Blood Rite: Book One

Dark urban fantasy for readers who like their stories with teeth.

L. J. Glover's Blood Rite series is a gritty, profane, female-led urban fantasy with old gods, addiction redemption, found family and magic that costs everything.

The Joining Trial book cover — Blood Rite Book One by L. J. Glover, purple and magenta smoke on black
The Debut

The Joining Trial

The Joining Trial cover detail
Blood Rite · Book One

A bargain with the power to anger forgotten gods.

Evelyn has nothing left to lose. Two weeks ago she walked away from her own life and into a Detroit drug house. Then she woke up next to Laney, beautiful and older than Babylon, and now they must run. The Joining Trial is the gritty, profane first book in the Blood Rite series, for readers of Ninth House, Crescent City, and the Mercy Thompson novels.

Aug 18, 2026 Adult Dark Urban Fantasy 351 pages

Reader discretion advised

Body-horror dark, on-page violence and death, drug use, profanity (often), one open-door sex scene. If you finished Ninth House wanting it darker, you'll be fine. Adult content. 18+ readers only.

About

L. J. Glover

I write fantasy books. My debut novel is the first in a dark urban fantasy trilogy that weaves together tales of addiction, found family, a Mesopotamian magic system and powerful redemption arcs. This book took me 12 years and 9 revisions to complete after feedback from 13 beta readers. I love connecting with fantasy lovers and bookophiles all over the world, so please don't hesitate to get in touch!