Troubled Waters

August 16, 2010
Bestseller Shinn (Quatrain) carries readers away into a vivid new fantasy world where the five elements control everyone’s lives. Alone and in shock after the death of her father, Zoe Ardelay is invited to the capital to become the king’s fifth wife and create a much needed numerological balance both politically and at court, where the four queens vie to promote their children for the role of heir to the throne. Then Zoe learns she is the new “prime” of Lalindar clan, which saves her from the marriage, but thrusts her into a world of dangerous political scheming, secret agendas, and an increasingly risky attraction to royal adviser Darien Serlast. This entertaining and suspenseful story is full of lively characters, and the intriguing new system of magic and politics provides plenty of potential for sequels.

Starred review from September 15, 2010

When Zoe Ardelay receives a summons to the palace after the death of her father, a former adviser to the king, she reluctantly complies but finds a way to slip away from her escort, disappearing among the folk who dwell alongside the Ganges River, which runs through the capital city of Chialto. In a world where the five elements--air, fire, earth, water, and wood--govern everyone's lives, Zoe's affinity for water (coru) proves so strong that she is the coru prime, and fated to be one of the kingdom's most powerful people. The author of the "Twelve Houses" novels and Jenna Starborn crafts a new fantasy that is both a stand-alone tale of intrigue and romance as well as an introduction to an exotic new fantasy setting that borrows from Indian culture. VERDICT Filled with vivid details of everyday life, a strong and admirable heroine, and a plot with as many twists and turns as the mighty river that threads through the story, Shinn's latest novel should appeal to her avid readership and to lovers of the genre. Highly recommended.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2010
This coming-of-age story begins with Zoe Ardelay mourning her father and follows her on the road to power as she discovers who she really is and what that might mean to the kingdom. The palace is where she must eventually go, and the court itself could have been taken from any of the scheming and backstabbing courts of Europe in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. There is a complicated love story woven into the main theme, and it also shows Zoes growth from a naive young girl into a strong, determined young woman. The world Zoe inhabits is well described, and the idea that the five essential elements rule everyones lives is something that has roots in the Western philosophies of the past, though never to the extent that it became a religion. This easy-to-read tale will be enjoyed by readers who like stories with hints of Western European aristocracy and elemental magic, and with a happy ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)