The Lock-Eater — Zack Loran Clark

For fans of Nevermoor and Howl's Moving Castle comes an epic fantasy about a girl with the ability to unlock anything -- including the empire's darkest secrets.

Melanie Gate is a foundling with a peculiar talent for opening the unopenable -- any lock releases at the touch of her hand. One night, her orphanage is visited by Traveler, a gearling automaton there on behalf of his magical mistress, who needs an apprentice pronto. When Melanie is selected because of her gift, her life changes in a flash, and in more ways than she knows -- because Traveler is not at all what he seems. But then, neither is Melanie Gate.

So begins an epic adventure sparkling with magic, wit, secret identities, stinky cats, fierce orphan girls, impostor boys, and a foundling and gearling hotly pursued by the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the land.

Action-packed yet layered, The Lock-Eater is a mix of lush world-building, high stakes, humor, and emotional heft -- a page-turner and so much more.