"I found myself swept away by the eerie, dark fantasy of the kingdom of Blunder. I loved the characters and world building of this duology, and the magic system was unique and easy to follow. A deck of 12 types of cards allow their wielders magic abilities—but all magic comes at a cost. For Elspeth, that cost comes in the form of a nightmarish voice in her head, always watching and listening. And if you, like me, enjoy a touch of romance in your fantasy, you'll be happy to hear that there's also a brooding highwayman."
Publisher Orbit
Publication Date 2022-09-27
Section New Titles - Paperback / Science Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions / Victoria Y.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9780316312486
For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason.
He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
