Melaria is a Countess who doesn’t act like one. Not only does she run around barefoot wearing old horse blankets, but she loathes everything about court: from the clothes and the people and the intrigue to the tyrannical King Galdran. So, after her father’s death, when she and her brother Branaric decide to go to war against the king — for various offenses, not the least of which was intending to break the Covenant with the Hill People not to chop down the colorwood trees — she’s all for it. In fact, Mel’s in the thick of it. That is, until she gets her foot caught in a trap, and ends up in enemy hands. From there, her life becomes more interesting and more complicated, especially after she’s thrown into the hands of the Marquis of Shevraeth, who keeps popping into her life at the most inconvenient (well, not always) of times.

This was an absolute blast to read. A terrific fantasy (light on the magic, heavy on the world-building, but not so much that the characters were slighted), and a terrific adventure. M read this one before I got to it, and her comment was that “Mel has anger management issues. But then, she’s a red head.” I didn’t quite agree: up until near the end, I thought her rage and anger were pretty much justified. Close to the end of the story, you kind of want to smack her upside the head, but she does figure things out. Thankfully. I do like how she becomes bookish at the end, too. That was a nice touch.

I’m also glad I liked it enough to actually buy it and the second one, Court Duel, because the library doesn’t have that one, and I don’t think I could live without knowing the rest of Mel’s story…