The Reluctant Queen: From the Author of The Spellshop Comes a Battle of Power, Nature, and a Mother's Struggle to Save Her Realm. Prepare to be Spellbound: 2 (Queens of Renthia, 2) - Hardcover

Durst, Sarah Beth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006241335X ISBN 13: 9780062413352

Publisher: Harper Voyager, 2017

Synopsis

Filled with political intrigue, violent magic, and malevolent spirits, the mesmerizing second book in Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia epic fantasy trilogy that started with the award-winning The Queen of Blood.

Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

And those spirits want to kill you.

It’s the first lesson that every Renthian learns.

Not long ago, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive those spirits and assume the royal throne. Since then, the new queen has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people.

Naelin is one such person, and she couldn’t be further removed from the Queen—and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home, and that’s all she needs. But when Ven, the Queens champion, passes through the village, Naelin’s ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife’s ability to control spirits—magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows that if the truth of her abilities is known, it will bring only death and separation from those she loves.

But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. He did it once when he discovered Daleina, and he’s certain he’s done it again. Yet for all his appeals to duty, Naelin is a mother, and she knows her duty is to her children first and foremost. Only as the Queen’s power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened—even as ominous rumors trickle down from the north—does she realize that the best way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything.

Sarah Beth Durst established a place of dark wonder in The Queen of Blood, and now the stakes are even higher as the threat to the Queen and her people grows both from within and beyond the borders of Aratay in this riveting second novel of the Queens of Renthia series.

About this title

About the Author

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Spellshop, as well as over twenty-five fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including the Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love, and Spark. She has won an American Library Association Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for the Andre Norton Nebula Award three times. She lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat.

From the Back Cover

In The Queen of Blood, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive the malevolent nature spirits of Renthia and claim the crown. Since then, she has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will once again run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people. 

Naelin has the raw power necessary to become an heir, but she couldn't be further removed from the queen–and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home. But when Ven, the Queen's Champion, passes through her village, Naelin's ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife's ability to control spirits–magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows embracing her power will bring only separation from those she loves and even death. 

But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. And as the queen's power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened–even as ominous rumors trickle down from the north–Naelin realizes that the only way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything. 

Sarah Beth Durst established a place of dark wonder in The Queen of Blood, and now the stakes are even higher as the threat to the queen and her people grows, both from within and beyond the borders of Aratay, in this riveting second novel of the Queens of Renthia series.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 006241335X
• ISBN 13: 9780062413352
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368