Forging Silver into Stars

Set after Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker books, this captivating series launch finds enemy realms Syhl Shallow and Emberfell united by the marriage of Syhl Shallow’s queen to Emberfell’s magesmith king. Though magic is now legal in Syhl Shallow, many citizens still distrust it—particularly rebel Truthbringers, who are planning regicide to restore the status quo. In the remote Syhl Shallow town of Briarlock, teenage friends Jax and Callyn have little time for such concerns; blacksmith Jax, who lost his foot in an accident, works endlessly to pay his abusive, alcohol-reliant father’s debts, and baker Callyn, whose parents were killed by magic, minds her younger sister while trying to keep the family business afloat. When Truthbringers Lady Karyl and Lord Alek offer the teens money to pass sealed messages among their cohort, they accept, figuring the reward outweighs the risk. Then the King’s Courier, 19-year-old Tycho, comes to town, searching for traitors. While Kemmerer’s latest boasts propulsive, intricate plotting and intimate first-person-present narration by protagonists Jax, Callyn, and Tycho (all of whom cue as white), it’s Jax and Tycho’s gentle budding romance amid their respective past traumas that truly distinguishes this tale. Characters of varying abilities are featured throughout. Ages 13–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (June)