First published 2024
Alix of Hesse stands in the glittering ballrooms of 1890s Europe, Queen Victoria's beloved granddaughter expected to marry royalty. But she finds herself drawn to the wrong prince, not the one chosen for her. Meanwhile, Hélène d'Orléans embraces her status as a former princess, using her freedom to pursue the forbidden heir to the British throne, Prince Eddy. May of Teck has spent her life watching from the edges of royal society. She refuses to settle for anything less than a future king. As the last decade of European empires unfolds, these three young women navigate the treacherous waters of arranged marriages and forbidden attraction. Their romantic entanglements will reshape the course of history itself. McGee transforms real historical figures into flesh and blood characters whose personal desires clash with political necessity across the courts of Saint Petersburg and the Scottish highlands.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance
Setting: Saint Petersburg, Scottish Highlands
Period: 1890s, Last Decade of European Empires
368 pages · Library Binding · Random House Books for Young Readers