Why We Play With Fire

Written by Giselle Vriesen

Narrated by Kimoy Lee

When Leah’s mother and grand-mother push her through a magic well in their backyard in order to escape a mysterious darkness, with an ominous directive to “retrieve the keys”, the last place she expects to come up for air in is a house for the children of gods. But—that’s exactly what happens. And the aforementioned keys? They’re kept inside the house, safe from the outside world and the mysterious Arcana, a magical secret society intent on stealing them

But, just as Leah begins to accept that she herself is a child of a god, with a destiny far greater than she can imagine —the keys are sent back to the three separate magical realms from which they came, as a test from the gods--leaving The House and all its magical inhabitants in an uproar. So, against the strict warnings of her new mentor, Leah and her new friends take it upon themselves to retrieve the keys before the winter solstice and before the Arcana can find them—or, Leah realizes, she will never find her mother again.

But, when it’s revealed that both Leah’s grandmother and mother were long since killed by the mysterious darkness pursuing Leah to date, and that the keys open a box with a power much grander than anyone could have imagined—Leah is forced to become the leader she always avoided being. With time running out and the mystery of her parentage beginning to reveal itself, Leah’s budding romance with a boy from the Arcana blooms and betrayal from her most trusted mentor sends her reeling.

So, Leah and her friends put their animosity aside to work with the Arcana and save the world from the greed of one woman. They succeed, barely— with the revelation that Leah has no father, but that her mother was a reincarnated goddess who made Leah all alone—and that it's Leah's destiny to wield the stone contained inside the box which all three keys were needed to open.

Only trouble is, the menacing darkness who killed Leah’s family has a face, and has been watching her all along

• Language: English
• Publisher: Row House by Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: Feb 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798368989495

Giselle Vriesen

Drawing inspiration from her love of mythology and her diverse Jamaican, Chinese, and European-Canadian heritage, Giselle Vriesen seamlessly merges mystical themes with the real-world experiences of characters living in the margins. You can find the author dreaming up new stories, crafting forest fairies, and exploring nature at home in Canada's Southern Gulf Islands. Why We Play With Fire is Vriesen’s debut offering.