



Royal Bastards
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4.0 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
"Jon Snow won't be the only 'bastard' whose name readers will remember." —Entertainment Weekly
Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half-brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who's been in love with Tilla since they were children.
Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards' Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.
The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sixteen-year-old Tillandra Kent is the bastard daughter of Elric Kent, a high lord; it's unlikely that Elric will ever legitimize Tilla, but until he disowns her, she enjoys royal privileges. During a banquet honoring princess Lyriana Volaris and her uncle, archmagus Rolan, the princess eschews Lord Kent's company to dine with Tilla and her fellow bastards, Miles and Zell. Seeking adventure, Lyriana persuades her tablemates to sneak out of the castle. They meet up with Tilla's half-brother, Jax, and head to the beach, where they witness Rolan's murder and overhear plans for a coup. The teens are spotted and flee; when morning comes, they learn that the perpetrators have faked Lyriana's death and framed them for both crimes. With combat looming and a bounty on their heads, the group ventures forth to warn the king. First in a planned series, Shvarts's action-packed debut champions diversity, counsels perseverance, and highlights the human cost of war. The pace is zippy, Shvarts's mythology is rich, and while the overall tone skews breezy, the conclusion packs thrills and a serious emotional wallop. Ages 14 up.