“I was a bit player in my parents’ drama, a parentified eldest daughter”

Clíodhna O’Sullivan's 'Her Hidden Fire' is a debut romantasy novel that blends fantasy worldbuilding with romantic elements and social themes about power and exploitation. The story follows a protagonist whose limited, personal power contrasts with a ruling class that draws strength from ordinary people, asking whether a giver can defeat takers. Rooted in the author's observations of social and economic exploitation, the book uses fantastical elements to amplify real-world dynamics. It was selected by the American Booksellers Association for Indies Introduce and chosen as a Good Morning America Book Club pick, raising its profile in the U.S. market. The novel is the first in a planned trilogy and foregrounds themes of class, patriarchal power and the moral costs of extraction economies.