Liam Russo and the Pestilence Codex (Empowering the Plainfolk)

What if magic is real—and you’ve been quietly training for it your whole life?

Eighteen-year-old Liam Russo planned to become a doctor, healing one patient at a time. Then, a mysterious surgeon offers him a place at Dawnspire Academy, a hidden school nestled in the jagged Rocky Mountains of Banff. Here, students from cultures across Canada learn to awaken the magical spark nurtured by their earthly passions. For Liam, it’s a chance to save his dying grandfather and heal on a scale no ordinary physician could dream of.

But power always comes with questions. Who should wield it? And how much is safe for one person to hold?

Inside the academy walls, Liam finds sanctuary in a tender romance, forms a fierce found family, and stumbles into the crosshairs of a rebellion among elitist, legacy mageborne students. But as tensions boil within the school, an ancient pestilence deity awakens outside it—threatening a sweeping epidemic that neither magic nor medicine can stop.

Perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Legendborn, and Legends & Lattes, this cozy-yet-tender fantasy academia debut blends healing magic and found family with the heavy cost of power.