GIRL OF HEARTS

A YA contemporary / urban fantasy featuring royal intrigue, slow-burn romance, and a magical system based on the four playing card suits: diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades.
Four tribes of ruthless demigods rule over luck in our world. To save her mom, Aggie must join them.

A proud nerd and teen scientist, Aggie doesn't believe in gods or in luck. Her OCD is under control - mostly - and her mom, Rachel, has just finished building a dark matter machine that could win back her job as a physics professor. When Rachel disappears, Aggie sneaks into the casino where her mom has been earning money as a card-counter. Instead of finding her, Aggie is captured by a gang of men with tattoos of clubs on the palms of their hands - the Blackovers. A dangerously beautiful boy, the mercurial Jack Valentine, helps her escape.

Because of a glitch in the dark matter machine, Aggie has been filled with charm, good luck energy, while her mom received bad luck energy and may be forced to become a Blackover. To save her, Aggie must join Jack and his fellow Valentines. She finds herself whisked into their world of opulent mansions, gorgeous people, and fancy cars.

But being a demigoddess isn't all glamor and popularity. It can be deadly. Aggie must master her newfound luck powers, battle the dark suits, and brave the unlucky underbelly of Detroit, all while keeping her OCD at bay - or risk losing her mom forever.

J. Gabriel Gates is the author of YA contemporary fantasy and horror books and screenplays. A graduate of Florida State University and Spalding University's MFA writing program, Gates has taught writing at the college level and has worked as a ghostwriter. When not writing books, he works as the executive director of a prominent regional arts organization.