Thorn Season
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
Shadow and Bone meets The Selection in this first book in Kiera Azar's sharp, sexy, and twisty debut YA romantasy trilogy!
“Dark, sexy, and completely addictive, romantasy lovers will devour Azar’s Thorn Season. With epic betrayals, shocking twists, and delicious tension, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. An absolute thrill of a novel.”—Rachel Griffin, New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders, in possession of a magical Spectre–a shimmering thread that can extend beyond their visible body to give a loving caress, pick a lock . . . even kill. Feared for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine, heiress and daughter of a Hunter family . . . is also a Wielder. At eighteen, Alissa knows she’s escaped execution thus far only due to painful self-control and the efforts of her beloved father.
Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself caught in a web of intrigue and betrayal—and caught between two equally dangerous men: one a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairy-tale prince, who would destroy her if he knew the truth—and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.
With the threat of discovery lurking around every corner—and romance becoming an increasingly dangerous temptation—Alissa will find that she has more to lose than her secrets. It’s Rose Season at the palace, but to survive she’ll need to become the most vicious of thorns. . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eighteen-year-old Lady Alissa Paine is a Wielder, one of a group of enchanters facing persecution in the kingdom of Daradon. She is also the heir to a family of Wielder Hunters. As such, she must keep her specter—an invisible, thread-like force that marks her as a Wielder—hidden or risk capture. When she learns that her family's missing magic compass, which identifies specters, is being used to track and kill other Wielders, Alissa accepts the king's invitation to participate in the Rose Season at the royal palace, hoping the theatrics surrounding the annual tradition will conceal her investigation into the compass's whereabouts. But being a guest at the palace means she must also navigate myriad social engagements with Erik, the fearsome Daradon king who's eager to court her, and Keil, a charming ambassador to Ansora, a place where Wielders live freely. Using lush, polished prose, Azar balances high stakes with tight pacing to present steadily unfolding political intrigue and slow-burn romance. Across Alissa's impassioned first-person narration, the debut author deftly explores themes of suppressed identity, friendship, love, and loyalty in the face of violent persecution, making for a confident fantasy trilogy opener. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up.
