An elegant, brilliant court scholar faints in the street and is rescued by a handsome fox. Or: a bright-haired diplomat from Nippon finds a wilted beauty in the road. Also, the beauty was poisoned. Will he remember this? Not a chance. Laurel has bigger things to worry about, such as making his shadowy benefactor proud. After all, she plucked him from the wastes of the imperial army when he was a boy. She saved his life, so he’s willing to give her the rest of it. Shigeru likes this sickly man with a lovely face and the worst temper he’s ever seen. He’d like to keep him, actually. It’s fine if Laurel doesn’t agree—he can wait. More pressingly: something is haunting the western part of the city, and they've both been assigned to the case. Laurel : “The first meeting was bad. The second and third got worse and worse!” Shigeru : “The first meeting was fun, the second was fun, the third was fun…” The Fox and The Rose is an MM historical fantasy. It features a cold and beautiful genius protagonist, rivals-to-lovers slow burn, a handsome love interest who’s actually a fox, lots of teasing, banter, and court intrigue. This book is the first in a series.