Q&A: Rachel Greenlaw, Author of ‘The Ordeals’

We chat with author Rachel Greenlaw about The Ordeals, which is a rivals-to-lovers romance and is set in a magical university where young magic wielders must secure their spot by competing in a series of deadly trials. 

Hi, Rachel! Welcome back! How has the past year been since we last spoke?

Hello!! Great to be back. This year has been busy in the best possible way! The second book in my YA fantasy series, Shadow and Tide published in March, and I’ve been working away on the second book in The Ordeals duology…

I’ve also been to Croatia, Mauritius and travelled within the UK, so basically it’s been the most wonderful time.

Your latest novel, The Ordeals, is out October 7^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Mayhem, romance and found family

What can readers expect?

A chaotic blend of a gothic, atmospheric college for magic wielders, characters with all the banter, a love interest who is a bundle of green flags, a cut throat college entrance exam and an FMC with more determination and grit in her little finger than most have in their entire skeleton. Oh, plus a few supernatural twists!

Where did the inspiration for The Ordeals come from?

So many places, but the very first glint was inspired by the gothic, atmospheric depictions of Cornwall, UK where I grew up in Daphne DuMaurier’s novels.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I absolutely LOVED writing Greg as a character, one of the hopeful scholars who you meet fairly early on. He is a massive dork and I adore him. I also just loved writing the ordeals themselves and designing them as puzzles for the reader and characters to figure out.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge came in the editorial stages of this book. I have the most dedicated editors that really saw the vision for this duology and wanted the very best. The standard was high and I fought to reach it, and I’m so very glad I have such passionate editors, because the outcome is a book I’m very proud of.

What’s next for you?

Next up is the third and final installment in my YA fantasy series, Starlight and Storm which is slated for publication in April 2026 and then the second book in The Ordeals duology, which is tentatively slated for autumn 2026. But I have just so many ideas, this really feels like the beginning and I’m excited to explore new worlds and characters.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I read across all sorts of different genres and age categories, and I cannot pin down exactly what it is, but for me some books really have that elusive ‘it’. This year I have loved This is How We Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, Thorn Season by Kiera Azar, The Bookbinder’s Secret by A.D. Bell, Direbound by Sable Sorenson, The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clark and The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I am very much looking forward to reading my copy of Katabasis by RF Kuang and also the copy I purchased of House of the Beast by Michelle Wong.

Will you be picking up The Ordeals? Tell us in the comments below!