A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

Now Jiara is forced to fill her role and marry the king who speaks a language she doesn’t understand. Except Scilla was engaged to the king, Raffar, of a foreign land and spent her life preparing for that role. In this case, it’s catching Scilla’s killer. Because you see, ghosts who don’t get a closure, walk earth and haunt their loved ones until they do what’s necessary for their souls to rest. Needs lots of work but not the worst start.Īfter her sister was murdered, princess Jiara decides to do anything to catch her killer. Rounded up my rating to 3 stars because this seems to be a debut. I can easily imagine another story told from a different character’s pov. There’s still much to explore in the world Rueckert created. I don’t know if it’s a standalone but the last chapter wrapped up the story.

This book was fun to read and I couldn’t put it down. To save her family, Jiara must find her sister’s killer. If she marries the king, Jiara can hunt the murderer and release her family from Scilla’s ghost, whose thirst for blood mounts every day. Then Jiara discovers evidence that her sister’s assassin comes from the king’s own country. She’s terrified of life in a foreign land where she’ll be unable to communicate. Marrying the young king intended for her sister and traveling to his distant home is distressing enough, but with dyslexia and years of scholarly struggles, Jiara abandoned any hope of learning other languages long ago. While the entire kingdom mourns, Scilla’s betrothed arrives and requests that seventeen-year-old Jiara take her sister’s place as his bride to confirm the alliance between their countries. Her relationship with King Raffar is awesome and sweet and so refreshing.Ī Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert, (List Price: 9.When an assassin kills Princess Jiara’s older sister Scilla, her vengeful ghost is doomed to walk their city of glittering canals, tormenting loved ones until the murderer is brought to justice. But she always looks for the Next Best Thing and by opening her heart to her new people, their Watcher religion (while still embracing her own) she learns so much about her own capabilities. She’s brave and kind and is constantly on herself for not living up to her older sister’s legacy due to her undiagnosed dyslexia. Jiara is an awesome protagonist you want to follow to the ends of worlds.

There’s a lot going on with high stakes but the pacing flows well so it is never overwhelming. Newly-queened Jiara must understand both if she’s to lead in peace, AND find out who murdered her sister Scilla, who is quickly becoming a pretty scary earthwalker, a ghost consumed by revenge to find her killer. I loved the world-building in this fantasy debut! Rueckert created two different religious systems and blended them expertly into the cultures of the different countries.

A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert