debut book from author Adi Denner. 

Amy Baxter, Dialogue’s former senior editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights and audio rights from Mille Hoskins at United Agents. US and Canadian rights went to Tundra Books. The novel will be published in October 2024. 

"There is magic not just in the world that she’s created, but in every line that Denner writes," said Hoskins. "The Kiss of the Nightingale is the full experience – sensual, exciting and with a pacy well-executed plot – and I can’t wait for readers to fall as in love with it as the team at Renegade and I have."

The synopsis for The Kiss of the Nightingale reads: "It’s 1890 in Lutèce – in this city, Talents are everything: precious gems that gift unrivalled skills to their owners. The most coveted, Elite Talents, are claimed by the aristocracy, passed through generations by blood magic. Cleodora dreamed of inheriting her father’s Tailoring Talent, but when he died, the magic died with him. Yet everything changes when she meets Lady Dahlia Sibille. Dahlia offers Cleodora a Singing Talent – there’s just one catch: she needs to steal an Elite Talent from the prestigious Lenoir family. Pulled into a world of opulence, Cleodora is transformed into the belle of the opera as Lutèce’s nightingale. Will this stolen gem transform this orphan’s destiny?" 

Publisher Christina Demosthenous said: "The Kiss of the Nightingale is a decadent, addictive and dazzling romantasy novel that we could not be more obsessed with. A beautifully written bisexual coming of age novel, it transports the reader to an alternative Paris – a world where the divide between the rich and poor is cemented by precious gems that gift the mastery of unique skills – and thus riches and privilege... Adi is a professionally trained opera singer herself, and The Kiss of the Nightingale is bursting with lush descriptions of music, art and beauty – readers won’t want to leave this luscious world behind." 

Denner added: "This story is a duet of two of my biggest loves: music and storytelling. From the very first time I heard opera at 13 years old, I was entranced as though captivated by magic. It is this spellbinding quality that I wanted to weave through every page of The Kiss of the Nightingale. At its core, Cleodora’s story echoes many lessons I learned through my own journey – finding my voice, my passion and learning self-worth."