Inventive and heart-racing, this fierce feminist teen fantasy from debut author Bree Barton explores a dark kingdom in which only women can possess magic—and every woman is suspected of having it.

Fans of Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor won’t want to miss this gorgeously written, bold novel, the first in the Heart of Thorns trilogy.

In the ancient river kingdom, where touch is a battlefield and bodies the instruments of war, Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood. The same women who killed her mother without a single scratch.

But when Mia’s father announces an alliance with the royal family, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Determined to forge her own path forward, Mia plots a daring escape, but could never predict the greatest betrayal of all: her own body. Mia possesses the very magic she has sworn to destroy.

Now, as she untangles the secrets of her past, Mia must learn to trust her heart…even if it kills her.

• Enemies to Lovers: Mia has trained her whole life to kill magic-wielders. Prince Quin is the arrogant royal she’s forced to marry. When an assassin’s arrow reveals her forbidden power, their animosity might be the only thing keeping them alive.
• Hidden Magic: In a kingdom where all women with power are hunted, Mia’s secret could get her killed. She’s spent years despising the Gwyrach, only to discover she is one of them.
• Intricate Magic System: Discover a world where touch is a weapon and sorceresses can manipulate flesh, bone, breath, and blood. But this power comes with a price, and its true history is a lie.
• A Hunter Turned Hunted: Trading her knives for a silk gown won’t stop Mia. She’s a trained hunter determined to avenge her mother, even if it means becoming the very thing she’s sworn to destroy.