A friend. A father. A Kingdom. Which would you sacrifice?
The
Poison Throne
Series: Moorehawke, book 1
Pub: 2008, O’Brien Press Ltd.
Author: Celine Kiernan
Cat: fantasy fiction (historical)
Format: paperback (mid); 468 pp
Age Range: YA
Synopsis
Wynter
returns from a five-year exile in the bleak Northlands to find her beloved
homeland in turmoil. King Jonathan's civilised, multicultural realm is no more;
the gibbets and cages have returned. Days of laughter, friendly ghosts and
gossipy cats remain only in Wynter's memory - the present confronts her with
power play, dark torture chambers, violent ghosts, and cats (those still alive)
too scared to talk to humans. The Inquisition is a real and present danger.
Crown
Prince Alberon is missing. There are murmurings of a 'Bloody Machine' of untold
destructive power. And as Wynter and her friends, Prince Razi and the
mysterious Christopher Garron, seek to restore stability to the fragile
kingdom, risking death at every turn, Wynter is forced to make a terrible
choice.
Set
in a fantastical medieval Europe, this is the first book in a compelling
trilogy of court intrigue, adventure and romance. It draws the reader in from
the very first sentence and doesn't loosen its grip until the last.