Pale Queen's Courtyard by Marcin Wrona

Summary: Kamvar, a soldier, has lost his way. Leonine, a thief and sorcerer, has forgotten that he had one to lose.

When the daughter of a High Priest finds herself exiled and hunted across the entirety of conquered Ekka, both men will remember who they are, and the country's invaders will learn that memories, unlike temples, are not so easily torn down.

Pale Queen's Courtyard is a superbly written tale of sorcery, betrayal, and friendship. Its artful incorporations of sorcery into ancient Persia and Babylon coupled with its fast paced plotlines, made for a fantastic read: 5 stars out of 5. 

The novel alternates between two main characters. The first chapter instantly intrigues; with not-so-common thief Leonine, the hints of war, and the mystery surrounding Leonine's object of thievery and how sorcery works in this universe. In the first chapter alone, there is great conflict resolution and the author does a masterful job of subtly dropping clues to entice the reader. 

The second storyline introduces Kamvar, who is on the hunt for an eight year old girl. The suspense builds naturally as the two plotlines quickly intersect and the two main characters are at odds with each other. The whole book was well paced with a consistent level of suspense. It had a polished writing style, elegant descriptions, and great similes. I really don't want to give away any of the plotline, because I highly recommend reading it, but I will say that what looks to be the predictable conclusion to the novel is anything but; expect some compelling twists towards the end. 

The writing style reminded me of Guy Gavriel Kay, extraordinarily so! I would recommend Pale Queen's Courtyard to any fantasy fan, especially fans of GGK's work. 

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