Nemesis

Sepora, princess of Serubel, is the last of the Forgers, who have the hereditary ability to expel spectorium, a prized element, from their skin. With silver eyes and a defiant spirit, she escapes her father’s grasp, hoping to avoid a war among the five kingdoms, but is captured by traders who sell her into the harem of neighboring King Tarik of Theoria. Although Theoria and Serubel are rivals, Sepora finds 18-year-old Tarik intelligent and good-looking. Staying incognito, she wins his favor by brokering a deal with the flesh-eating Parani and fashioning weapons to fight her father’s impending attack. But with the Quiet Plague killing Theoria’s citizens and King Tarik’s impending marriage to a Hemutian princess, Sepora leaves, only to discover an even more perilous situation. Banks’s (Joyride) worldbuilding is thorough and vivid, yet the intricate customs of the kingdoms and Sepora and Tarik’s inner thoughts, shown through alternating viewpoints, cause the story to lag. The instant infatuation between the two main characters drives the story, but can be shopworn and syrupy (“Every time he touches me I feel melted in place”) at times. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency. (Oct.)