Trial Of Thorns

All that's standing between me and freedom are eleven bloodthirsty fae. As a convicted assassin, I've been banished from the fae realm for years but now I have the opportunity to compete in a ruthless competition to earn a full pardon. Dragons and twisted mazes are the least of my worries now. I can handle a few bullies and death-defying challenges. The thing that will keep me up at night is having to face those I betrayed. Especially Reveln, the prince whose brother I killed. Every time I see the hatred in his eyes it reopens old wounds, a reminder of the destiny that was stolen from me. And I only have myself to blame. But I'll find a new destiny-by winning the Trial of Thorns. The whole realm thinks I'm weak but I'm stronger than they could ever imagine. By the time this is through-I'll bring them all to their knees.

All that's standing between me and freedom are eleven bloodthirsty fae. As a convicted assassin, I've been banished from the fae realm for years but now I have the opportunity to compete in a ruthless competition to earn a full pardon. Dragons and twisted mazes are the least of my worries now. I can handle a few bullies and death-defying challenges. The thing that will keep me up at night is having to face those I betrayed. Especially Reveln, the prince whose brother I killed. Every time I see the hatred in his eyes it reopens old wounds, a reminder of the destiny that was stolen from me. And I only have myself to blame. But I'll find a new destiny-by winning the Trial of Thorns. The whole realm thinks I'm weak but I'm stronger than they could ever imagine. By the time this is through-I'll bring them all to their knees.

Paperback

“JK Rowling meets Georgette Heyer” in this series debut, a scintillating fusion of urban fantasy and court intrigue from the Hugo Award-winning author (The Guardian). Between Mundanus, the world of humans, and Exilium, the world of the Fae, lies the Nether, a mirror-world where the social structure of 19th-century England is preserved by Fae-touched families who remain loyal to their ageless masters. Born into this world is Catherine Rhoeas-Papaver, who escapes it all to live a normal life in Mundanus, free from her parents and the strictures of Fae-touched society. But now she’s being dragged back to face an arranged marriage, along with all the high society trappings it entails. Crossing paths with Cathy is Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds treaty with a dislocated soul who polices the boundaries between the worlds, keeping innocents safe from the Fae. After a spree of kidnappings and the murder of his fellow Arbiters, Max is forced to enlist Cathy’s help in unravelling a high-profile disappearance within the Nether. Getting involved in the machinations of the Fae, however, may prove fatal to all involved. “Between Two Thorns shows the darkness beneath the glamour of the social Season. Learning to be a young lady has never seemed so dangerous.”—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series “Emma Newman has built a modern fantasy world with such élan and authority her ideas of why and how the seemingly irrational world of Fairy works should be stolen by every other writer in the field . . . This book of wonders is first rate.”—Bill Willingham, Eisner Award-winning author of Fables

A retelling of the Beauty and the Beast mythos

The trials changed everything. Before the trials I was Rev, the beloved prince of the Luminescent Court. Now I'm a bastard hiding in plain sight, not even sure I'm worthy of my title as prince. Before the trials, Caelynn of the Shadow Court was my sworn enemy. But now that I know why I'm so drawn to her, she terrifies me more than she ever could as an enemy. Our intense friendship makes her all the more dangerous. This time, it's the Schorchedland's turn to spill blood and expose terrible secrets. Only one of us can enter through the cursed walls and return with the cure that will save the realm, but there are assassins out for both of our heads, and their reach doesn't stop once we pass the gates to the fae-hell. It will take both of us to complete this impossible task. And that beautiful shadow fae I'd sworn to kill? She'll sacrifice anything to save me. Even herself.