More Kea and Sora Please

TITLE: The Killing Spell

AUTHOR: Shay Kauwe

PUBLISHER: Saga Press

PUBLISHING DATE: April 14, 2026

PAGES: 288   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Kea Petrova is dealing with more than her fair share of trouble. 

At just twenty-five years old, she’s the youngest of five Hawaiian clan leaders living on the Homestead in outer Los Angeles. Nearly 200 years ago, when a catastrophic flood submerged the Hawaiian islands and unleashed magic into the world, these clans forged a treaty with the city, establishing a new Hawaiian homeland. But that treaty is about to expire.

Kea struggles to keep her small clan afloat, scraping together rent each month through odd jobs and selling her own crafted Hawaiian language spells. While her talent for language magic is her saving grace, she feels like a shadow of those who came before her. Just when she thinks things can’t get any more complicated, the murder of Angelo Reyes—LA’s most prominent Filipino activist—turns her world upside-down. 

Angelo was killed by a death spell—something that, due to the properties of each school of language magic, can only exist in Hawaiian. With independent spellsmithing being technically illegal, Kea quickly becomes the prime suspect, known for her spellwork on the Homestead. To clear her name, she must unravel the mystery behind Angelo’s murder and confront LA’s most powerful (and dangerous) players, each wielding their own type of magic. The clock is ticking—can Kea save herself, her clan, and the Homestead before it’s too late?

MY THOUGHTS: I won't lie.  I initially picked this one up because I was interested in reading an Indigenous Fantasy featuring Hawaiian culture. Little did I know that although not a big part of the book, I would meet one of the hottest couples I've met in a long time.  

Kea is struggling to maintain her family's Homestead despite most areas being taken over by the LA area syndicate.  When an prominent LA activist ends up dead, the LA Board comes to Kea for assistance, as it is believed the spell used to kill Angelo is Hawaiian in nature.  Basically being forced to take on the task despite being out of her league, Kea soon has to find the murdered or risk losing her Homestead.  She ends up getting assistance for Sora Kaiser.  An elite and snobby individual also on the LA Board.  The two clearly are not compatible to work together but they manage to somehow and of course, along the way, tension turns to angst and before you know it, Sora is doing everything he can to help Kea succeed.

I am sure I'm doing a really poor job of describing the plot adequately as there is a lot of world-building and political intrigue packed in such a short book.  I loved learning more about the spellsmithing and the importance of languages, both written and oral, in the world Kauwe created.  I loved Kea's family connections, especially how everyone came together to create and protect the life they cherished so much.  And finally, there is the relationship between Kea and Sora.  Definitely a tad of enemies to lovers with slow-burn relationship development and plenty of banter and snark.  Don't get me wrong, this really isn't a romance book, but the extra addition definitely added to my enjoyment.

This book reads a lot like an urban fantasy which is a genre I recognize I love and need to read more of.  My only real issue is I found the pacing a bit slow at first but that may have been because I was trying to get a grasp on the world and the spellsmithing.  If you love fantasy, a good mystery and some angsty tension on the side, please consider picking this one up.  I believe it is a debut from this author, and I will be looking for more from her in the future.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS