The Empire of Dreams

“Action, adventure, betrayal, and poison add up to a winner." —Booklist

New York Times–bestselling

author Rae Carson makes a triumphant return to the world of her award-winning

Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy in this extraordinary stand-alone novel. Fans of

Leigh Bardugo, Kendare Blake, and Tomi Adeyemi won’t want to put this book

down.

Red Sparkle

Stone is a foundling orphan with an odd name, a veiled past, and a mark of

magic in her hair. But finally—after years and years of running, of

fighting—she is about to be adopted into the royal family by Empress Elisa

herself. She’ll have a home, a family. Sixteen-year-old Red can hardly believe

her luck. Then, in a stunning political masterstroke, the empress’s greatest

rival blocks the adoption, and everything Red has worked for crumbles before

her eyes.

But Red

is not about to let herself or the empress become a target again. Determined to

prove her worth and protect her chosen family, she joins the Royal Guard, the

world’s most elite fighting force. It’s no coincidence that someone wanted her

to fail as a princess, though. Someone whose shadowy agenda puts everything—and

everyone—she loves at risk. As danger

closes in, it will be up to Red to save the empire. If she can survive

recruitment year—something no woman has ever done before.

New

York Times–bestselling author Rae Carson

returns to the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns in this

action-packed fantasy-adventure starring an iconic heroine who fights for her

family and her friends, and for a place where she will belong.