by Rae Carson
Part of Girl of Fire and Thorns
First published 2020
Red Sparkle Stone stands on the verge of joining the royal family when Empress Elisa's political rival destroys her adoption in a calculated move. The sixteen-year-old foundling loses everything she thought she had gained. Her royal future vanishes overnight. Red refuses to accept defeat. She devises a bold plan to earn her place through merit rather than adoption. She will become the first woman to join the Royal Guard, the empire's most elite fighting force. The recruitment process tests every limit she possesses. Red discovers that her blocked adoption was no random political maneuver. Someone orchestrated her fall from grace as part of a larger scheme that threatens the empire itself. She must navigate the brutal training alongside new allies and potential enemies. The same forces that destroyed her royal prospects now endanger everything she cares about. Red's fight to prove herself becomes a battle to save her world.
Genres: adventure, coming-of-age, fantasy, action, young-adult, epic-fantasy
Vibes: dramatic, empowering, fast-paced, gritty, suspenseful
Tropes: conspiracy-unraveled, enemies-to-allies, found-family, prove-yourself, underdog-story
Setting: The Empire
432 pages · Kindle Edition · Greenwillow Books
Content warnings: violence