Legendborn meets The Da Vinci Code in this "inventive, compelling" (Kirkus Reviews) light academia contemporary fantasy and "whirlwind romp" (Publishers Weekly) following a teen who infiltrates a secret school for the descendants of exiled Renaissance masters to steal their long-lost arts and sciences. Steal from a hidden utopia. Fake date your nemesis. Don't fall for your mentor. And whatever you do--don't get caught. For centuries, Ada Castle's family has searched for the Genesis Institute: a secret utopia where the descendants of exiled Renaissance masters study arts and sciences so extraordinary they feel like magic. So when Ada is rescued from an attempted kidnapping by the institute's handsome, brilliant, and completely off-limits recruiter, she seizes the chance to infiltrate the school and finally steal its advancements for the rest of the world.
To access the institute's most guarded knowledge, Ada must earn a place in its elite guild system under the guidance of the recruiter-turned-mentor she's quickly falling for. But when a new friend disappears, she's forced to fake a relationship with the school's most dangerous--and dangerously attractive--student, who's convinced she's a spy and is determined to prove it. Which is a problem, because there's a reason Genesis has managed to stay a secret for centuries...and they will kill to keep it that way.
As devastating revelations come to light and Ada's understanding of right and wrong starts to blur, she must choose who to betray--the family whose mission she has always believed in, or the school that has completely reshaped her beliefs...and her heart.
