Most of us spend our years dying.

Not Safran. She lives.

From the Marrow Street slums to the Prince's Palace, sixteen-year-old Safran is the best thief in Vitalia. She owes it all to two simple rules: 1. Live ferociously, and 2. Don't die. Following them keeps Safran and her little brother Curt fed, sheltered, and one step ahead of the brutal White Cap patrols.

After she pulls off a particularly dangerous pastry heist, a mysterious man in black offers Safran a chance to do the impossible: bring her parents back to life. All she has to do is steal the priceless Ghost Tablet from its carefully guarded vault in the Temple of the Soul.

Lured by the promise of protection for her brother, Safran agrees to infiltrate the Temple-only to find herself in the middle of a centuries-old supernatural conflict. Suspicious priests, dangerous trials, and electric puppy-lizard-monsters test the limits of Safran's rules and force her to answer devastating questions:

Who will she save? Who will she betray? And who is she willing to kill?

Readers are saying:

"...a nostalgic, feel-good fantasy with lots of twists and worldbuilding...every task, adventure, and pastry heist had me on the edge of my seat!"

"...a fast-paced, thrilling fantasy unveiling the complexities around death..."

"Addison Horner vividly colors this new world with rich descriptions and characters that are complex and relatable with deep bonds and varying motivations..."

Marrow and Soul is the first book in the Vitalian Chronicles by Addison Horner.