Empire of Dreams, The [Paperback]

“Action, adventure, betrayal, and poison add up to a winner.  —Booklist

New York Times–bestselling author Rae Carson returns to the world of her award-winning Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy in this extraordinary stand-alone fantasy-adventure starring an iconic heroine who fights for her family, her friends, and a place where she will belong. Fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J. Maas, and Tahereh Mafi won’t want to put this book down.

Red is a foundling orphan with an odd name, a veiled past, and a mark of magic in her hair. But finally—after years and years of running, of fighting—she is about to be adopted into the royal family by Empress Elisa herself. She’ll have a home, a family. Sixteen-year-old Red can hardly believe her luck. Then, in a stunning political masterstroke, the empress’s greatest rival blocks the adoption, and everything Red has worked for crumbles before her eyes.

Determined to prove her worth and protect her chosen family, she joins the Royal Guard, the world’s most elite fighting force. Someone at court has shadowy agenda that puts everything—and everyone—she loves at risk. As danger closes in, it will be up to Red to save the empire.

The series includes:

• The Girl of Fire and Thorns
• The Crown of Embers
• The Bitter Kingdom
• The Empire of Dreams, a stand-alone companion novel

“Carson returns to her Girl of Fire and Thorns world. . . . This novel develops a taut, self-contained, political mystery within the confined quarters of the Guard and the palace, with a few chapters set in the past showing Red's harrowing, traumatic history. . . . A rewarding stand-alone novel with effortless plotting and deft characterizations.” -