A Voodoo witch must navigate a magically and racially divided nineteenth-century New Orleans to save her motherand the soul of the city itselfin this lush debut novel inspired by the life of Marie Laveau.

An edgy, intoxicating novel pulsing with the dark heartbeat of 1840s New Orleans and a fiery mother-daughter dynamic I wont soon forget.Sarah Penner,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Lost Apothecary

ABook Rio, Reactor, andRead Between the SpinesBest Book of the Month Pick!

In 1843 New Orleans, the reigning Voodoo queen is Marie Laveau, feared by her enemies and followers alike. Her daughter, Marie “Ree” Laveau the Second, is everything her cutthroat and principled mother is notspoiled and entitled, with a wickedly rebellious streakand defies her mother at every turn. But Rees world is turned upside down when she finds Marie comatose in the bayou, cursed by exiled Voodoo king Jon the ConjurerMaries former teacher, lover, and greatest enemy.

As Marie hovers on the brink of death, Ree races to uncover the secrets of her mothers life in search of a cure and gradually uncovers a web of alliances, dangers, and deception. Whats worse, Henryk Broussard, Rees long-missing childhood best friend, returns as a witch hunter of the Church, tasked with investigating her. With so many enemies circling, including a puritanical-minded Brotherhood of alchemists and the slave-holding mayor of the city, Ree must confront the past and face her mothers demons that have now become her ownor die trying.

Told in alternating timelines between Ree in the present and Maries rise to power twenty-five years earlier,The Quarter Queenis an intimate yet epic portrait of a mother and daughter who have struggled all their lives to understand one another, and a captivating exploration of racism, family, and womanhood.

Kayla Hardyis a mythology expert and multi-hyphenate author and screenwriter of Louisiana Creole descent. She earned her PhD in creative writing and African Americanliterature from SUNY Binghamton University. Dr. Hardy is an adjunct professor at SUNY Binghamton University and is an accomplished scholar of Black folklore, mythology, and Voodoo.The Quarter Queenis her first novel.

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publish Date: March 31, 2026
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9780593976760
• Dimensions: 9.5 X 6.4 X 1.3 inches | 1.2 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Fantasy, Popular Fiction, Literary Fiction