Golden Crowns, Crimson Thorns

Synne Davies is seventeen years old, a fisherman’s daughter, and—technically—a princess. When she’s summoned to attend Caerwood Academy with three other princesses to save the peace of the four kingdoms, she is, at first, defiant. She’s chosen a life of independence, fishing in a boat made with her own hands, holding her own in the harbor. But when she’s escorted by armed guards to attend the Academy, her loss of freedom becomes the least of her worries. School might not be as dull—or safe—as she thought.

Despite her fears, her initial days at the Academy are filled with etiquette classes, history lectures, and homesickness. She struggles to find common ground with the other princesses, and her only ally is the handsome mathematics teacher who sees potential in Synne despite her rural background. However, the normalcy crumbles when Synne unearths the truth: the princesses were brought to the school to be brainwashed into supporting the wealthiest kingdom of Astun—or, should that fail, as hostages.

Facing a princess rebellion, the teachers use powerful enchantments to trap the girls in the castle, where the princesses face starvation if they refuse to comply. Now Synne has only two goals for the academic year: to resist, and to survive. To do that, she must unite the other girls, uncover some magic of her own, and prepare the castle for siege, knowing failure means more than death—it means war.

The Painted Lady

(Knives Out meets Practical Magic)

Living in a Victorian B&B in Vermont with two eccentric aunts, seventeen-year-old Tag is just one of the oddities at The Painted Lady.

She’s spending the summer before college painting the pink eaves and mustering the courage to cut ties with her smothering aunts. But when a guest goes missing, all clues point to her aunts. And it’s not the first time. Rose shrubs, chinoiserie, and scones may be a smokescreen for a dark secret.

When Tag and her ancient dog go into the forest looking for Dr. Laura Lumley, she discovers that the young woman is still alive. But she’s intended as a sacrifice for an ancient deity, the Horned Man.

She’ll need to untangle her Aunts’ web of lies, unveil the truth of her past, and make peace with a boy she’s been avoiding for four years. But most importantly, she needs to make it back to The Painted Lady alive.