Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
Her life might well be over.
In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.
I got this book on an ARC tour and let me tell you, it is AMAZING!
It has all you can want from a YA fantasy. A rich and detailed setting, a slow burning yet sizzling romance, a magical system that is intricate yet understandable, a fast-paced plot that will keep you up into the wee hours of the night (trust me, it happened), and characters you just completely fall in love with. More than that, it tackles issues of prejudice and bias in such a thoughtful and powerful way. It did not feel like a debut book on any level. This series is going to be a classic in the years to come! I can’t wait to read and I 10000000% will recommend this book to anyone! Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!
Destiny Cole 