Why we’re excited
Maeve spends one more summer on a Scottish loch, working with horses at her great-aunt's place, and saves an injured stallion. The horse is a kelpie, a water creature that becomes a dragon in the loch, and it may have chosen her as its rider, and a bond between kelpie and human has never been tried.
P.C. Cast co-wrote the House of Night vampire series with her daughter, Kristin Cast, and this is the first book of a new YA series. It is for readers who love horses as much as fae courts, and who like their folklore Scottish and their rivals royal.
On our most-anticipated list since 22 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about By Breath
Boudicca is the one P.C. Cast book we have reviewed, at 4 out of 5.
Readers have saved it often enough to put it at No. 21 on our list of March 2027’s most-anticipated releases. At 400 pages it is about the usual length for a fantasy release this month.
From the publisher
An enchanting tale of destiny, desire, and a bond unlike any the world has ever seen.
At her great-aunt’s stables on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, Maeve can’t wait to spend one last summer soaking in the magick of Loch Chon—the only place she’s ever felt like herself. She plans on painting wind-swept landscapes and leading trail rides on the horses she loves for the new luxury resort across the loch—only to find herself drawn to the resort’s young heir, the enigmatic Keir, whose charm is tempered only by the secrets he keeps.
But soon she discovers the loch holds older, deeper magick than Maeve has ever imagined.
The stories she was raised on—of the fae courts, Seelie and Unseelie, and the deadly, beautiful kelpies—are not legends, but truth. On land, kelpies appear as magnificent horses with silver-belled manes. In the lochs, they become something far more powerful: ancient water dragons who bond for life with a chosen Rider.
When Maeve rescues a wounded stallion, she believes she’s saving a horse’s life. Instead, she may have been chosen by a royal kelpie. But no kelpie has ever bonded with a human before and if the bond fails, it won’t just break, it will destroy them both.
As war stirs between the fae courts, Maeve is pulled deeper into a world of magick, betrayal, and desire. With a witch as her guide, the King of the Kelpies at her side, and two rival princes vying for her heart, Maeve begins to uncover a truth more dangerous than any legend:
There is powerful magick running through her veins. And it may be strong enough to save everything she holds dear…or doom it forever.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read By Breath yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
