When Allaigna was seven she almost sang her baby brother to sleep — forever. She may be heir to neither her mother’s titles nor her secrets, but she has inherited her grandmother’s dangerous talent for singing music into magic. As her education proceeds from nursery to weapons ground to the rank of royal page, it becomes increasingly hard to keep her heritage and abilities hidden.
Secrets, it seems, are stock-in-trade for her family, and as Allaigna works to keep her own, she uncovers two that will affect both her life and the unstable peace of the Ilmar nations. One is the fate of her grandmother, who married a prince, turning the gift of the Sight into a double-edged weapon of state. The other is the truth behind her mother’s two-week disappearance following an ambush by outlaws en route to her wedding.
As she discovers who she is, Allaigna must decide what to become: the skilled courtier her mother wants her to be, the political chess piece her father bargained on, or the hero her grandmother foresaw.
Allaigna’s Song: Overture is a love story, a family saga, and a coming-of-age novel that braids together the stories of daughter, mother, and grandmother into a rich and deftly woven narrative.
Readers are saying
“Beautiful writing and gripping storytelling throughout.”
“Allaigna, Lauresa, and Irdaign are tough, flawed, and appealing heroines.”
“Great tension, big world, perfect pacing, intriguing politics and lovely magic.”
“Magically unputdownable!”
Tabela de Conteúdo
vi. Map of the Ilmar
viii. Dramatis Personae
xi. A Note from the Author
Verse 1: Brothers, Sisters, and Lullabies
Verse 2: A Stranger in the Garden
Verse 3: Eavesdropping
Verse 4: Gifts
Verse 5: Magic
Verse 6: Duel
Verse 7: Enlightenment
Verse 8: Spring Escape
Verse 9: Conscripted to the Sickroom
Verse 10: New Friend, New Enemy
Verse 11: Politics Past and Present
Verse 12: Return to the Forest
Verse 13: Alone
Verse 14: Parting Gifts
Verse 15: Farewells
Verse 16: Pages
Verse 17: Gossip and Steel
Verse 18: Garæthiel
Verse 19: Steel & Silk
Verse 20: A Cousin and an Aunt
Verse 21: The Closet
Verse 22: Glaignen
Verse 23: Blood
Verse 24: Exile
Verse 25: Home
Verse 26: More Lies
Verse 27: The Road to Werrancross
398. Acknowledgements
399. About the Author
Sobre o autor
In addition to her work as a writer, editor, artist, and publisher, JM Landels teaches swordplay and riding – sometimes both at the same time – in Richmond, BC. She draws on this experience, as well as her time as a rock musician and childbirth educator, to inform her debut fantasy novel, Allaigna’s Song: Overture.