This Dark Descent
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Called a "fierce and darkly magical thrill ride" by acclaimed author Ava Reid, NYT bestselling Kalyn Josephson delivers a spellbinding fantasy full of intrigue, romance, and pulse-pounding action, perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us and The Scorpio Races.
Every ten years, the citizens of Veradell gather for the Illinir, a treacherous horse race famous for its alluring prize money and high body count. Tough-as-nails Mikira Rusel, the last in a line of renowned horse breeders, is desperate to win this year's race at any cost. But to make it to the track, she'll need to gather new friends and escape the crosshairs of old foes . . .
A beautiful rogue enchanter with a hidden past just beginning to come into her true power.
A dashing and ambitious young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle.
A brilliant, prickly loner loyal only to his friends, and his loveable but mysterious pet cat.
A ruthless aristocrat determined to protect his family's prestige -- and unrivaled power.
Each one has their own vengeful secrets to protect and reasons to help -- or hinder -- Mikira's odds of winning the Illinir. And in a world as dangerous as this, who among them will be left standing at the finish line?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seventeen-year-old Mikira is a talented horse jockey and scion of a renowned family of enchanted equine breeders whose fortunes have declined since attracting the ire of cruel Lord Rezek Kelbra. When Rezek discovers that Mikira's father is an unlicensed enchanter, the lord sets an ultimatum: win the Illinir, a series of deadly races, on an unenchanted horse, or forfeit her father and the family business. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Arielle, also an unlicensed enchanter, hides a secret—she can create golems, powerful creatures from a forbidden magical tradition whose enchantments can go undetected. The girls' paths collide when Lord Damien Adair, the youngest son of an upstart noble house, approaches them with a plan to win the Illinir, taking his own revenge on house Kelbra in the process. Josephson (The Crow Rider) merges grounded magical lore with electromechanical technology to develop a grim and corruptly governed city populated by morally ambiguous characters. Via Mikira and Arielle's witty alternating perspectives, Josephson presents them as ever-evolving figures with interestingly complementary approaches to the world and the circumstances they find themselves in. Jewish folklore involving golems and dybbuks is woven throughout, and Jewish history strongly informs the backstory of this fantasy world's people. Ages 14–up.
