1899: A fay grifter seeks fortune and security. Love was never the plan. In the late Victorian era, a technological marvel allows scientists to open rifts into the realms of legend. Powerful creatures, weakened and stripped of their memories, are brought to serve the whims of the wealthy elite... Hare, a young woman with a mythical secret finds herself trapped, facing an unenviable future. When an equally desperate schoolmistress, Miss Anne Bonningham offers her a chance at freedom, they embark on a daring plan. Disguised as "Miss Edwina Walker," Hare navigates the treacherous waters of London high society, solely focused on securing a marriage and escaping her past. However, amidst the glittering balls and intricate social games, as hidden agendas surface and a vengeful figure from her past threatens to expose her true identity, Hare must make a choice: embrace a life of comfort and security or choose freedom and a love that could shatter the very foundation of her world. **The book is meant for a mature audience** “Houston’ words flow as easily as ink. By turn romantic, soft, funny, and light - her characters spark and her stories linger long in the mind. This is history with added light.” -Caroline Hardaker, the author of Composite Creatures & Mothtown PRAISE FOR GABRIELA HOUSTON: "The complexities of family relationships, friendships and grief[...] are difficult, and without shying away from them, Houston considers and presents them with care." The National "Gabriela Houston's writing is both economical and evocative - a rare skill." SFX "Houston is able to mark the significance of daily events, highlight her characters, and comment on humanity’s capacity for othering." Publishers Weekly "The development of the characters is some of the most enjoyable I have read in the recent years." SF Book Reviews "Houston quite brilliantly captures the beauty of unrefined nature through the vivid images she created so that you can just imagine watching everything unfold before your very eyes." The Nerd Daily PRAISE FOR BINDING THE CUCKOO : "Houston' words flow as easily as ink. By turn romantic, soft, funny, and light - her characters spark and her stories linger long in the mind. This is history with added light." - Caroline Hardaker, the author of Composite Creatures and Mothtown "In an alternative universe, during the fin-de-siecle, Hare, a disguised fae, tries to navigate both the London marriage market, and the darker struggles of the binding that her magical kinfolk have fallen prey to. But as a web of intrigue slowly closes around her, and her own concealed identity is threatened, her struggle to maintain both her autonomy and her loyalty to her fellow mythics is further complicated by her own passionate attraction to a young lawyer. Hare is a delightful protagonist, brave and compassionate, and Houston's writing is pacy and effervescent. The book is a beguiling mixture of period romance and fantasy, infused with pathos and drama. It's a witty historical paranormal romance, but it goes deeper than many books in the genre. Houston's books are always informed by her own intuitive knowledge of Slavic folklore as a transhistorical commentary. In Binding The Cuckoo, the lightness and charm of her writing forms a counterpoint to the subtle parallels she draws between the trope of the outsider in fantasy, historical slavery and contemporary xenophobia. Like the alluring Hare, it beguiles the reader till the final pages." - Tracy Fahey, the multi-award-winning author of I Spit Myself Out and They Shut Me Up PRAISE FOR GABRIELA HOUSTON: "The complexities of family relationships, friendships and grief[...] are difficult, and without shying away from them, Houston considers and presents them with care." The National "Gabriela Houston's writing is both economical and evocative - a rare skill." SFX "Houston is able to mark the significance of daily events, highlight her characters, and comment on humanity's capacity for othering." Publishers Weekly "The development of the characters is some of the most enjoyable I have read in the recent years." SF Book Reviews "Houston quite brilliantly captures the beauty of unrefined nature through the vivid images she created so that you can just imagine watching everything unfold before your very eyes." The Nerd Daily Gabriela Houston is a Polish artist and Writer. She came to the UK at 19 to follow her passion for literature and she completed her undergraduate and Masters degrees at Royal Holloway, University of London. After her studies she worked in publishing for a few years. She now lives with her family in Harrow, where she pursues her life-long passion for making stuff up. She is the author of two Slavic-folklore-inspired novels for adults THE SECOND BELL and THE BONE ROOTS (both out from Angry Robot Books) and of a Slavic-Inspired upper MG duology (ages 9+), THE WIND CHILD, and THE STORM CHILD (Uclan Publishing). Most recently she ran a successful Kick