A family-first novel steeped with mythology and shrouded in mystery.
We can’t choose our family, but we can choose how we strengthen and mend our family bonds. For Makoto, a young woman torn from her homeland years earlier, her surrogate family includes a powerful Emperor as father and a palace filled with princess sisters and loyal servants to soothe any voids from her former life. Makoto doesn’t dwell much on a past she can’t remember from Avalon, but the missing memories nag at her more and more, especially on her thirteenth anniversary living in Kauneus. As a poised daughter of the Emperor, Makoto works incessantly to be a good princess, constantly harmonizing practicality and pageantry, beauty and strength, humility and responsibility. Makoto begins to feel confident in her position, but dangerous information comes to light. Her delicate balancing act is thrown off when an exiled sister returns to Zenith Palace with news of an assassination plot against the Emperor. And that’s not all that fuels the storm of emotions swirling within this young woman. A thoughtful gift brings back troubling memories, the man she loves may not reciprocate, she gets an unpleasant taste of underhanded politics, and Mount Kauneus’s annual ball is nigh. No, this isn’t the family Makoto chose, but it’s the family she’ll do everything to protect.
In a land populated with deadly monsters, reluctant immortals, vicious secrets, and persistent whispers from a hidden past, a young woman finds her voice in The Orichalcum Crown. Part feudal fantasy and part imperial drama, this eloquent novel feels like a historical journey that transports readers to an elegantly imagined time and place. This sweeping family saga is centered around the aging Emperor’s indiscretions and the tested loyalties of his closest family members. For those who enjoy gentle romantic intrigues, blossoming love stories soften the edges of sharp tongues and worrisome threats in Kauneus. The story includes numerous characters with distinctive abilities like manipulating water, sensing emotions, or even sneezing fire, gifts that aren’t featured heavily, but are subtly woven into the narrative. Worldbuilding is well-defined but controlled, giving just enough detail to entice yet leaving even more to be explored. While readers might trip over showy language and theatrical storytelling, the compelling plot and evolving relationship dynamics between the sisters will help keep their focus on the story. All the grandeur of an expansive historical tale without any of the logistical constraints, The Orichalcum Crown is a family-first novel steeped with mythology and shrouded in mystery.
