This unusual and powerful romantic fantasy focuses on a land ruled by an Empress and her three daughters. The middle daughter, Kindar, fights to prove herself worthy of respect, for she has a chesty cough called choke lung which worsens steadily. KINDAR'S CURE may have to come from the wizards if she is to be betrothed - or if she is to survive.
Empress Eugenie dismissed her husband Lord Andrex from court, so the resentful man plots against her with the generals. They seem all bluster, but one of them comes up with the idea of using the Empress's daughters as leverage against her. The eldest daughter is being wed for a political allegiance. Kindar is suspected of jealous plotting and is sent away from court, supposedly for her own safety. The determined princess knows that she might as well be in jail, and secretly arranges to travel with wizard Maladonis, who thinks that the smoke emanating from a volcano in far off Cushwair may heal her lungs. Her maid of honour takes her place in the carriage, and Kindar rides off in plain garments with her sword by her side. Soon she has to fight to protect herself.
The land is beset with troubles, for the mines that provide prosperity are worked out, leaving impoverished miners. Neighbouring lands are aggressive. The illness besetting Kindar appears the same as that which kills poor children, but the wizard begins to suspect that some agent has been worsening -or causing- the symptoms. Who would wish a princess harm?
I liked the well-drawn characters, foibles and all. Kindar's imperious coldness isn't her fault; it's how she was raised. Once she leaves the palace, learns who she can trust and how deprived the ordinary folk are becoming, her attitudes change. Wizard Mal admits he works for whoever pays him, but his heart is in the right place. Magic is not common, and the users are suspect. The Empress is a hardhearted bully, in a reversal of the gender role. By searching for a cure, Kindar undertakes a far greater journey, becoming twice the princess she had been. Imagery is potent in this novel, and violence is almost the norm. KINDAR'S CURE is the first book from author Michelle Hauk, and I look forward to reading many more fantasy romances now that she's hit her stride.
Princess Kindar of Anost dreams of playing the hero and
succeeding to her mother's throne. But dreams are for fools.
Reality involves two healthy sisters and a wasting disease
of suffocating cough that's killing her by inches. When her
elder sister is murdered, the blame falls on Kindar, putting
her head on the chopping block. A novice wizard, Maladonis
Bin, approaches with a vision-a cure in a barren land of
volcanic fumes. As choices go, a charming bootlicker that
trips over his own feet isn't the best option, but beggars
can't be choosers. As Mal urges her toward a cure that will
prove his visions, suddenly, an ally turns traitor,
delivering Kindar to a rebel army, who have their own plans
for a sickly princess. With the killer poised to strike
again, the rebels bearing down, and the country falling
apart, she must weigh her personal hunt for a cure against
saving her people.
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