by Evelyn Skye
First published 2024
Elodie grows up watching her people starve in the harsh realm of Inophe. When representatives from the wealthy kingdom of Aurea offer her family riches in exchange for her marriage to Prince Henry, she agrees without question. The gleaming palace and charming prince seem like a fairy tale come true. But strange signs trouble her during the wedding preparations: a mysterious woman in the tower, torch processions in the mountains, and cryptic V-shaped markings throughout the castle. Too late, Elodie learns the truth behind Aurea's wealth. Every harvest season, the kingdom feeds its newest princess to a ravenous dragon. Hundreds of women have died this way over the centuries. Now Elodie faces the beast alone in its lair. But the blood of previous victims carries their memories and power. Armed with their knowledge and her own determination, Elodie must outsmart the dragon, expose the kingdom's deadly secret, and break the cycle that has claimed so many lives.
Genres: fantasy, young-adult, fantasy-romance, fairy-tale-retellings
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, enemies-to-lovers
Setting: Inophe, Aurea
Period: Medieval
368 pages · Paperback · Random House Worlds
Content warnings: violence