Venom & Vow
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Two enemy kingdoms are forced to work together to break a curse in this lush YA fantasy, featuring a transgender prince and a bigender dama/assassin in the lead roles.
Keep your enemy closer.
Cade McKenna is a transgender prince who’s doubling for his brother.
Valencia Palafox is a young dama attending the future queen of Eliana.
Gael Palma is the infamous boy assassin Cade has vowed to protect.
Patrick McKenna is the reluctant heir to a kingdom, and the prince Gael has vowed to destroy.
Cade doesn’t know that Gael and Valencia are the same person.
Valencia doesn’t know that every time she thinks she’s fighting Patrick, she’s fighting Cade.
And when Cade and Valencia blame each other for a devastating enchantment that takes both their families, neither of them realizes that they have far more dangerous enemies.
Cowritten by married writing team Anna-Marie and Elliott McLemore, Venom & Vow is a lush and powerful YA novel about owning your power and becoming who you really are - no matter the cost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Married cowriters Anna-Marie (Lakelore) and debut author Elliott McLemore empathetically interrogate issues of self via dual-identity situations in an uplifting fantastical romance. After negotiations fail between warring kingdoms Adare and Eliana, an unknown party sends the monarchs of both realms into an enchanted sleep. Later, mishaps occur when Eliana's Crown Princess Bryna visits Adare's Crown Prince Patrick in a second attempt at peace, fostering further distrust. Unbeknownst to most, Patrick's brother, Cade, is transgender and the throne's rightful heir; however, Cade fears Adare will reject a trans king, so Patrick leads, and Cade occasionally serves as his double. As suspicions fester between the kingdoms, Bryna's lady-in-waiting, bi-gender Valencia—also a covert male assassin—investigates Cade, who Val believes bewitched the rulers as a power play, while Cade suspects Val of the same. In truth, they share a common enemy and must overcome misgivings and bring secrets to light if they're to save the day. Alternating chapters narrated by Cade and Val heighten the tension as the duo gradually unravel their feelings about themselves and each other. Though initially haphazard plotting and worldbuilding lack focus, things coalesce for an impactful third act, and the McLemores approach the teens' challenges with candor and grace. The boldly drawn cast is intersectionally diverse; both protagonists use canes. Ages 13–up.
