“Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…
But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.” - taken from Goodreads.com
Princess Mayavati of Bharata was born under a cursed horoscope. Death is attached to it and no one wants to be around her. She is blamed for death around the palace, including her mother’s. With Bharata on the verge of war, her father, the Raja, has the idea to hold a . He plans to invite the rulers of the kingdoms to come and Maya will choose her husband. It is a trick to lure the enemy to the Raja. She is disappointed because, with her horrid horoscope, she hoped to be left alone to do as she pleased. Now she will be married off. At the , Maya’s father tells her that the only way his plan will work is if she kills herself with the poison he gives her. She is crushed by his request but knows that it will probably be for the best. After the introductions, Maya goes to contemplate her decision. Just as she is about the drink her father’s poison, the bottle is knocked from her lips. A young man stands in front of her and says that he is the Raja of Akaran. He keeps the top half of his face covered. Maya has never heard of the kingdom. He points outside that the visiting dignitaries have laid their own plans for an invasion. Having nothing left in Bharata, Maya throws her lei over Amar’s head. This signifies that the two of them are married and leave. She soon begins to suspect that she doesn’t really know what she has gotten herself into.
This book is elegantly written, pulling from Indian mythology and folklore. Readers will be left scrambling to find out what happens to Maya when she begins to unravel what she believes to be the truth.
The story continues with book two, A Crown of Wishes in 2017.
Visit Roshani Chokshi’s website.
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