Cirrus@Austlit

'Like all Blessed in the First Country, Kaylene is kept behind the stone walls of the Sanctuary to ensure the protection of others. Life has not been unbearable, though. She has found friends - and in Luka, even love. Then Luka dies in a terrible accident and Kaylene's entire world falls apart.

'Life itself seems devoid of any hope until a chance encounter with a stranger gives Kaylene a purpose that sets her and her friends on a path that challenges everything she's believed: to reach beyond death itself and bring him back.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'No man has ever ruled the Second Country. Until Now.

'When the Family of Assassins is engaged to protect the first male heir to the throne, Elen-ai reluctantly takes the contract. But dissidence brews in the Queendom of the Seven Lakes, and she is quickly entangled in it, willing or not.

'Part of the Legends of the Godskissed Continent world, this edition combines both gripping books of the Queendom Duology.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'“You did what you had to do for a greater cause. Sometimes to do the right thing, you have to do the wrong thing.”

'The brutal Kade dictatorship has been overthrown, but the fight is only just beginning in the Third Country as tensions between the Pious and Kade communities remain high. In the fight to bring freedom to her country, Freyanna Kuch had to contravene everything her training as a healer taught her and learn how to kill. But living with the person she became in service of rebellion is no easy task. 

'Yet another threat prowls the streets of Oranis and Freya is uniquely able to protect the city she loves from further bloodshed. However, to do so she must face the very real possibility that there is no going back to who she was – and those she loves.'

Source: LoveOzYA.

'“When the time comes, I know you’ll be able to do what’s necessary,” she said before walking away. “Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of,” Freya whispered.

'The Kade rule the Third Country through terror and unrelenting oppression. To the outside world, healer Freyanna Kuch is a member of the subjugated Pious class whose collaboration has seen her richly rewarded by the Kade. But Freya is a member of the Resistance. Her upstanding marriage, work, and conduct is a front as she works to create a better, more equal world.

'However, the world of intrigue and shadows requires everything of a person. If Freya is to succeed in helping the Resistance, she must sort out her complicated feelings for Ashtyn, the man who brought her to the Resistance, and try to navigate the bloodthirsty demands of rebellion despite her obligation as a healer to do no harm.

'As tensions rise across the Third Country, Freya must decide who she must be in order to fight for the world she wants, even if that means turning away from everything she holds dear.'

Source: Author's blurb.

'Many years after the brutal Kade takeover of the Third Country, Freya Kuch, a healer, has succeeded when many Pious have failed: she is a perfect Kade citizen. However, this life of willing subjugation is torn apart when she is caught in an attack perpetrated by the anarchic followers of the Dark Gods and is assigned to care for Zarech, their captured leader. Contrary to her expectations, he is not a raving madman but charismatic and quite rational.

'Over the long months of his treatment she unwillingly becomes close to Zarech and she begins to reconsider everything, especially as he reveals the supernatural abilities bestowed upon those with true piety.

'Her obedience to the strict Kade regime is further complicated by her attraction to Ashtyn, a member of the Pious Resistance movement. She tries to ignore her feelings knowing full well the brutal punishments for adultery and dissidence. But soon, she is forced to decide: will she maintain her life of careful safety, or give in to her heart’s dark desires and join the fight against the Kade’s regime?'

Source: Author's blurb.

'"Lying is not simply about telling a plausible story, it's about being able to tell what someone will want to believe" To outsiders, the Fourth Country is an unforgiving place. Under the leadership of ruthless women, powerful families regularly wage brutal campaigns against one another to increase their land and wealth, and men live in a state of complete subjugation. Lexana, heiress to the Farwan family, is sent to the Academy, an elite institution where the daughters of powerful families learn and refine techniques to maintain and gain power. There, she finds herself attracted to Jaxen, one of the teachers who defies convention and goes about unveiled. His apparent disregard for what is expected of him leaves her both uneasy and fascinated. Then the impossible comes to pass, and disaster befalls the Farwan family. Lexa must leave the Academy to find her mother and help restore her family to power. Jaxen insists upon accompanying her, arguing that she cannot survive without his help. Lexa can't be certain that she can trust Jaxen, but he is right; she needs his help if she is to succeed.'  (Publication summary)

'“I swear before the Shadow God that you Gidyon, my King, are my friend and always will be. I swear that I will never forsake you, nor will I leave you.”

'No man has ever sat on the throne of the Second Country, until now. Elen-ai of the Family of Assassins has returned to the Palace to assist King Gidyon in securing his place on the throne. While she might know that the burden of rule is secure on Gidyon's young shoulders, many cannot abide the breach of tradition, while others see an opportunity to further their own position.

'With allegiances forming across the Queendom Gidyon and Elen-ai desperately seek a way to secure his position, but the peace and stability of the Second Country seem increasingly in doubt.

'As civil war becomes an ever more distinct outcome Elen-ai faces a battle of her own, for one cannot be both an assassin, and friend to a King.'  (Publication summary)

'“Your Majesty, I take life. I am not certain that my skills actually extend to preserving it.” There are always those who are willing to pay for someone else’s death. Having grown up amongst the Family of Assassins, ELEN-AI knows well the prices people are willing to pay to see their enemies fall quickly, quietly, and discreetly. When she is asked to preserve life rather than take it, she is surprised. Upon hearing that her charge is the Queen’s only child GIDYON, who is secretly being groomed to succeed his mother, she is horrified. To ensure political stability, no man has ever sat on the throne of the Queendom of the Seven Lakes. Yet one does not easily refuse a Queen, and so reluctantly, Elen-ai accepts the contract. Her fears only deepen upon meeting the sixteen-year-old Prince Gidyon, who treats her as no better than a petty murderer. However, following an attack on his life, Elen-ai is forced to admit that the danger of leaving this boy-prince alone may be even worse than leaving him to his own devices. Elen-ai reluctantly accompanies Gidyon across the country to identify those within the seven most powerful families who are responsible for the attempt on the Prince’s life. Somewhere in their travels from the calm waters of Lake Tak to the looming cliffs above Lake Bertak, the two form an unlikely yet profound friendship, and Elen-ai begins to see that Gidyon has the makings of a great ruler within him. As they meet with the families of power, it becomes increasingly clear that secrets and power games run far deeper throughout the Queendom of the Seven Lakes than either of them ever suspected.'   (Publication summary)