Kate Stradling

An evil princess, a ruthless persecutor, a wretched match. Tormented at home and bullied during her studies abroad, second-born Iona of Wessett hides in the quiet corners of her father's castle. Her art and music provide refuge, but her cruel sister Lisenn ever lurks like a monster stalking its prey.Such has been her life for twenty years. However, a promise of reprieve and retribution arrives when the neighboring kingdom of Capria proposes an alliance between their new crown prince and Wessett's heir to the throne. The treaty will rid Iona of the toxic Lisenn, and the potential groom is none other than her erstwhile bully, Jaoven of Deraval. The marriage could not be more poetic: each deserves the misery the other might inflict. Except that Jaoven, humbled by the war that elevated his rank, appears to have reformed, and the fate of both kingdoms now hinges on the disastrous union he's about to make.

The Heir and the Spare

Plagued by misfortune, Ingrid Norling treks into the woods to clear her head. She emerges a monster-slayer, the shaken executioner of a creature so ferocious that even the king's strongest warriors could not destroy it. In a land that reveres swords and worships strength, this accidental heroism earns Inge an audience at court and an ill-fated prize: King Halvard impulsively adopts her and names her as his heir. Under constant guard to prevent her escape, Inge confronts the ignoble underbelly of the royal court: a despotic king, a clueless princess, a proud warrior, and a dangerous intrigue. As secrets unravel and the castle becomes an elaborate deathtrap, Inge must keep her wits close and her weapons closer. The monster in the woods was only the beginning.

The Legendary Inge

Viola Moreland's life is a well-orchestrated lie. For generations her family has fabricated the existence of the Eternal Prince, a mysterious and powerful protector who watches over the small kingdom of Lenore. This practiced deception cracks, however, when a nameless stranger stumbles across the truth and promptly assumes the Prince's identity. Unable to produce the genuine figurehead, the Moreland family-and Viola in particular-must cater to the impostor's whims or risk having the web of carefully constructed ruses crumble to pieces.Of course, as with any good lie, nothing really is as it seems. Contrary to Viola's desires, this false Prince with his cryptic agenda may well be the only thing that stands between the true magic of Lenore and certain destruction.

Kingdom of Ruses

Eugenie lives in isolation on her father's estate, with only her elegant stepmother and two stepsisters for company. When the crown of Jacondria announces a series of royal masquerades, she yearns to go. However, her stepsisters' fortunes hinge on them finding wealthy husbands, and Eugenie doesn't want to interfere with their odds.Enter a mischievous fairy who has other plans.A scant few hours of light-hearted revelry seems harmless enough. By the fairy's own rules, Eugenie can't stay the whole night, and with everyone in costume, her stepfamily will never know she was there.Really, how much trouble can result from attending a masquerade or two?

Soot and Slipper

Namesake

Magdalena of Ondile adores the crown prince of Corenden, but she'd sooner die than admit it. Ejected from the royal court, she spends her days at a sage's seminary, where her sparkling memories and destructive empathy magic prey upon her. Until the ocean rips her charming prince into its depths. When Magdalena discovers him washed ashore, her rescue-by-happenstance draws her back to the glittering palace and its stifling rules. But Prince Finnian's miraculous return attracts more than the nobility of the court. The eerie creature that spared his life would gladly reclaim it, even if staking that claim requires a sacrifice of flesh and endless torment. Based on H. C. Andersen's "The Little Mermaid"

Brine and Bone

Purple spur and silver thread, waste away until you're dead. Necromancers infest the land of Alderyth, fueling a dark plague that always kills its victims. For Nell, it's more than a story told by travelers. The deathmark claimed her family and fated her to a life of servitude. When a battered old hag collapses in her arms, suspicion swirls through her fear-governed town. Could Nell be a carrier of the plague? She decides to flee rather than submit to prying authorities, but not without trouble. The deathmark dogs her footsteps, and her best escape might lie with a reclusive man who knows far more than he should about the curse.

Deathmark

Evil witches, cursed royalty, heroes by happenstance, and happily ever after: Duncan does not believe in fairy tales, but when he runs away from his father's farm, he tumbles headlong into one. Old Dame Groach recruits him as caretaker of her crumbling estate, where he must tend her poisonous garden, beat her white horse daily, and keep far away from the mysterious closet beneath the stairs... and that's only the start of his fantastical troubles! A retelling and shameless embellishment of the French-Canadian folk tales "Scurvyhead" and "Sir Goldenhair."

Goldmayne: a Fairy Tale

An Empire in Decay: Rosia Domitius has lived her whole life in Melanthos, in the palace of Emperor Petronius Drusus and his heirs. She loves her homeland, but the magic that once infused it is vanishing, siphoned by Lenore, a small, defiant country to the west. When magical attacks begin along that border, the emperor dispatches an investigative party with Rosia in its midst-as a fledgling assassin. His expectations are clear: she can end her people's suffering if she kills Lenore's ruler, a mysterious figure known only as the Eternal Prince. As soon as her party crosses the border, they encounter a nameless young man with a mischievous smile. Although he acts harmless, the creatures of the woods obey his whims. Rosia's survival quickly depends on his goodwill, and perhaps on uncovering the secrets he guards with his pleasant façade. For, according to this stranger, her homeland's woes come not from Lenore but from within, from rituals lost and bonds betrayed. If she follows her original plan, she might save the dying empire. Or, she might destroy its only hope.

Guardian of Ruses

Dreamer, machinist, sweet-talker, enigma. When four gifted children escape from the government-run Prometheus Institute, it's up to their classmate, 10-year-old Oliver Dunn, to bring them back. Unfortunately for him, Hawk, Hummer, Honey, and Happy West did not leave on a whim, and they have no intention of returning quietly. With the help of the powerful Government-Civilian Alliance, Oliver and his handler Emily must track down the truants before they can wreak havoc across the southwestern United States. Submit now, dear children. The state demands it

Kate Stradling

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