up before dawn--hours before her job at the family winery--and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila's mythological bloodline. Despite the whole "descendant of Draupadi" thing, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. That is until Karan, the mysterious and gorgeous new archer in town, tries to cut off her head. Like Laila, Karan and his family are connected to the world of gods and demons. He's on a mission to save his parents, but with him he brings an influx of immortal beings, and mortal ones--all of whom are ready to, you guessed it, destroy the world.

Nisha Sharma, a life-long paranormal and fantasy fan, finally brings her hilarity and whit to the genre. She grew up being inspired by pop culture touchstones like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Supernatural. Illusions of Fire is her homage to those works--showcasing a powerful female protagonist, with tremendous responsibility and expectations, simply trying to survive while delivering elite one-liners and falling in love with the wrong person.