Matrilineal heritage dictates who rules in Ziran, a place where peripheral queer representation is accepted and celebrated. Still, the story never feels rushed or underdeveloped, and her exceptionally well-built world is infused with North and West African tricksters, naming conventions, and religious traditions. There’s no time for readers to catch their breath as Brown’s complex plot winds and races from beginning to end. After tangling with a malevolent spirit, Malik finds himself promising to kill Karina in order to save the life of his little sister. He travels with his two sisters seeking work during the festival of Solstasia, a celebration that happens every 50 years and ushers in a new age of leadership under one of the patron deities. Brooding, light brown–skinned Malik is a refugee from the mountain territories of Eshra, where his family is oppressed by Zirani occupation.
After losing her sister and father to a mysterious fire, then her mother to an assassin, Karina is desperate to resurrect a suitable ruler for Ziran-even if that means taking a dark path into necromancy. Seventeen-year-old, silver-haired, dark brown–skinned Karina is the reluctant crown princess of Ziran. Two teens, destined to destroy each other, are caught up in romance, palace intrigue, and magic.
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