First published 2019
Nona Grey came to the Convent of Sweet Mercy as a child marked for death. She survived. She trained. She killed when she had to. Now she stands on the edge of taking her final vows, but the world will not hold still long enough to let her. The Corridor, the last strip of land warm enough to sustain life, is shrinking. The Scithrowl press in from the east. The Durns push from the west. The emperor's armies fall back on every front, and the convent sits directly in the path of what is coming. Nona could reach for the shiphearts, ancient objects of tremendous power scattered across the empire. They would make her stronger. They would also change her into something she does not want to become. She will have to choose between the people she loves when she cannot protect all of them. She has spent years learning to be a weapon. Now she has to decide what she is willing to destroy, and what she is willing to lose, in order to protect what remains. This is where her story ends.
Genres: science-fiction-fantasy, adventure, fantasy, young-adult, dark-fantasy, epic-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotionally-complex, gritty, intense, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, coming-of-age, found-family, sacrifice-and-duty, weapon-turned-human
Setting: Convent of Sweet Mercy, The Corridor, Scithrowl, Durns
343 pages · Paperback · Harper Voyager
Content warnings: death, violence, war