Hello my lovely bookworms, it’s been a while since I last posted. I am currently on holiday and I have the blogging bug. So I have some posts I’ve been meaning to publish but haven’t yet.
So today I’m so excited to have another special Under the Cover post with an author who has written quite possibly my favourite book of last year The Enemy’s Daughter so and her next novel, A Thief to Die For is out so I thought this would be the perfect time to post this. If you want to know more about my thoughts, you can read my review here.
Under the Cover is an interview series where I connect with my favourite authors and exciting new literary discoveries. Join me behind the pages as we dive into their writing processes, the inspiration behind their books, and what it really takes to bring a story to life.
First here is a bit more about the book.
The enemy’s daughter by Melissa Poett Published by Harper Fire on May 6, 2025
Genres: Fantasy & Magic
Waterstones
A stunning reimagining of Tristan and Isolde set in a dystopian world woven with magic. An addictive debut YA enemies-to-lovers romantasy—perfect for fans of Rebecca Ross and Sarah Underwood as well as books like Curious Tides, The Hurricane Wars, and Belladonna.
It’s been thirty-seven years since the Republic was destroyed. Now two settlements—the five clans and the Kingsland—fight for control of the untainted land. Though the five clans are outnumbered, they’ve finally struck, killing Kingsland’s brutal leader.
In the war that follows, Isadora, an eighteen-year-old healer, risks her life to help injured soldiers. But when she stops an attack from Tristan, a Kingsland assassin, his soldiers shoot her with a poisoned arrow. As Isadora lies dying, Tristan does the unimaginable: He offers to save her life using a rare magic.
In choosing to live, Isadora is unknowingly bound to the mysterious Tristan. Worse, even acknowledging the attraction between them allows him to glean fragments of her memories and the very knowledge he needs to destroy the five clans. But their magical connection works both ways. So to save her people, Isadora will have to open her heart to her most cunning enemy. Because in a race for ultimate survival, she’ll need to destroy Tristan and his people first.
INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA POETT
Can you pick a quote to summarise your debut book The Enemy’s Daughter?
That’s a tough one. I think a good quote from the book that encapsulates the story is: “I may trust Tristan not to {redacted}, but I will always be the enemy’s daughter. I could never trust him with my heart.”
It’s a classic question, but one I love to ask debut authors, what started your love for writing?
I started writing in a pretty typical way—it grew out of my unquenchable love for reading. One day, I sat down to give it a try and ended up losing track of time. The more I experimented with it and liked what I was creating, the more serious I became and really dug into the craft and structure of storytelling.
What was the inspiration behind The Enemy’s Daughter?
The story was first sparked by a dream I had about two enemies who get poisoned and then end up having to save each other’s lives. I’ve also always adored the Tristan and Isolde movie with James Franco and Sophia Myles, which is probably where my affection for 12th-century legends began.
The Enemy’s Daughter is inspired by the reimagining of Tristan and Isolde, why this one for your debut novel?
Fun fact: The Enemy’s Daughter was my sixth novel, and although I still have hope to publish some of my earlier books (because I still think they’re awesome!), I’m really happy that this was the book that caught lightning. It’s certainly the biggest, most epic romantasy I’ve tackled, and it’s such a fun read, as it’s packed with all my favoUrite tropes.
As you know this is my favourite book of the year for me, the world building was so captivating, I especially loved the magic system, did you have any favourite aspects of creating this?
I love that it connected with you so thoroughly; that’s every writer’s dream!
Yes, the magic system was addicting and such a wild ride to write. In my humble opinion, the magical bond trope is top tier already, but make it with an enemy boy you have to open your heart to in order to unlock his dangerous secrets? And that’s the kind of tensionthat makes you stay up all night to read (at least for me).
For world building—it’s interesting that one of my favourite parts of it would also be one of the most tedious. In creating a fantasy world, I had to change the names of a lot of things. So there was an incredible amount of time spent just staring at the wall, trying to think of an alternate name for ordinary objects, like a battery, or cinnamon, or antibiotics. But I love how those slight deviations in their language remind the reader that it’s not quite the world they know.
I adored Isadora, she was such a kickass FMC and whilst I feel this is largely inspired from Isolde. What was your favourite characteristic you enjoyed writing about her character?
Isadora has so many characteristics that were easy to love. Even though she’s not the sword fighting heroine, she has a lot of quiet bravery. She also has a strong sense of right and wrong, and her deep questions about what justice looks like in the face of war really resonated with me. I especially loved her curiosity about medicine and her frustration about the roadblocks keeping her from learning more. She has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and we can’t help but love a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it.
What I loved was the dystopian genre fused and woven with magic, that made it such a unique story and couldn’t be put down, what made you pick this genre to reimagine this legend?
From the beginning, I knew I wanted to write the story in a modern setting, while echoing the medieval spirit of the legend, and a post-apocalyptic world was perfect for that. But going straight dystopian didn’t feel right either, so I had to bring in a touch of magic. Really, it’s just a collection of all my favoUrite tropes and genres.
Were there any deleted scenes that you wished were in the book, but never made it in?
Maybe? I do have a word document with about 40,000 words of deleted sentences, but I’d have to read through it to check. Mostly, I used that space to collect scenes that needed to go in a different direction, and it’s a lot easier to make major changes to a chapter if I know I have a saved copy, just in case I want to revert back.
Did you have a favourite scene you enjoyed writing, without any spoilers. 🙂
My favourite parts to write were definitely whenever Tristan and Isadora were together,because their chemistry was so vivid for me. But if I had to pick one, I’d say the healing scene was the most propulsive. I couldn’t type fast enough, and very little of what I wrote in that first draft ever got changed.
What’s your experience been like as a writer so far?
It’s been really thrilling to see readers embrace The Enemy’s Daughter the way they have, especially because for many years, writing was pretty much a solo experience. With publishing, there’s a lot of waiting and hoping that the right person will discover your work and want to champion it. Very, very happy that this book is finally in the world.
Can you give us a sneak peek as to what’s next for you?
Yes! Book two will follow Tristan’s cousin, Ryland, and be set in the same world with the same magic system. In other words, Ryland—who also has the connection—will be getting his own EPIC story, and trust me, it’s intense. While I can’t reveal yet which medieval legend this book reimagines, I can say that it’s written and has been sent off to my editors to go into production shortly. You can expect it to release in late summer or early fall of 2026.
Finally, if you could recommend 3 books to read, what would it be?
For She is Wrath by Emily Varga. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. And I will forever and always recommend An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
Thank you so much Melissa for joining me on my blog. The Enemy’s Daughter and A Thief to Die For is out now.
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