The Vermilion Emporium [Paperback]

The heart-wrenching story of The Radium Girls meets the enchanting world of Howl’s Moving Castle, when two misfits discover the deadly secret to making starlight lace inside of a magical curiosity shop.

It was a day for finding things… 

On the morning Twain, a lonely boy with a knack for danger, discovers a strand of starlight on the cliffs outside of Severon, a mysterious curiosity shop appears in town. Meanwhile, Quinta, the ordinary daughter of an extraordinary circus performer, chases rumors of the shop, The Vermilion Emporium, desperate for a way to live up to her mother’s magical legacy. 

When Quinta meets Twain outside of the Emporium, two things happen: One, Quinta is sure she’s infatuated with this starlight boy, who uses his charm to hide his scars. Two, they enter store and discover a book that teaches them how to turn the starlight thread into lace. 

The lace catches the eye of a wealthy patron, who would pay handsomely for a dress woven from the material. But to accept the commission, Quinta and Twain would need more thread, and the secret to starlight’s origins is said to have disappeared over a century ago. While searching the Emporium for answers, Quinta and Twain learn that the secret may actually have been destroyed. And likely, for good reason. 

A powerful adventure set in a whimsically magical world. Jamie Pacton’s fantasy debut is the story of timeless love and deadly consequences.★   [A] unique examination of class inequality and exploitation set against a provocative landscape. . . . The protagonists’ easy, undeniable chemistry, the shop’s fanciful impossibilities, and the heartbreaking price exacted by the starlight offer romance, whimsy, and introspection vialc9