For fans of My Brilliant Friend and Mexican Gothic, a novel set in 18th-century Venice at a prestigious music school, about two girls drawn together by a dangerous wager What do you want most? What will you pay for it?Venice, 1717. Before Maddalena arrives at the Ospedale della Pietà, fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. Anointed to the highest ranks, she would no longer be just an orphan, but a musical prodigy in Venice's most illustrious girls' orchestra. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena.Sent to the Pietà to be reformed until the rumors about her noble family have passed, Maddalena is unlike anyone Luisa has met. Cunning, passionate Maddalena can promise the world to Luisa, and when she does, their fates intertwine. But Maddalena has made a dangerous wager, and there will be a price to pay.Heady, sumptuous, and utterly enthralling, Maddalena and the Dark is the love story between two girls and the boundless desires that might ruin them.