Violet Made of Thorns

Chen’s searing duology-opening debut introduces 18-year-old Violet Lune, one of nine known Seers who has prophetic dreams and can glimpse people’s pasts and futures by holding their hands. As a child, Violet used her Sight to avert the death of Auveny Kingdom’s Prince Cyrus, an act that elevated her from living in the streets to being King Emilius’s official Seer. Now she manipulates public opinion by delivering carefully worded predictions, many of which Emilius fabricates. Following the king’s previous Seer’s unfinished final missive—which prophesied a curse, a war, and Cyrus and his bride’s potential to ruin or save Auveny—Violet is unable to See the end of the prophecy. But Cyrus, 19, remains unmarried, and the kingdom is getting anxious. Per Emilius’s orders, Violet foretells a politically advantageous match with neighboring leader Raya. Shortly thereafter, however, attraction sparks between Violet and Cyrus, and to further complicate matters, Violet has a vision warning that Cyrus must die, or Violet will burn. Employing evocative prose, passionately antagonistic romance, and a snarky first-person narration, Chen borrows familiar fairy tale elements and crafts them into a uniquely dark fantasy. Cyrus is white; Violet cues as Asian; Raya has brown skin. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary. (July)