Step into the soot-stained city of Briarspire, where every engine’s heartbeat is powered by the secret flames of bound hearth-spirits—and where every wish for freedom flickers dangerously beneath the surface. Cinder and Circuits is a cozy-industrial young adult fantasy bursting with coming-of-age tenderness, immersive worldbuilding, and the pulse of found family. When sixteen-year-old Kai Braddon—a reluctant hero with a knack for repairing both machines and the magical spirits trapped within them—defies the unspoken rules of her smog-choked city to set a family of spirits free, she accidentally ignites a rebellion that will challenge everything she thinks she knows about home, courage, and the true price of survival.

As inspection squads, mechanical marvels, and enforcers obsessed with order tighten their grip, Kai is forced onto a perilous epic quest through secret marketplaces and forgotten tunnels, guided only by her battered family, unlikely friends, and the flickering, heartfelt bond she shares with Briarspire’s captive magic. Alongside cranky siblings, spirited allies, and a city’s worth of dreamers and outcasts, Kai must reckon with the cost of her magical abilities and the responsibilities of change. When trust and loyalty are the difference between hope and ruin, every whispered secret—and every circuit—counts.

Perfect for fans of heartfelt dystopian magic, reluctant heroes, and stories where home is not a place but a promise, Cinder and Circuits invites readers into a world where machines and magic, hardship and tenderness, and the meaning of belonging spark against the odds. Will Kai’s fire be enough to kindle a future for both spirits and humanity—or will the city’s iron heart consume them all? Find out in this luminous tale of risk, resilience, and the warmth that endures after the smoke clears.