Pre-order
1
of
1
Lavender & Hemlock
Brief Description
A COSY SAPPHIC ROMANTASY WITH A DARK HEART Once upon a time, there were three: a maid, a knight and a monster. But which was which? Housemaid Tansy's only duties are to tend to old Lady Aster and care for their quaint, peaceful, isolated seaside cottage...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
$2799
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Pre-order
Releases
3rd
November 2026
(Approx. Date)
Pre-order "Lavender & Hemlock" now to secure your copy from our first shipment
Found a better price? Request a price match
Lavender & Hemlock
$2499
$2799
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
The Book Briefing: 2nd October
Get stuck in with all the latest from the literary world including book announcements, controversies...
The Book Hero Team's September Reads
September was an especially busy month for the Book Hero team as we did the...
Come Celebrate New Zealand Bookshop Day with Us!
Next Saturday, New Zealand celebrates Bookshop Day - a day to celebrate the special place...
Rating All Our Julia Donaldson Picture Books
With Gruffalo Granny coming out recently I couldn't not do a post celebrating the collection...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (29th September)
From celebrity memoirs to a brand new follow up to The Whale Rider, here is...
See moreA housemaid's quiet life is disrupted when the arrival of a mysterious stranger makes her question everything about her quiet life and her charming seaside home in this enticing fantasy YA novel from the award-winning author of A Hunger of Thorns and Unhallowed Halls.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
A COSY SAPPHIC ROMANTASY WITH A DARK HEART
Once upon a time, there were three: a maid, a knight and a monster. But which was which?
Housemaid Tansy's only duties are to tend to old Lady Aster and care for their quaint, peaceful, isolated seaside cottage - the Oubliette. Tansy can't remember the last time she left... or when she arrived.
Merit is a Carrion Knight. A servant of the dark entity the Unmaker, she has been raised to be a monster. But when she's wounded during a routine raid, she stumbles through a mysterious door... and finds herself tumbling into the Oubliette.
When the two meet, an instant connection forms, and a crack appears in the Oubliette's perfect facade. As the bond between Merit and Tansy grows and powerful feelings rise to the surface, Tansy must question not only what she wants, but who she is. Because the origins of this charming world are darker than she could imagine - and the key to uncovering them might lie with Tansy herself.
'This is the book of my dreams - a shadow beneath a cosy surface, a swoonworthy romance, and a twist in the tail you won't see coming. And let's not forget a snarky cat, a loyal dog, and a cantankerous goose. Perfection.' - Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling author of Lady's Knight
'Deliciously dark, whimsical, and deeply romantic, this story will sweep you right off your feet.' - Kate J Armstrong, author of Nightbirds
'This is a tender, passionate love story set within a rich fantasy realm with plenty of immersive lore for readers to discover... A swoonworthy romance set in an exquisitely described world.' Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
Tropes include:
- Mysterious stranger
- Overcoming amnesia
- Raised a monster
- Queer romance
- Wounded Knight
- Cosy with a dark heart
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781761181504
Publisher: A&U Children's
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 03 November 2026
Country: Australia
Imprint: A&U Children
Audience: Teenage
DIMENSIONS
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 384
About the Author
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of more than twenty books for children and teenagers, including Unhallowed Halls, Deep is the Fen, A Hunger of Thorns, After the Lights Go Out, The Erasure Initiative and Bravepaw. Lili established the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, and lives in Melbourne with her partner, child, dog and three chickens.
