Tomasini’s storytelling is hauntingly beautiful, transporting the reader into a setting that feels both wild and intimate, as if every shadow in the trees is whispering a forgotten tale. The magic system is subtle yet powerful, seamlessly integrated into the landscape and history of the novel—it feels like something ancient, something that has always existed but is just now being uncovered. (Goodreads, May 2, 2025)
Within This Darkness (Book One) and All Remaining Warmth Was Escaping (Book Two) are both available via Ingram Spark, and therefore print copies can be ordered by your local bookstore. The links below will take you to Within This Darkness, as available in print or ebook form from these vendors. All Remaining Warmth ... is also available: Barnes and Noble Amazon Canada Amazon USA Amazon UK (and most other international Amazon sites)
The Douro-Zamość trilogy is written for a (thoughtful) teen / young-adult reader, but because the trilogy deals with mature topics - such as the complexities of deep mourning - reviewers have noted that the books appeal to adults as much as they do to teenagers.
Book 1: Within This Darkness Within was released in 2025 and was shortlisted in the fiction category for the Whistler Independent Book Awards. Within is a multiple timeline story that weaves together historical fiction, magical realism, and themes of profound grief.
In the small, rural town of Douro, Ontario, 14-year-old Jeremy Gardela is struggling with immense grief following the death of his older sister. His aunt, who suffers from mild dementia, sends him into the surrounding dark forests on a mission to find a supposed hidden family treasure. Instead of finding a treasure, Jeremy discovers a mysterious teenage girl, who represents a vein of magic that has run within the bloodline of the Gardela family.
Book 2: All Remaining Warmth Was Escaping
The second book expands on the magical family history and heavily shifts the historical timeline to the devastation of World War II. The title itself is inspired by a passage from Ryszard Kapuściński's book Imperium, describing children freezing in the cold during World War II. Now awake after being lost in time for over a hundred years, 15-year-old Agata Obara desperately searches for her sister, Dorota, who vanished into the chaos of south-eastern Poland during WWII. Meanwhile, Jeremy is dealing with his own awakening magical gifts, haunted by the thought that these powers might have been better left asleep in the darkness.