"Wonderfully inventive... Sure to win over fantasy readers." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
One of Booklist's Top 10 Best Debut Genre Novels of the Year!
Only the darkest and most dangerous of Mages are sentenced to pass through the gate to Asperfell.
Not one has ever returned.
Never did Briony dream she might set foot in the otherworldly prison of Asperfell. She was, after all, neither Mage nor criminal. She was simply her father's little whirlwind—fingers smudged with ink, dresses caked with mud—forever lost in a book or the spirit-haunted woods surrounding her family's country estate.
But Briony always had a knack for showing up where she was least expected.
Only by braving the gate of Asperfell could Briony hope to find the true heir to the throne of Tiralaen and save her kingdom from civil war. And so, she plunges into a world of caged madmen and demented spirits, of dark magic and cryptic whispers... and of a bleak and broken prince with no interest in being rescued.
Hauntingly beautiful and lavishly told, Asperfell is a must-read for fans of Jane Austen who always wished she'd dabbled in blood magic.
"The wonderfully inventive first installment in Thomas's debut trilogy winningly combines the comedy of manners found in Regency romances with the high spirits of magical school adventure fantasies. [...] The charming characters, understated romance that simmers between Briony and Elyan, and easily graspable politics are all well-rendered, but the true star here is the strange, mystical setting of Asperfell. This promising adventure has crossover YA appeal and is sure to win over fantasy readers." -Publishers Weekly