Also by Lili Wilkinson
View all-
Pink
Ava Simpson is trying on a whole new image. Stripping the black dye from her hair, she heads off to the Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, leaving her uber-cool girlfriend, Chloe, behind. Ava is quickly taken under the wing of perky, popular Alexis, who insists that: a) she's a perfect match for handsome Ethan, and b) she absolutely must...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Hunger of Thorns
WINNER: 2024 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Writing for Young Adults HONOUR BOOK: 2024 CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers SHORTLISTED: 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Young Adult Literature Selected as one of the Best Young Adult Books for 2023 - Readings Books 'Completely entrancing. I have never read anything like this book. It's full of magic - the real...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Green Valentine
Short-listed: 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award, Young Adult Fiction Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson introduces readers to Astrid Katy Smythe, a character who embodies beauty, intelligence, and popularity. A straight-A student and a passionate environmental activist, Astrid seems almost perfect. In stark contrast, Hiro is everything Astrid is not. Slouchy, rude, and filled with resentment, Hiro is intellectually capable but...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Deep Is the Fen
NOTABLE BOOK: 2025 CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers SHORTLISTED: 2024 Best Young Adult Novel, Aurealis Awards Selected as one of the Best Young Adult Books of 2024 - Readings Books Deep Is the Fen follows Merriwether Morgan, who doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy,...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Unhallowed Halls
Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. She's too smart, too quiet, too weird. After the deadly incident that destroyed her only friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. Agathion College is everything Page has ever wanted: a safe haven of wood-panelled halls and dusty books, on a remote Scottish moor. For...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Erasure Initiative
I wake up, and for a few precious seconds I don't realise there's anything wrong. The rumble of tyres on bitumen, and the hiss of air conditioning. The murmur of voices. The smell of air freshener. The cool vibration of glass against my forehead. A girl wakes up on a self-driving bus. She has no memory of how she got...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Begin, End, Begin
WINNER OF A 2018 BOOK OF THE YEAR ABIA Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson, and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Clancy the Quokka
Here's Clancy the quokka. So friendly and charming.His innocent face is entirely disarming. Clancy the Quokka is super cute, but also has a super cheeky habit of raiding picnic food, so when he spots a magnificent birthday cake, how can he resist? After the mayhem he creates, will Clancy learn his lesson? A funny and thoroughly entertaining picture book featuring...Hardback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Flummox: How to Make a Pet Monster 2
Have you ever wanted a pet monster? If you are like me, the answer is no, because you think monsters don't exist. If you are like Willow, the answer is yes definitely. Willow and I found an ancient spell book called the Bigge Boke of Fetching Monsters, which shows you how to make real monsters. We made Hodgepodge, who's a...Paperback$1899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Smidgen: How to Make a Pet Monster 3
Have you ever wanted a pet monster?I definitely did NOT. Monsters sound DANGEROUS. But then Willow and I found the BIGGE BOKE OF FETCHING MONSTERS and we accidentally made Hodgepodge. He is my best friend. Then we made Flummox, but she went to live with our neighbour. So now Willow wants to try again. I think this is a BAD...Paperback$1899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Hodgepodge: How to Make a Pet Monster 1
I'm Artie. I'm eleven years old. I do not believe in ghosts, or monsters. I do believe in science. I also believe that my step-sister Willow is kinda terrifying. Willow and I found a weird old book in the attic of our new house. It's called The Big Boke of Fetching Monsters. And it tells you how to make your...Paperback$1899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
That Christmas Feeling
Dottie is waiting for the Christmas feeling to arrive - that fizzy, excited feeling, where everything is a bit magical. But this year, Dottie, her brother, Jem, and their dog, Shortbread, are staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa are trying hard, but Christmas just isn't the same...A gorgeous, heart-warming story about misplacing the Christmas spirit, and finding it...Hardback$2299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Young Adult
View all-
21 Days of Fear: A Letters Thriller
A heart-wrenching YA thriller told in an advent calendar format, paced for amping up the chilling suspense! What would you do to bring your sister back from the dead? After Lucas’s sister mysteriously disappeared ten years ago, his family was torn apart. His mother has been lost in a deep depression ever since, his father has been unable to speak...Hardback$3500Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips early October -
