About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...
Where to Buy
An engaging tale of a young woman who's been dealt one hell of a crap hand in life who nevertheless makes the best of things and refuses to be beaten down. Set in a rich fantasy world, the story is reminiscent in tone of many different classic fantasy tales. The story of Yelena's life as the Food Taster and the various plots and schemes that she becomes caught up in, usually by accident, take center stage here and weave a tale that will keep you eagerly turning pages, and a touch of light romance is thrown in toward the end to put a bit of frosting on the cake.
