"A magical tale unlike anything you've read before." —Bustle
"[A] richly imagined 19th-century historical fantasy." —EW, A-
The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.
Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
Her life might well be over.
In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romani, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.
“A fast-paced historical fantasy full of magic, romance, and adventure!”—JESSICA DAY GEORGE, New York Times bestselling author of Silver in the Blood
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it started out i was expecting the typical rich versus poor version i seen over done in various dystopian novels. We have a member of the upper class who have the use of magic and she of course does not but she does in a way that is not expected by the normal. Their are various other members of this society that are underclass who also weld magic but are forbidden to as they are not part of upper society. I like the twist that the main character being a part of the upper class is going to be the undoing of the whole world.
Anna is a unique character in that she does not want to harm those she loves which are part of this upper class, nor does she see it as fair that their "magic" should be the only magic and that is unjust that this "binding" prevents those are not in the know to have access to magic. This book is very well rooted in historical fact and that makes it stand out in this genre as it is dystopian but it also is historical fantasy fiction. Their a lot to be found in the pages of this book and i hope that you give it a chance and i excited to see where the world is going in the next book of this story.
I received a copy of the arc from Misprint Arc Adoptions.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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9 April, 2017:
Finished reading
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9 April, 2017:
Reviewed