Julie Eshbaugh Knihy

In the riveting sequel to Ivory and Bone—the YA fantasy novel that New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman described as having a “richly crafted world of life-and-death stakes”—the story shifts to Mya’s viewpoint as vengeful adversaries force her to flee the life she once knew. After surviving the battle that erupted after Lo and the Bosha clan attacked, now Mya is looking ahead to her future with Kol. All the things that once felt so uncertain to her are finally falling into place. But the same night as Kol and Mya’s betrothal announcement, Mya’s brother Chev reveals his plan to marry their youngest sister, Lees, to his friend Morsk. The only way to avoid this terrible turn of events, Morsk informs Mya when he corners her later, is for Mya to take Lees’ place and marry him herself. Rejecting Morsk’s offer, and in an effort to protect her sister, Mya whisks Lees away to a secret island until things back home blow over. Mya soon realizes she’s been followed, however. Even worse, lurking deep in the recesses of this dangerous place are rivals from Mya’s past whose thirst for revenge exceeds all reason. With the lives of her loved ones resting on her shoulders, Mya must make a move before the enemies of her past become the undoing of her future.

In this mesmerizing YA fantasy mash-up of The Road meets The Amazing Race, one girl chooses to risk her life in a cutthroat competition in order to win her freedom. In Lanoria, Outsiders, who don't have magic, are inferior to Enchanteds, who do. That's just a fact for Astrid, an Outsider who is indentured to pay off her family's debts. She serves as the surrogate for the princess--if Renya steps out of line, Astrid is the one who bears the punishment for it. But there is a way out: the life-or-death Race of Oblivion. First, racers are dosed with the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memories. Then, when they awake in the middle of nowhere, only cryptic clues--and a sheer will to live--will lead them through treacherous terrain full of opponents who wouldn't think twice about killing each other to get ahead. But what throws Astrid the most is what she never expected to encounter in this race. A familiar face she can't place. Secret powers she shouldn't have. And a confusing memory of the past that, if real, could mean the undoing of the entire social structure that has kept her a slave her entire life. Competing could mean death...but it could also mean freedom.

The only life Kol knows is hunting at the foot of the Great Ice with his brothers and making sure his family can survive. Until he meets Mya. She turns his world upside down and when her family arrives from the south, it gives him hope for strengthening his weakening clan - and for finally sharing his life with someone. But Mya is guarded and Kol soon learns that her history is wrought with loss. Then another clan arrives, one that includes Lo - an adversary from Mya's past - and when violence erupts Kol is forced to chose between fighting alongside Mya and trusting Lo's claims. When things turn deadly it becomes clear that this was a war that one of them had been planning all along