The Scarlet Ball - Nghi Vo

The Scarlet Ball - Nghi Vo

Nghi Vo

£20.00
Pre-order

Published 6 October 2026

Order now and we’ll post it on publication day. We take payment today and hold your order until then; if the publisher moves the date we’ll email you, and you can cancel for a full refund at any point before it ships.

  • Pages · 336 pages
  • Publication Date · 06/10/2026
  • Genre · Fantasy
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →
Enter a dark and magical world of ballrooms and bloodshed in the gripping new Gilded Age fantasy from the multi-award winning author of The City in Glass, perfect for fans of M L Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. `Filled with demons and witchcraft, scheming and seduction... It's nothing short of wonderful.' J.M. Miro, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ordinary Monsters'Clever, vicious, and gorgeous'Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of Innamorata--------Judith Ban - convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief - is looking for her next identity. She's no stranger to wealth or danger, but the glitter of New York's Gilded Age hides a darkness even she has never imagined. Here, the city's elite maintain their grip through opulent balls, whispered rituals, and marriages with demons hungry for human devotion. When she crosses paths with the formidable matriarch of the Howard family, Judith is offered an irresistible bargain: to take the place of a missing debutante in the coming season. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall's face stitched over her own, Judith becomes white, rich, and ready to risk it all. If she can hold onto her charm, her wits, and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power. But in a world ruled by appetite and ambition, the most dangerous hunger of all might be her own. --------PRAISE FOR NGHI VO:'Nghi Vo's perfectly honed prose embodies the intoxicating, knife-sharp dazzle of cruel wealth and hollow people. This book is as sharp and strange as the taste of a licked silver spoon - it's breathtaking.' - Shelley Parker-Chan (on The Chosen and the Beautiful)'Searing and seductive... the kind of book that leaves you wrecked on its shores.' - Alix E. Harrow (on Siren Queen)'Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today.' - Taylor Jenkins Reid (on Siren Queen)

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.