Dagger and Coin

The sequel to Sword and Verse follows a familiar face—Soraya—as she attempts to rebuild a nation after the downfall of the monarchy. Readers who love Rae Carson and Kristen Cashore won’t be able to put this fantasy down.

Soraya Gamo was meant to be queen of Qilara, until an Arnath slave rebellion upended the social order and destroyed the capital city. Now, improbably, she sits on the new ruling council beside Mati, Raisa, and Jonis from Book 1, and must work with her former enemies.

She finally holds the political power she always wanted—but over a nation in ruins. As she helps to rebuild Qilara, she can, at last, use what everyone once told her to hide: her brain.

But not everyone is ready to accept that the Arnathim are no longer enslaved to the Qilarites. So when a slave ship arrives in the city, full of Arnathim captured before Qilara fell, the civil unrest that has been bubbling since the rebellion erupts.

Forced to confront her own prejudices, Soraya struggles to gain the trust of the Arnath people she once disregarded and establish peace in what has become chaos. With the threat of attacks high, Gelti, a former guard captain, trains Soraya in self-defense. As the two grow close, tension within the city ramps up, with danger, betrayal, and deception meeting Soraya everywhere she turns.

Friends become foes, adversaries become companions, and the clashing of classes threatens to unravel all the good Soraya has been trying to do. Can Soraya, raised to be a submissive Qilarite lady, learn to be a true leader? Or will the sins of her past forever haunt the footsteps of her future?

• Enemies to Allies: Soraya was meant to be queen. Now she must share power with the very rebels who destroyed her city, navigating a council where every adversary could be a companion in the making.
• Bodyguard Romance: When threats escalate, Soraya is forced to train with Gelti, a former guard captain. As he teaches her self-defense, their professional relationship deepens into something far more dangerous.
• Rebuilding a Nation: With the capital in ruins and civil unrest brewing, Soraya must use the intelligence she was once told to hide to forge a new government from the ashes of a fallen monarchy.
• A Complex Feminist Fantasy: Follow a tough and prickly ex-princess as she confronts her own prejudices, claims her power, and learns that a sharp mind is the most dangerous weapon of all.