"A magical tale unlike anything you've read before." âBustle
"[A] richly imagined 19th-century historical fantasy." âEW, 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 sisterâs debutante spellâan important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magicâAnna finds herself exiled to her familyâs once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
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Her life might well be over.
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In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin NoÊmi to the fierce and handsome Romani GÃĄbor. Not the society sheâs 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 canât seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
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As rebellion spreads across the region, Annaâs 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 sheâs always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.
âA fast-paced historical fantasy full of magic, romance, and adventure!ââJESSICA DAY GEORGE, New York Times bestselling author of Silver in the Blood