What Monstrous Gods
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A rich and romantic new stand-alone fantasy loosely inspired by the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty!
Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and The Shadow Queen.
Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep—and silencing the kingdom's gods.
Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god—or die.
To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.
As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew—and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.
As the two work together, Lia learns that they're more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right—and between the prince she is bound to by duty...and the boy she killed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this complex fantasy loosely inspired by Sleeping Beauty, Hodge delivers a thoughtful meditation on the relationship between faith and obedience, as well as religious and secular power. Five centuries ago, the sorcerer Ruven cast a spell of eternal sleep upon the royal family of Runakhia, surrounding the castle with an impenetrable briar and ending the age of gods and saints. In the present, 17-year-old Lia Kurinava—who was raised by the nuns of Nin-Anna, the goddess of springtime and healing—ventures into the briar, intent on killing Ruven and freeing the royal family. As unwelcome reward upon her triumph, Lia will marry into the royal family and help them reawaken the long-dormant shrines of the gods, returning the deities and their dark miracles to the present. Haunted by Ruven's ghost, rejected by Nin-Anna, and claimed by the death goddess Mor-Iva, Lia must carefully balance mundane politics, divine caprice, and her own developing magical skills to take charge of her destiny. Lia's evolution and exploration of her beliefs is the beating heart of this lush tale, and her nuanced relationship with Ruven and Hodge's unsettling and visceral rendering of the gods as remote and inhuman add grit. Main characters read as white. Ages 13–up.
