In this Buffy the Vampire Slayer prequel, fan-favorite and LGBTQIA+ icon Tara Maclay gets the main character treatment … whether she wants it or not.

Tara Maclay isn’t thrilled to be starting her senior year of high school in a new town. She misses her mom, her garden, her magic—and the way her dad treated her before her mom passed. But if Tara can just keep her head down, then maybe she can make it through this year in Hellborne, Vermont without the town living up to its name.

Of course, her plan falls apart immediately, as dead students start turning up around her, and she’s suddenly voted Most Likely To Have Murdered Them by the rest of the senior class. Oh, and the fellow new girl Tara’s crushing on? Turns out to be a witch-hunter. So maybe it’s not the worst thing that Tara’s magic is majorly malfunctioning.

As the body count rises, Tara has to overcome her fears, reconnect with her magic, and cast herself in a more central role to save the town—even if it means putting her new relationship at risk.

Written by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ashley Poston, The Bewitching Hour is the perfect blend of ’90s nostalgia, mysterious murders, and star-crossed sapphic romance.