Ingrid Lotfield was a good woman, doing right by her parents, protecting her sensitive sister, and reliably completing her fair share of the chores necessary for life in their fishing village in 1872, on the cold shore of Lake Superior. Then Avan came. He said he was Norwegian, as many of the fisherman were. He was different—kind and quiet and strong—and one day he somehow miraculously helped to save her sister form a terrible fate in a watery grave. She knew Avan was from a far land, knew he loved her. They would be married, have children . . . be fisherfolk as had generations before them. But before they could wed, he was called back to the land of his birth, a land beyond the shore of Superior, beyond Earth, a magical land where he was more than a fisherman. He had to go. He wouldn’t see her hurt, and there were untold forces in his homeland, Isavalta, that could harm her beyond her wildest imaginings. But her love was too strong for him to resist. She would go with him, no matter the risks. So brave, so dear. Together they would face danger and excitement: to save an empire and its empress, and find their own fate, no matter what peril, mo matter how strange.

In a sweeping new epic of breathtaking excitement and adventure, Sarah Zettel, author of "A Sorcerer's Treason," tells the enthralling story of a courageous woman from small-town Wisconsin caught up in a maelstrom of empire-shaking politics and sorcerous conspiracy on a dazzling world far removed from our own. It is 1872. Ingrid Loftfield and her sister Grace are living uneventful lives with their family on Sand Island, Lake Superior, until the day Grace nearly drowns. Grace becomes inexplicably ill, for she has been saved by the spirit of a drowned sailor which rests uneasily beneath the water. Ingrid can only watch as her sister drifts toward death, lured by the restless spirit, until an immegrant Finnish fisherman, Avan, helps Ingrid release Grace from the spell that binds her. Having rescued her sister, Ingrid herself begins an odyssey stranger than she could imagine. For Avan is not what he's assumed to be. He's Avanasy, a powerful sorcerer who's been banished from another world, Isavalta, where he tutored Medeoan, the princess-heir to the empire until she married a prince of a rival realm. Prince Kacha has won Medeoan's heart, and with the aid of his mentor, a subtle and ambitious sorcerer, plans to win Isavalta, using sweet Medeoan's love and an array of magical means to usurp her crown. Once Avanasy is gone, Kacha acts swiftly to isolate Medeoan from other allies, and to weave a spell that will weaken her so he can rule in her stead. When Medeoan discovers Kacha's treachery she flees, determined to win back her crown. She can only succeed if Avanasy, her oldest friend and most powerful ally, will return to help her. Because Avanasy loves Ingrid Loftfield and she loves him, together they must cross the vast gulf that separates our world from the magical realm of Isavalta. to rescue Medeoan, and fulfill a destiny far beyond Ingrid's wildest dreams.

From Outlaw to Usurper, Henry Bolingbroke fought one rebellion after another. First, he led his own uprising. Then he captured a forsaken king. Henry had no intention of taking the crown for himself; it was given to him by popular acclaim. Alas, it didn't take long to realize that that having the kingship was much less rewarding than striving for it. Only three months after his coronation, Henry IV had to face a rebellion led by Richard's disgruntled favorites. Repressive measures led to more discontent. His own supporters turned against him, demanding more than he could give. The haughty Percies precipitated the Battle of Shrewsbury which nearly cost him the throne-and his life. To make matters worse, even after Richard II's funeral, the deposed monarch was rumored to be in Scotland, planning his return. The man just wouldn't stay down and malcontents wanted him back. B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree!

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This examination of six usurper kings of England, and the people and circumstances surrounding them, is “a masterpiece of academic scholarship” (Midwest Book Review). In the Middle Ages, England had to contend with a string of usurpers who disrupted the British monarchy—and ultimately changed the course of European history by deposing England’s reigning kings and seizing power for themselves. Some of the most infamous usurper kings to come out of medieval England include William the Conqueror, Stephen of Blois, Henry Bolingbroke, Edward IV, Richard III, and Henry Tudor. Did these kings really deserve the title of usurper, or were they unfairly vilified by royal propaganda and biased chroniclers? This book examines the lives of these six medieval kings, the circumstances that brought each of them to power, and whether or not they deserve the title of usurper. Along the way readers will hear stories of some of the most fascinating people of medieval Europe, including Empress Matilda, the woman who nearly succeeded at becoming the first ruling Queen of England; Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen of both France and England, who stirred her own sons to rebel against their father, Henry II; Richard II, whose cruel and vengeful reign caused his own family to overthrow him; Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, Richard of York, and Edward IV, who struggled for power during the Wars of the Roses; the notorious Richard III and his monstrous reputation as a child-killer; and Henry VII, who rose from relative obscurity to establish the most famous royal family of all time: the Tudors.