From the gorgeous cover, to the very first sentence, Claire Legrand captivates and enthralls, conjuring a world where tyranny, strength, and blood-lust go hand in hand. A princess is born to a mother who killed her husband by ripping out his still-beating heart, and from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same. But before she was queen, before her husband lay dead at her feet, Rielle was just a young girl trying to prove her worth against her cruel and oppressive father. She must do what it takes to fulfill an ancient prophecy born of magic and be the Queen she was meant to be. A thousand years later, Eliana lives in an Empire torn apart by war and treason, fighting to keep her family alive, wary of betrayal and bloodshed with every twist and turn. This book grabbed me from the start, already I am invested in these two women and how their stories will manifest, how they will forge their own destines and overcome those who wish most to overpower and destroy them. Which one is the bringer of light, and which is the wielder of darkness? How can each survive in a world where death and deception rule above all else? I simply must have more to find out.