Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell s veins.Until someone discovers her dark secret.To hide from the assassin hunting her and keep her mother out of harm s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.If caught, she will be killed.But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and assassin in training.
Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.
Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.
Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.
Barbara Gordon is a bright and eager young woman who has already achieved much in her life, but struggles to find her true calling. After graduating college in her teens, Barbara hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps and serve as a dedicated officer of the law, but her plans are derailed by her father’s overprotectiveness and society’s prejudices. This leads Barbara to seize a different path toward her goal and adopt the vigilante persona of Batgirl. As she learns the ropes of the vigilante lifestyle, she finds herself thrown into conflict with Batman and the crosshairs of aspiring super-villains.