From the Publisher
"Offers dazzling settings and swoonworthy romantic moments, using Jiara’s emotional and literal journeys to hammer home the twin messages of acceptance and accommodation for different cultures, sexual orientations, and faiths."—Kirkus Reviews
"A powerful story of love, vengeance, and learning to trust yourself, this is a must purchase." —School Library Journal
"An enthralling fantasy novel that will appeal to young adult and adult readers alike." —Midwest Book Review
School Library Journal
08/01/2021
Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Jiara is struggling with the murder of her beloved older sister Scilla. She is also riddled with fear that Scilla's ghost will hurt her family because she's a spirit that won't rest until they exact vengeance on her murderer. Jiara learns that a witness saw the killer, someone from the foreign country of Farnskag and she jumps at the chance to travel there. Awkwardly, the opportunity arises because she is marrying the King of Farnskag, who is Scillia's former fiancé, creating a confusing mix of feelings as her attraction to him grows. While she slowly learns to acclimate to a foreign land, she gains allies, though she's never quite sure who to trust. This novel is full of detailed worldbuilding as Rueckert creates multiple cultures with their own belief systems and history. This debut fantasy in a unique imagining of a young girl grappling with the new burden placed upon her as queen of a country where she doesn't speak the language, while attempting to protect her family and put her sister to rest. Jiara has difficulty learning the new language partially because she appears to have a learning disability similar to dyslexia. Jiara may start off sheltered and afraid, but by facing her fears she shows her true bravery and earns respect. VERDICT A powerful story of love, vengeance, and learning to trust yourself, this is a must purchase for all libraries.—Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County P.L. Coop., FL
Kirkus Reviews
2021-06-01
An ordinary princess embarks on an unexpected journey.
Neither the heir nor the spare with two older siblings, 17-year-old Princess Jiara of Azzaria craves adventures over academics due to her learning disability (which an author’s note names as dyslexia). Jiara had no expectation of becoming a queen, but after her older sister, Scilla, is murdered, Jiara must wed young King Raffar of Farnskag in her stead to protect an important political alliance. Tattooed and bald per Farnskag’s customs, Raffar is handsome and attentive, but Jiara feels alienated in her new home. Struggling to learn the new language, Jiara grows suspicious of her husband’s trusted advisers and soon uncovers betrayals both personal and political. Contending with Scilla’s vengeful ghost, who is growing more violent as her murderer goes unpunished, Jiara also earns the protection of her new home’s deities, the elemental Watchers, and their monoliths. Black-haired Jiara hails from a Mediterranean-feeling Azzaria while Raffar comes from racially diverse Farnskag, a kingdom that feels more northern European. The political passementerie is tiresome while the zero-to-hero/chosen-one trope is regrettably trite; the inclusion of a princess with a disability is welcome, if not unprecedented. Debut novelist Rueckert occasionally offers dazzling settings and swoonworthy romantic moments, using Jiara’s emotional and literal journeys to hammer home the twin messages of acceptance and accommodation for different cultures, sexual orientations, and faiths. Neither grimdark nor frivolous, this is a middling political fantasy.
Achieves flights of fancy but never truly soars. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)
