he Emerald Lake Asylum is not a place most desire to go. Nineteen-year-old, Skylenna, however, made a promise that she must keep. Once hired, she only has one purpose—prove to the council that barbaric treatments, such as waterboarding, scalding baths, and beatings, are no longer the answer. But that all takes pause when she meets the source of terror in the asylum. A patient with a split personality—on one side, he’s the bloodthirsty genius, Dessin. On the other, a hidden persona that is buried deep in his subconscious.

When Dessin is caught in an attempted cell break, he faces execution if Skylenna can’t bring out his core personality and reveal his humanity. She has ninety days to save his life, and the only way to do that is to let him consume her into his world of moves, counter-moves, and master puppeteering.

With each passing day, their bond deepens, a forbidden attraction forming against her best judgments. Little by little, Skylenna uncovers the sinister secrets of his past that turned him into the monster everyone else fears. And Dessin proves to have one weakness despite the terrifying, indestructible persona he presents to the world: her.

About the author

Brandi Elise Szeker is the debut author of The Pawn and The Puppet, a new adult dystopian romance set in an asylum.

Though most know Brandi as a content creator on BookTok, her heart and soul have always been with the stories that live inside her mind. It all started in her backyard, the place she would dream up new worlds. And one day, she’d write about them, filling their lands with epic characters and wondrous plots.

When she’s not writing about soul-shattering love or reading about it, you can find her binge-watching TV shows with her mom; her first inspiration that started it all.

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