Inside ‘A Riddle of Thorns’: The Nanua Sisters’ Spellbinding New Fantasy

When it comes to blending mystique, mythology, and heart, twin authors Sarena and Sasha Nanua have mastered the art. Born ten minutes apart on Diwali—a fitting origin for storytellers drawn to light and shadow—the Ontario-based sisters have built a devoted readership through their rich, character-driven fantasy worlds. Their latest novel, A Riddle of Thorns (released October 14, 2025), marks a thrilling new chapter in their literary journey.

Set in a glittering yet shadowed Edwardian Paris where devotion to Roman gods still reigns, A Riddle of Thorns is an intoxicating Gothic fantasy that entwines romance, riddles, and long-buried secrets. The story follows eighteen-year-old Sana Gupta, who returns to her ancestral home expecting an inheritance but instead finds herself ensnared in a dangerous contest of riddles against three enigmatic rivals—each with secrets as thorny as the manor they inhabit.

The prize? Ownership of Razorthorn Manor—and a mythical flower said to grant any wish.

But as Sana delves deeper into the eerie estate’s riddles and relics, she must face her mother’s mysterious disappearance, confront old rivalries, and decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for truth. With its blend of cerebral puzzles, slow-burn tension, and dark romantic allure, the novel is already being hailed as “Divine Rivals meets The Inheritance Games”, yet distinctly marked by the Nanua Sisters’ lush prose and South Asian sensibilities.

From Serpents To Spirits: A Literary Evolution

Readers first fell under the twins’ spell with Sisters of the Snake (2021), a shape-shifting fantasy steeped in Indian mythology that earned nominations from the Ontario Library Association’s Red Maple Award and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Arlene Barlin Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award. Its success led to the sequel, Daughters of the Dawn, cementing the Nanua duo’s place in the Canadian YA landscape.

In 2025, they expanded their repertoire with Spirit Service, a middle-grade novel that showcased their playful side and drew crowds at book signings across Ontario. Through every project, one constant has remained – their deep commitment to crafting worlds that celebrate diversity, sisterhood, and the thrill of discovery.

A Gothic Puzzle With A South Asian Soul

While A Riddle of Thorns is set in a mythic Europe, its heart is universal. Sana Gupta, the Indian-origin heroine, brings a refreshing layer of representation to the Gothic genre, often dominated by Western archetypes. Her journey of belonging, resilience, and intellect mirrors the broader themes the Nanua Sisters champion in all their works: the beauty of dual identity and the courage to define one’s destiny.

Visually, the novel conjures moonlit halls, cryptic symbols, and blooming danger—a testament to the sisters’ cinematic imagination. Yet beneath the atmospheric intrigue lies a deeper message: that every riddle reveals not just answers, but truths about who we are.

As Sarena and Sasha continue to rise as leading voices in YA fantasy, A Riddle of Thorns stands as both a creative milestone and a love letter to readers who crave magic laced with meaning.

Our Exclusive Chat With The Authors, Sasha & Sarena Nanua

FARAH KHAN: A Riddle of Thorns is beautifully atmospheric and mysterious, what sparked the idea for this story? And why did you choose a magical Edwardian Paris as the backdrop?

SARENA NANUA & SASHA NANUA: First off, thank you for your kind words! Sarena loved The Secret Garden growing up, and after we watched the 2020 film, we both wanted to write a twist on the classic that blended magic, flowers, and history. We also studied French in university, and wanted to write about everything we’d learned—the different arrondissements, the history of the French Revolution, the writers of the nineteenth century, and more. It only felt right to put a magical twist on the story (because we just can’t resist magic!), so Edwardian Paris felt like the perfect backdrop.

FARAH: The riddles play a major role in the plot. How did you approach crafting them? Were any inspired by real myths or logic puzzles?

SARENA & SASHA: We are not huge puzzlers ourselves—but we do love board games and escape rooms!—so writing the riddles and puzzles required quite a bit of thinking. We found that the riddles and miniature puzzles changed quite a bit from draft to draft, depending on what we felt the story required. In a substantial revision with our editor, she recommended we add “mini games” or small puzzles the characters have to figure out earlier in the story; that helped us realize we could squeeze a few smaller puzzles into the book without bogging down the pacing. A few of the clues even tie back to real-life literary works by authors we admire, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley!