Song of the Saltings
On the isolated island of Brack, the people live by an ancient bargain: every year, a sacrifice must be made to the Glimm, the creature that haunts the salt marshes. Eight years ago, it should have taken Lotta. Instead, the monster spared her and claimed her pony, shattering tradition and anointing her both folk hero and object of suspicion. Now...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Tell Me with Kisses
From New York Times bestselling author and Wattpad sensation Mercedes Ron comes the English translation of the third in the Tell Me series, where Kamila Hamilton is caught between the two Di Bianco brothers after they burst back into her life. From New York Times bestselling author and Wattpad sensation Mercedes Ron comes the English translation of the third in...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Release Me
The searing second volume in a new series set in the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment. Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. Now she wants revenge. To save her sister she needs to get back home and destroy the system that created her. Rosabelle’s greatest strength is her ability to deaden her...$2200Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
A Language of Dragons
The most exciting debut of 2025 – an incredible fantasy Dark Academia, perfect for fans of Babel, Fourth Wing, and the Scholomance trilogy. EVERY FIRE STARTS WITH A SINGLE SPARK. Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons. London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules,...Paperback$1700Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Shatter Me: Shatter Me series 1
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a gripping dystopian novel that plunges readers into a world where society is on the brink of collapse. At the heart of this chaos is Juliette, a 17-year-old girl with a fatal touch—literally. For 264 days, Juliette has been imprisoned in solitary confinement, her only crime being an accidental touch that resulted in death....Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Cozy Corner
Relax and unwind with this adorable colouring book – it’s time to get cozy! Step into a world of calm and comfort with Cozy Corner, featuring 45 beautiful hand-drawn pages ready for you to colour in. Settle into your very own cozy corner with these brand new colouring pages! This follow-up to Coco Wyo's beloved Little Corner promises a new...Paperback$1700Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
20% offBunny vs Monkey: The Great Big Glitch (a Phoenix Comic Book): the instant number one bestselling book from Jamie Smart, Illustrator of the Year
When Bunny, Monkey and friends discover a glitch in reality, life gets even crazier than normal: Bunny declares himself The Woods' Magical Protector, Pig becomes a superspy, plus there's complete metal Monkey mayhem! Experience the laughs and chaos in Bunny vs Monkey: The Great Big Glitch (a Phoenix Comic Book), the instant number one bestselling book from Jamie Smart, Illustrator...Paperback$2000Usually:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Summer I Turned Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty is now a major new TV series on Amazon Prime! If you loved The Kissing Booth and Jenny Han's smash-hit Netflix movie series To All the Boys I Loved Before, then you'll adore this gorgeously funny, romantic story! Everything that happened this past summer, and every summer before it, has all led up to this....Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is the New York Times No.1 bestselling YA crime thriller that has captivated readers globally. Now adapted into a major BBC series, this intricately plotted and intensely gripping novel is being lauded as a modern classic in young adult literature. Pippa Fitz-Amobi, an intelligent and determined high school student, is looking...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Powerless
OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD! THE INSTANT NO. 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON. ‘Nothing short of epic’ - Rosie Talbot, bestselling author of Sixteen Souls ‘A thrilling fantasy with the most delicious slow-burn romance’ - M.A. Kuzniar, bestselling author of Midnight in Everwood ‘[A] titillating debut’ - Publishers Weekly ‘A masterpiece’ - Goodreads Reader Review ‘Everyone needs to read it’ -...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2899Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
17% off
The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks
Louise Rennison for the Dork Diaries generation - hilarious, relatable and full of heart. The first book in the hilarious new series for children by the bestselling creator of Hurrah For Gin. The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks follows Lottie Brooks, who is 11 and feels like her life is already officially over. Not only is she about to...Paperback$1500Usually:$1799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Young Adult lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listYoung Adult
Lizzy's Favourite Young Adult Romance
In this list there really is a bit of everything - coming of age stories, magical stories about enemies to lovers, boarding...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listYoung Adult
Emily's YA Recommendations
The amazing Emily visited Book Hero and made a list of some of her favourite reads - perfect for ages 12 and...View the list
