Queen of Ruin

Gr 8 Up–This second book of a duology continues the story started in Grace and Fury. Implicated in a coup, Nomi is on a boat heading for Mount Ruin, the prison for women, along with the injured Heir, Malachi. Serina has vanquished the guards and liberated the women on this volcanic island. Thus begins the reunion of sisters who have been changed by their experiences in the palace, where one expected to become a Grace to serve the Superior, the other her handmaiden. Now they must eliminate the new Superior, Asa, who claimed power after murdering his father, attempting to murder his brother, and betraying Nomi. Can Serina get a ship full of prisoners to safety? Can Asa be stopped? Can a Grace become queen? The plot seesaws between setbacks and wins as the sisters right the wrongs they suffer on the basis of their sex in a society that enslaves women. Tension is built with singular details that draw out the action and, in true romance fashion, lovers must survive despite impossible odds.