by Holly Black
First published 2023
Suren hides in the human world's forests, eight years after escaping her mother Lady Nore and the Court of Teeth. The child queen lives wild among the trees, helping mortals escape bad bargains while trying to forget the cruelties she survived. Her mother has seized the Ice Needle Citadel in the frozen north, crafting creatures from sticks and snow with an ancient relic to fuel her revenge. When the storm hag Bogdana hunts Suren through dark streets, Prince Oak of Elfhame rescues her. Now seventeen, Oak needs Suren's help for a mission leading north toward her mother's domain. Suren was once promised to marry Oak but has resented him for years. She must choose between her hidden life and joining the manipulative prince she cannot trust. The decision forces her to guard her heart against the boy she once knew while facing the horrors she fled.
Genres: romance, adventure, fantasy, young-adult
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: chosen-one, enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Ice Needle Citadel, Elfhame
Period: 8 years after escaping
368 pages · Hardcover · Hot Key Books
Content warnings: violence