Death smells rot in a Birmingham hospital: the newly dead are being bound to their bodies—and it isn’t her. As Daisy draws lost souls, Tobias opens the door to Music in a body and love that’s suddenly crowded. With “impossible patients,” embodied rules, and found family under pressure, what do they owe the living and the dead when Time is the sabotage?
Someone is binding the newly dead to their bodies—and it isn’t Death. Daisy, fourteen, draws lost souls like a lighthouse. Tobias Staghorn opens his door to the impossible: Music has a body again, and love is suddenly crowded.
Across a winter tipping into tense spring in the Midlands and London, A&E doctor Stuart Murray returns as “impossible patients” stop dying on schedule. The rules hold but strain: Death can guide but not choose; Music can kindle feeling but not command consent; Time can braid a soul’s tether, but every crossing must be the soul’s own.
To free the jammed passage between life and afterlife, Death needs answers. Tobias wants a department built and a love he won’t ruin; Stuart wants to save bodies without losing himself; Daisy wants the noise to stop. As shadow ghosts thicken and hospitals buckle, what do they owe the living, the dead—and each other—when Time himself is the sabotage?
Behind the Pages
Over the years, I’ve had more story ideas than I can count—some passing through quickly, others lingering for tea. A few even came with dramatic entrances and impossible demands. But none of them ever made it onto paper. Not even a line. Not even a note on the back of a napkin.
Until Tobias & Stuart.
I’ve always been drawn to MM romance and speculative fantasy, and since this was my first novel, I thought I’d start with something I knew well—academic life. It’s a world full of eccentric characters, strange rituals, and an endless supply of questions without clear answers. In its own way, academia already feels a bit fantastical. My challenge was to combine all three into one story.
Tobias & Stuart became the kind of book I wanted to read myself: an MM romance that doesn’t just flutter hearts but nudges the mind awake. At its centre is Tobias, an academic who’s built a perfectly sensible life for himself… until he hasn’t. His journey is one of confronting emptiness, finding courage in vulnerability, and slowly becoming the truest version of himself—all while the world threatens to unravel around him.
It’s a story about love, friendship, and the delightful absurdity of being human. Those small, stubborn things that—when you really think about it—might just be what saves the world.
I hope you’ll come along for the journey with Tobias and Stuart, and of course with Music, Death, and Time, who have a way of turning everything upside down just when you think you’ve figured it out.
Jern Tonkoi
Reader praise
“This was a strong sequel in the Tobias & Stuart series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from previous works from Jern Tonkoi . It uses the British fantasy element in a way that I was expecting and enjoyed in this world, it continued the storyline perfectly and was glad it was everything that I wanted. I enjoyed getting to read this and look forward to more from the author.”
“This series may not be your typical romantasy, but it absolutely deserves a chance. 💜 It’s a slow burn — not just in the romance, but in how the world itself unfolds. The author takes time to build the universe, layer the relationships, and weave in themes of love, loss, and survival. Book two dives into darker territory, balancing tenderness with chaos, and pulling you into a story where love becomes a guiding light even in the shadow of death. 🖤 If you’re looking for a series that’s emotional, haunting, and beautifully different — this is it.”
