Fee has spent the last decade painstakingly training with the palace healer to develop medicines for the few people who remain at court since a deadly epidemic swiftly wiped out most of the kingdom. Everyone, including the crown prince, Fee's best friend, must take a daily antidote prepared by Fee and the healer to protect themselves against re-infection. But the prince is sick, and none of Fee's remedies is helping to build his strength for his impending coronation. An assassination attempt from a neighboring kingdom throws them deeper into chaos, and Fee must confront the magic she's kept hidden to uncover a web of secrets and save her best friend and home. Sackier ventures from historical fiction (The Freemason's Daughter, 2017) into fantasy, taking readers to an intriguing world where magic is taboo and nothing is at it seems. The increasingly complex plot is filled with jarring twists that, while a bit over the top, will leave readers hanging in suspense and rooting for a tenacious protagonist.

Fee has a secret...a secret that could get her killed, for magic has been outlawed for generations and a mere whisper of her abilities could bring everything crashing down.After 10 years of quarantine from the rest of the realm thanks to a deadly illness that wiped out most of Fireli's population, Fee and Crown Prince Xavi are about to be reunited with those outside the castle walls. However, this change leads to more questions than answers: What really caused the disease that killed most of Fireli? What are neighboring Gwyndom's real intentions toward them? Can Xavi's betrothed, Princess Quinn, be trusted? Which side will Prince Rye, Xavi's brother, be on when he returns home? Fee finds herself wrapped up in a mystery and courtly drama that began with her parents. Jumping between flashbacks and present time, the book starts off slowly as readers gain their footing in the world of Aethusa, its folklore and rules; a world that is familiar and yet just foreign enough to make magic believable. The pace picks up quickly, and while the story offers much predicable fantasy fare, there are still some surprises even for longtime fans of the genre. There are few physical descriptions, although some characters are described as fair or blond.An exciting magical mystery that will have you rooting for your favorites and questioning whom you can trust in this vast cast of characters. (Fantasy. 13-16)

Gr 9 Up-amp}mdash; When a sudden plague swept through Fireli, one of the four kingdoms of Aethusa, it left death, evacuations, and a decade of quarantine in its wake. Ophelia (Fee) and Prince Xavi were the only children left behind, and their close friendship sustained them through years of grief and isolation. Now an apprentice healer, Fee chafes at the restrictions on her life and at the daily antidote she must take, while Xavi's health is continuously precarious. When the quarantine lifts, both teens are eager for the new opportunities it brings: the chance to restore the kingdom of Fireli to its former glory and to reunite with Prince Rye, Xavi's brother and Fee's betrothed. But neither pursuit is without complications. This novel is bogged down by numerous over-the-top plot twists that include faked deaths, wrongful imprisonment, hidden identities, and forbidden romance, but weak characterization and forced dialogue take much of the excitement out of the drama. Overly stylized language and consistently abrupt scene endings create the feeling of an unfinished novel. VERDICT Not recommended. For magical fantasy during a plague, direct readers to Beth Revis's Give the Dark My Love .{amp}mdash; Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia