Castle of Cards and Shadows

Love is a dangerous game, but she will win it.

Her mother is dead, her uncle has gone mad, and her father is the coldest man in Aveline. Sarriana Malefor would do anything to earn her father’s love, including playing along with his scheme to put her on the throne. When the prince announces that he will marry the maiden who can win his heart, Sarrie uses her cunning and the outlawed science of essentia to gain an edge against the prettiest girls in the kingdom.

But being at the castle has its risks. Rats carrying a deadly disease invade Aveline, and Sarrie’s efforts to undermine the competition could easily get her expelled from the Bride Choosing. To make matters more frustrating, a flute player with haunting gray eyes has frightening effects on Sarrie’s mind and heart, ones she can’t explain with science.

As the Bride Choosing grows ever nearer, Sarrie must decide if she’d rather play the cold strategy she’s always known or give up everything for the ones who have loved her all along.

Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy meets the fairytale of the Pied Piper in CASTLE OF CARDS AND SHADOWS. Perfect for fans of Gail Carson Levine’s sweet romance and plucky heroines, this fantasy novel is equal parts romance and adventure.