SNAPSHOT
Bridgerton meets A Court of Thorns and Roses in this new fantasy-romance series. The story centers around Gemma, Farrin, and Mara Ashbourne, three sisters in a noble magic family who must fight hidden dark forces trying to destroy the Middlemist—an ancient barrier that protects their world from the dangerous realm of the old gods—and uncover long-buried secrets that will change their lives forever. (courtesy Gizmodo)
It is a rare thing indeed to read a five line synopsis of a book and to know instantly that you have to read that book.
Sure, the really good synopses are meant to engage you at light speed, and often do, but there’s something about the one for A Court of Thorns and Roses by noted YA author Claire Legrand that makes it feel so compelling that not reading it simply isn’t option.
That’s not good news for a lot of people’s TBR piles which, if they are anything like mine, have books that have spent many a year waiting to be read as newer books come along and usurp the next reading slot, but honestly, what can you do when a novel offers fascinating familial dynamics, long-held secrets and a phenomenon which separates the worlds of gods and people.
The expression on her face was so distant and strange, shifting between fear and sadness and anger, that my blood turned cold with dismay.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘Before it’s too late? Too late for what?’
She fell silent, staring at the floor. I touched her chin and turned her back to me.
‘Mara?’ I set my jaw. ‘Tell me, right this instant, what you need to say.’
But before she could, a clangor of bells exploded from the priory, so sudden and cacophonous that I nearly jumped out of my skin.
That last bit along is captivating enough but as you read the excerpt exclusively provided by Gizmodo (see a snippet above), which contains some tension between two of the three sisters, you begin to realise that all the promise of that synopsis finds realisation in the book itself which means that, like many others, I will be running, not strolling, to get a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses when it releases in May next year.