by Cora Taylor

Kour'el is alone, injured, and trapped. As her body heals, she struggles to remember what happened to her and who she was before she wound up in this place. The only person she sees is the cloaked woman who comes every day to bring her food and water. The high, small window gives her no clue to her whereabouts. Soon, pieces of her past begin floating back to her in dream, fragments of memory that tell her she was being hunted by soldiers, had been going somewhere with a very dear friend, and was on a mission of some sort. As her story becomes clearer, her thoughts turn to escape.

When all girls between the ages of 12 and 15 summers are recruited for service at the palace, Maighdlin tries to face her future with courage, even though those who are taken never come back. She does her best to keep up her own spirits and the spirits of those around her. But the situation begins to seem more and more hopeless. As her grandfather, a former hunting companion of the king, and her friend Marika's betrothed seek out a way to rescue them, it becomes obvious that the kingdom has taken a disastrous fall since the injury of the king.

As the simultaneous stories progress, readers will notice that the girls are facing a common enemy and may soon be sharing a common goal.

I recommend this book to fans of Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George.