In a kingdom born of angels, Phedre is an anguisette, cursed or blessed to find pleasure in pain. Sold to the Court of Night Blooming Flowers, her fate as a beautiful but anonymous courtesan was sealed. Her bond was purchased by the nobleman Anafiel Delauney, who recognized the scarlet mote in Phedre's eye as the rare mark of one touched by a powerful deity.
Under Delauney's patronage she is trained in history, politics, language, and the use of body and mind as the ultimate weapon of subterfuge in a dangerous game of courtly intrigue. Guided into the bed chambers of Terre D'Ange's most influential nobles, Phedre uncovers a conspiracy against the throne so vast that even her teacher cannot see the whole of it. As her nation is besieged by invading hordes from the north, the most unthinkable threat to her beloved home comes from traitors within.
Love as thou wilt. Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart is one of the first queer speculative fiction books I've read, and it holds a special place in my heart. The Terre d'Ange ennealogy is a series spanning a hundred years in a rich, evocative world similar to our own, where gods and angels bestow their favor on mortals. Terre d'Ange, our France, is a kingdom where prostitution is an art, a vocation, and is also strictly regulated. The protagonist of Kushiel's Dart, Phèdre, is trained to be a skilled spy and will find herself often in the thick of political intrigue and magical quests. This series is a love letter to love in all its forms.
✨ 5 stars
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