cover image Grave Flowers

Grave Flowers

Autumn Krause. Peachtree, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-682-63649-7

Madalina Sinet, the teenage princess of Radix, prefers tending carnivorous, sentient grave flowers over attending court and enduring her king father’s cruelty. When her twin sister Inessa is betrothed to Prince Aeric of Acus, Madalina assumes Inessa’s role as heir to the Radix throne. Then Inessa appears to Madalina as a spectral apparition trapped in limbo-like realm Bide. She reveals that she was sent to Acus to assassinate Aeric in a plot that would enable his mother and uncle to seize power, simultaneously promising profits that would save Radix from starvation. To rescue her sister and her kingdom, Madalina takes Inessa’s place to complete the deadly task. But Madalina finds more than one dark scheme at work, and as secrets unfurl, she’s unexpectedly drawn to Aeric. Inspired by multiple Shakespeare plays and Tudor history, as addressed in an author’s note, Krause (Before the Devil Knows You’re Here) blends gothic fantasy and courtly intrigue into a story of love, betrayal, and power. Playful repartee turns electric as Madalina and Aeric fight a growing attraction. Depictions of grave flower species and character journal entries are interwoven in the narrative. Madalina is described as mixed-race. Ages 14–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (Sept.)