Carys and Andreus are royal twins who thought they would never have to deal with the responsibilities of ruling, until the day their father and their older brother are found dead. Now the two of them must compete for the crown in a series of trials which are designed to turn the once inseparable pair against one another. To make things worse, the ruling council would rather a new family take control of the crown. With the council in charge of the trials, the twins will have to work even harder for one of them to become the next king or queen of Eden.
The biggest allure of this new series is the relationship between Carys and Andreus. From the beginning we can see that the two of them have worked together all their live sin order to keep people at an arms length. When they were first born, their mother was told that one of them was cursed. Since Andreus has dealt with epilepsy all his life, he is obviously the cursed one. Carys does everything in her power to protect her brother from prying eyes, including taking punishments when she steps out of line just to spare her brother. The kicker comes when Andreus immediately turns on Carys at the first sign of trouble, believing her to be after the crown for herself.
Fans of the Red Queen series and Throne of Glass will enjoy this riveting new series by Joelle Charbonneau, author of the Testing trilogy. Readers will get to know Carys and Andreus individually and together as their points of view shift back and forth. If readers are hoping to pick a side, they will have a tough decision on their hands! Full of court intrigue, this is a story that shows us just what power can do to us if we let it go to our heads. Relationships will be tested by new ones, light will shine on dark secrets, and nothing will ever be the same for Carys and Andreus.
