The Storyspinner

Political games meet magical intrigue in this Portuguese-flavored fantasy debut, first in a planned series. After Johanna Von Arlo’s father dies during a high-wire act, her family tries to scrape by in their home of Santarem. When Lord Rafael DeSilva mistakes Johanna for a (male) poacher and attacks her, he incurs a debt of honor and offers her employment as a Storyspinner. Meanwhile, in the neighboring mage-run nation of Olinda, Jacaré of the Elite Guard realizes that the heir of Santarem is in danger and that, without her, the magical barrier that separates these two lands will collapse. Jacaré crosses into Santarem in search of the lost princess, a search made all the more urgent when he discovers that girls who resemble the heiress are being murdered. Chapters shift among several viewpoints, keeping the action lively but diluting the narrative, and readers are asked too readily to accept a relationship between Johanna and a man who beat her into unconsciousness and, even when he’s trying to make amends, “itched to slap the smug grin off her face.” Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)