This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones... if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate in
execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political
intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate
characters. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN, Kristin Cashore’s
GRACELING, and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss
this visceral, immersive, and mesmerizing novel, the first in a trilogy.
NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that
way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched
from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be
raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the
key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious
game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage
that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises
the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only
for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant
and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu
feels that he’s made a true friend — and Lada wonders if she’s finally
found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the
very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against — and that Radu now
considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle
that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark,
sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled... and hearts will be broken.
