courts and courtiers

Jude, seventeen and mortal, gets tangled in palace intrigues while trying to win a place in the treacherous High Court of Faerie, where she and her sisters have lived for a decade.

Ambitious nineteen-year-old duchess Chrysantha's dream of financial independence falls apart when a mysterious man arrives at the manor claiming to be the rightful heir to her inheritance.

As seneschal to High King Cardan, Jude must fight to keep control of the Faerie throne while her younger brother, Oak, enjoys the childhood she never knew.

"As the exiled Queen of Faerie, Jude must travel back to Elfhame to help her twin sister, Taryn, and uncover how to break a dark curse threatening the whole Faerie world"--English edition.

As the royal assassin to an evil king, eighteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien must decide what she will fight for--survival, love, or the future of a kingdom.

Swan maiden Hilde sacrifices her magical wings to seek freedom in the human world, but when her pact with an upstart baron takes her the court of Ludwig II, she struggles to fit in, and only Jewish artist Franz, who has the power to paint souls, can help her escape her newfound prison.

"Sly tactician Lakan's attempts at provocation lead to his own downfall when Maomao challenges him to elephant chess, only to outplay him in a game of wits! In a stupor from drinking 'poison' as punishment for his loss, Lakan dreams of a long-lost past, his affair with a beautiful courtesan, and meeting her daughter for the very first time. Upon waking, he finds himself at Verdigris, where he is pressed to buy the freedom of a girl of his choosing and take her home as his wife! But will any of the flowers there catch his eye when his heart is in love with a memory?"--Provided by publisher.

"Forced to the leave the Inner Court, Maomao finds herself in the employ of none other than Jinshi, the seemingly ever-present thorn in her side. Immune to her new master's charms, Maomao instead sets her mind to her work and to learning the ways of the Outer Court, where government ministers and military officers go about the daily business of running the country. Far from being fearful of her new surroundings, however, Maomao has her insatiable curiosity piqued by the forbidden, soldier-occupied East Wing. And when yet another mystery beckons, Maomao is unable to resist"--Provided by publisher.

"Summoned to attend the Emperor on an evening jaunt to an ancient shrine that functions as a rite of passage for the rulers of the land, Maomao makes quick work of the puzzle inside, acquitting herself with aplomb. Having learned more about the Imperial bloodline than a commoner has any right to know, Maomao returns to her post at the Jade Palace. But her aim to stay out of the business of her betters is foiled once again when the Empress Dowager comes calling! The mother of His Imperial Majesty seeks Maomao's aid in investigating yet another curse, one she fears she herself may have cast upon the infamous late Emperor"--Back cover.

In London, 1593, sixteen-year-old Will Hughes makes his living on Shakespeare's stage, but after his mentor, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered, he teams up with young Lord James Bloomsbury, and together the two hunt the elusive assassin as their forbidden feelings for each other ignite.