klwilliams

Set in the European country of Alpennia (somewhere near Ruritania, or so I've heard), this novel is set a couple of years after Daughter of Mystery. Margerit and Barbara still appear as point-of-view characters, but Antuniet and Jeanne, secondary but important characters from the first book, are center stage.

Antuniet Chazillen desperately seeks to restore her family name to nobility. She lost everything - nobility, home, family, fortune - when her brother was executed for treason, everything except her sharp intellect and her drive. These she has focused on alchemy, using a text that an unknown force seeks to steal back. Antuniet is brittle and untrusting, yet fascinating to Jeanne, Vicomtesse de Cherdillac, who seeks to bring her out of her shell and help her reach her goal.

Winding in and around all this is the ever-present question of power in the kingdom. Princess Annek rules, yet she has no children to be her heir, and there are plots afoot around both her brothers. Barbara and Margerit, who is now Princess Annek's thaumaturgist, find themselves entwined in the plots here, and how they are affected by Antuniet's alchemy.

I know I'm invested in a book when I have a definite opinion on who should be Princess Annek's successor (and will argue the point with you), and would love to have a talk with Antuniet about friendship and what it means. The people in this story are vivid and interesting and real, and I care about their choices and what happens to them. I suspect you will, too.