FARAH: Your protagonist Sana Gupta – how did her South Asian heritage influence the way you wrote her character in a Gothic European setting?

SARENA & SASHA: We took influence from Mary, the protagonist in The Secret Garden, for Sana’s prickly character. That said, Mary is a very spoiled child who grew up in India, and we didn’t love the portrayal of Indian people in that narrative, which was why we wanted to put our own twist on it.

Sana Gupta was our effort to craft a girl who still shared those spoiled yet redeeming qualities Mary has, and shares our own cultural background. We also wanted to showcase diverse characters alongside Sana from other areas of the world (the Philippines, Korea, England) and allow them to be the main characters of the story, rather than in the periphery.

FARAH: Your earlier works, Sisters of the Snake, Daughters of the Dawn, and Spirit Service, all center magic and mythology. What new ground did you want to explore with A Riddle of Thorns?

SARENA & SASHA: We are big fantasy fans and love to inject all our stories with a touch of magic. In the case of Riddle, we actually wanted to play around with other genres as well—mainly historical, mystery, fantasy (Roman mythology and plant magic), and romance. The book is also billed as a dark academia, leaning into the Gothic elements of the story. Not only did we explore new genres for the first time, we also wanted to discuss real-world topics (colonialism, immigration, grief) in a way that felt fresh and relevant to both the time period and today’s current events.

FARAH: What was your biggest challenge while writing this book?

SARENA & SASHA: Going off of the last question, the genre blending! Pulling together all these genres in a way that felt cohesive was a challenge. Also, coming up with all the puzzles/game aspects and making sure the reader felt like they were solving the mystery alongside Sana was something we always kept in mind.

FARAH: What do you hope young South Asian readers, especially girls, take away from A Riddle of Thorns?

SARENA & SASHA: We hope South Asian girls will look at our books and see that they can be the main character of their own story! A lot of times, diverse authors are told to make their main characters “likeable,” but we intended to do the opposite in Riddle. We hope people see through Sana’s closely guarded heart and prickly sensibilities and understand why she acts the way she does.

FARAH: You started writing together at just nine years old, what have you learned about co-writing after more than a decade as creative partners? And how does your own sisterhood bond influence the themes you write about?

SARENA & SASHA: After almost two decades of working together, we find more and more that teaching writing skills helps us just as much as the actual writing process. We love teaching workshops about creative writing and how to get published. We find our sisterhood bond always sneaks its way into our stories, whether in a big or small way. Trust us, you’ll always find a pair of twins (or triplets!) in our books!

FARAH: You’ve done so many book signings and readings over the years. What moments or interactions with readers have meant the most to you?

SARENA & SASHA: We’ve been lucky enough to get to meet readers from across the GTA and beyond over the years. We still remember the first presentation we ever gave in 2013, and what a wonderful huge banner the students made featuring our book covers on it. We still treasure that gift, and the memory of that presentation, so much!

FARAH: If you could each spend one day inside any fictional world (your own or someone else’s), where would you go and why?

SARENA: I would love to go to Olympus and hang out with Percy Jackson! Rick Riordan is my favourite author. Also, I would love to hang out with the Fierce Four from Spirit Service and grab a cup of boba in Hollows’ Peak.

SASHA: I would love to hang out with Tally Youngblood from my favourite book, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I read the book in eighth grade and it was such a formative story for me, so I’d love to see Tally in action (and maybe take a ride on a hoverboard!).

FARAH: Can you share what’s next for you both? Any hints about future stories or projects in the works?

SARENA & SASHA: Our next release will be Spirit Service 2: Twice the Trouble, out July 14, 2026! We’re also in the process of writing our first cozy mystery series. We’re always dreaming up stories with twins and magic, so be on the lookout!

Credit: https://www.sarenasashabooks.com/, IG @sarenasashabooks, Penguin Random House Canada