The Castle of Whispers

In this haunting novel, Martinez weaves an enchanting and lyrical tale whereby a whisper can become a shout heard by an entire people, and the voice of a child can be more powerful than that of a king. At fifteen, Esclarmonde realizes that the only way out of her betrothal is to renounce her freedom and a part of herself. Rather than accept the hand of a philandering knight, she cuts off her own ear and declares herself to be the mistress of Christ. She uses her dowry to build a stone chapel, where she entombs herself, inhabiting a magical place between the living and the dead. Out of the ashes of her former self arises the Virgin of Whispers—a mystical being whose prescient murmurs can alter the fate of a kingdom.