Song 1: Maria – Kerala Dust
This song gets first place because it’s kind of the theme of my two main characters, Sadaré and Daesra. I don’t always listen to music when writing, but I played this one over and over again while drafting both EXQUISITE RUIN and DIVINE DESCENT. It’s mysterious, it’s sexy, and it has fantastic lyrics, like:
You're a comma to a question or a point that can't be raised
An incident that wakes you to a sun that never came
An answer to some riddle or a consequential truth
But some might say that's why I fell for you
And that’s just Sadaré and Daesra in a nutshell, with their tangled, magnetic relationship.
Song 2: Black Hole – Ben Böhmer, Monolink
I’ve been a huge Monolink fan for a long time (I think I’ve seen him three or four times live?), and his music has always been on my writing playlists, but especially for DIVINE DESCENT. This song, Black Hole, really also evokes the toxicity of Sadaré and Daesra’s relationship, but also the depths to which they both will go for each other.
Once there was no distance, no space between us two
Once I fell, I fell into your black hole
Ooh, it's getting dark and dark you see
Ah-ooh, I'm losin' you, I'm losin' me
Ooh, closer now, I feel your soul
Ah-ooh, I'm divin' into you, black hole
Song 3: Repeat After Me – KONGOS
This song really felt right when I was writing the conflict within both Sadare and Daesra as they’re fighting their way back to each other, when they’re acknowledging their strengths but also their own limitations, and they’re a bit angry about all of it.
It’s so hard to sign my own surrender
So hard to do what I’ve intended
So hard to leave what I've defended
So hard to separate what's blended
Song 4: Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea – MISSIO
Daesra is the son of the sea god, and throughout the duology he alternately struggles against his lineage and embraces it. This song really encapsulated that for me while writing him, in particular.
The berth surrounding my body, crushing every bit of bone
The salt, it seeps in through the pores of my open skin
I wait on you inside the bottom of the deep blue sea
I wait on you inside the bottom of the deep blue
Song 5: denver luna – Underworld
Let’s go out on a bang! I love this song to death (though you might not if you don’t like techno). And that’s all I can really say about it, as the lyrics not only don’t make sense for DIVINE DESCENT, but they don’t make much sense at all - they’re used more like another instrument, adding layers to the song. It’s one of the faster songs that I’m actually able to listen to while writing, and it just vibes with this book and the playlists I used while writing it. And there you have it!
Labyrinth
In this thrilling sequel to Exquisite Ruin, AdriAnne May’s darkly romantic reimagining of the Minotaur myth, Sadaré and Daesra are torn apart in the underworld—and new relationships may complicate their way back to one another.
Sadaré and Daesra’s struggles go beyond the deadly labyrinth as Sadaré is trapped in the underworld after a new enemy emerges, and Daesra will risk everything to rescue her.
But the god of death can be tempting. With every passing day, Sadaré grows closer to her captor. As she’s drawn deeper into his world, the memories of her past—of Daesra—begin to slip away. And the closer Daesra comes to saving her, the less she remembers wanting to be saved.
If Daesra can reach her in time, will she still remember him? Or will their love be the next piece of her to die?
Romance Fantasy [ Gallery Books, On Sale: March 31, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781668077313 / eISBN: 9781668077320 ]
AdriAnne May/A.M. Strickland was a bibliophile who wanted to be an author before she knew what either of those words meant. She splits her time between Alaska and Spain with her spouse, her pugs, and her piles of books. She loves traveling, dancing, tattoos, and writing stories about sympathetic monsters. She is the author of Lady Dragon, Court of the Undying Seasons, In the Ravenous Dark, and Beyond the Black Door under A.M. Strickland, and Exquisite Ruin under AdriAnne May.
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