Staying behind to catch up on some reading while his inept boss, Sir Kelton, rides off to slay a demonic dragon, Squire soon notices something isn't quite right about this cursed village and seeks to uncover its secrets.

"It opens in the year 1834 as a Black woman with magical powers named Saint founds a small settlement north of St. Louis with some slaves she has liberated, making the town invisible to the outside world by placing conjure stones around its perimeter; as the inhabitants of the town discover, however, Saint has provided them safety but not necessarily freedom. As the next four decades pass, more characters enter the novel, including two young boys...

"Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian. Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. When her intuition leads her to a prince, the voice inside her blazes with warning--and promise. When the prince takes...

"On Prospect Hill, you can get nearly anything you want from the Fae--if you know how to ask and if you can pay the price. There is no magic on Prospect Hill--or anywhere else, for that matter. But just on the other side of the veil is the world of the Fae, and all their magic. Generations ago, the first farmers on Prospect Hill learned to bargain small trades to make their lives a little easier--a bit of glass to find something lost, a cup of milk...

Rin's story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War--an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the...