Six Wild Crowns

This masterful fantasy of Tudor England, the adult debut from YA author Race (Midnight’s Twins), offers the wronged wives of King Henry VIII a chance to coexist. The bordweal—a magical force field surrounding the island kingdom of Elben—only holds when there is a queen stationed in each of Elben’s six castles. When callous Henry marries bold, brave, and clever Boleyn, she hopes that their marriage will be different from his others because of what she sees as their genuine love connection. After the wedding and coronation, determined to prove her worth, Boleyn sets out to strengthen the bordweal. Meanwhile Queen Aragon, who views Boleyn as a rival, gives Boleyn one of her lady’s maids, Seymour, as a wedding present, secretly instructing Seymour to assassinate Boleyn. Unable to go through with it, Seymour falls into Boleyn’s confidence instead. As sexual tension simmers between Seymour and Boleyn, they unravel the secrets of the king’s magic and come to question everything they knew about their place in his kingdom. Race skillfully weaves real history and wholly original worldbuilding into an enthralling fantasy replete with magical power plays, political intrigue, and some dragons for good measure. Fans of feminist high fantasy such as The Priory of the Orange Tree won’t want to miss this. Agent: Zoë Plant, Bent Agency. (June)