Binding: Paperback

Pub Date: March 28, 2023

A scrappy maid must outwit both palace royals and low gods in this new Bavarian-inspired YA fantasy standalone by Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series.

Seventeen-year-old Vanja Schmidt is the thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter, and wherever she goes, misfortune follows. Luckily, her godmothers are Death and Fortune, each of whom blesses Vanja with magic in exchange for a life of servitude when she comes of age.

But when the time comes, Vanja flees, swiping an enchanted string of pearls that allows her to impersonate a princess. So begins a life of merry mayhem posing as a royal to rob the nobles blind. At first, Vanja is thrilled with her luck, but soon, she crosses the wrong god, and is cursed to turn into the jewels she covets, gem by gem, unless she can right her wrongs and pay back her debts—quickly.

This is an irreverent YA fantasy that reveals the fickle hands that deal the cards of fate and fortune.