BBNYA Spotlight - Poisoned Empire by Elyse Thomson

About BBNYA and the Spotlight Tours

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 16 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Book Details

LENGTH: 400 Pages
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance
AGE CATEGORY: Adult
DATE PUBLISHED: July 12, 2023

Bookshop (Affiliate): https://bookshop.org/a/12882/9781738842629

Indie Story Geek: https://indiestorygeek.com/story/5590

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/aLuMRs0 (Canada) https://a.co/d/4tY8cIE (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/g31bgPL (UK)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112846050-poisoned-empire

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/1d2ed03d-e99f-4a61-b5c0-01f575bc8115

Blurb

A poisoner. A prince. And a passion that could destroy an empire...or save it.

Black-marketeer Selene has poison magic and the cynicism to match. When she and genius metals mage Iliana are arrested by the same scheming, noble fathers who tossed them out at birth, they suspect apologies won’t be forthcoming. Forced to either impersonate their half-sisters or die, the friends are stuffed into fancy dresses, packed off to the capital, and thrust into the perilous, glittering world of the imperial court.

Traitors lurk in Prince Belisarius’ court, and only his loyal strategos Marduk is above suspicion. As noble-born villains siphon away the souls of their daughters to magnify their magic in secret, Belisarius plots to expose them all—by inviting every noblewoman in the empire to compete for his hand in marriage. But two infuriating imposters in attendance quickly become his bane.

When the friends are discovered, they expect imprisonment—not a deal. Vast riches are on offer if Selene poses as fiancée to the handsome prince while Iliana simpers for the towering strategos—a ploy to lure traitorous enemies to the capital. Yet even as they help secure the throne, false affections flirt with real passions, and Selene and Iliana are convinced they’ll either lose their hearts… or their heads.

Author Bio

Elyse Thomson is the pen-name of author, bookbinder and self-proclaimed hermit residing in Canada's capital. She writes escapist fantasy with daring heroines, magical mayhem, swoon-worthy romance and court intrigue. Having graduated from University of Toronto with a Bachelors in History and Classics, she is delighted to bring her love of all things ancient to her work. When not writing, she's restoring antiquarian books for a select group of clients, gaming, or snuggling up with either her husband or her neurotic terrier, Freya.