Today we’re excited to offer a sneak peek of Jodi Meadows’ Orphan Queen series! Below you’ll find more about Jodi and her books, an excerpt of The Orphan Queen, plus a giveaway!
Meet Jodi Meadows!
Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. She is the author of the INCARNATE Trilogy and the ORPHAN QUEEN Duology (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen), and a coauthor of the forthcoming MY LADY JANE (HarperTeen). Visit her at www.jodimeadows.com
*A Kippy is a cat.
Meet The Orphan Queen!
Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.
She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.
She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.
She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.
Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.
Now meet The Mirror King!
Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.
Her friends have turned. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right.
Her magic is uncontrollable. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.
Her heart is torn. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.
In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.
Part One: The Ospreys
Chapter One
The mirrors were an expensive superstition.
Not that it mattered to Melanie. Every time we came to the western side of the city, she insisted we stop and look, and I couldn’t find it in myself to deny her that pleasure.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Wind plucked at a wayward strand of her sleek, black hair. She gathered it all back and tied it with a torn bit of fabric.
“Sure.” The city spread below us, shimmering with hundreds of mirrors, and knots of streetlights in the wealthy districts. Those people were important enough to warrant gas lamps at night, as though light protected like locks or swords or shields. But wealth wasn’t the only thing that shone: glass panes hung on the west face of every house and tower and mansion in Skyvale, the mirrored city.
Beyond the houses, factories, shops, and refugee hovels, mountains were silhouetted against the night sky. A heavy, full moon lifted.
“When the wraith reaches the Indigo Kingdom,” I said, “all of this will be destroyed. Mirrors won’t do anything to stop it.”
Melanie shot a frown as I crept toward the edge of the roof and let out a short whistle.
A sharp trill answered from below. The other Ospreys were in position by the warehouse doors and the nearby intersections, watching for passersby, police, or worse: the vigilante. Black Knife.
For two of the youngest Ospreys, this was their first mission. Though we had been preparing them all their lives, a Black Knife appearance was the last thing Connor and Ezra needed.
Just the thought of Black Knife dragging away Connor—
“You don’t have to worry about them, Wil.” Melanie touched my elbow. “They’re well trained.”
I straightened and shook off the anxiety. Everyone, including Melanie, needed me to be strong. “Why should I worry about them? They’re only standing watch. We’re the ones about to do all the work.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been checking their progress every five minutes.” “I’m being observant.”
“You’re being paranoid and it makes you look suspicious.”
“Well, you didn’t see Black Knife drag that old man from his house because he’d used magic to hide his family while the Nightmare gang tore through the neighborhood.” Magic was forbidden in the Indigo Kingdom, and Black Knife didn’t care how it was used. Selfdefense, healing, greed, murder: it was all the same to him when magic was involved.
“You’re awfully sensitive about him.”
Melanie didn’t have magic. To her, he was no more a threat than the police. But to others . . .
I scanned the flat warehouse rooftops again to be sure we were still alone up here, and then jumped down to the lower section of the roof. I landed in a crouch, my fingertips on the cool slate tiles for balance. A moment later, Melanie landed beside me with a quiet thump that was masked by the rush of the swollen river nearby.
The clock tower in Hawksbill chimed midnight.
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
One winner will receive a signed paperback of The Orphan Queen, plus swag (US only).
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
I love the excerpt! Thank you for sharing it with us 🙂
I love the excerpt and cover to this!
This book is amazing and the excerpt does not do it justice. I would so love to win this book I read the book thanks to a friend but it made me sad because I couldn’t write notes in the book or highlight anything
The excerpt sounds intriguing! I would love to read this book.
These covers are so prettttty and so shiny. I love it along with the excerpt.
Loved the excerpt. The cover is so beautiful and mysterious.
The Orphan Queen sounds awesome ♡ looking forward to reading more of this book. Thank you
I Love the cover its amazing!
The Excerpt was great to read! I really want to read this now!!
I loved the excerpt and the cover is beautiful
It sounds like an AMAZING read!
Thanks for the excerpt–this book promises action and adventure and suspense. Love it!
The synopsis is amazing! I love books that start out well and end even better. I hope I can read this series to see if it falls in this catergory
I love it!
The excerpt confirms my feeling that I want to immerse myself in this story! Thanks, Kara S