A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN

An ordinary princess embarks on an unexpected journey.

Neither the heir nor the spare with two older siblings, 17-year-old Princess Jiara of Azzaria craves adventures over academics due to her learning disability (which an author’s note names as dyslexia). Jiara had no expectation of becoming a queen, but after her older sister, Scilla, is murdered, Jiara must wed young King Raffar of Farnskag in her stead to protect an important political alliance. Tattooed and bald per Farnskag’s customs, Raffar is handsome and attentive, but Jiara feels alienated in her new home. Struggling to learn the new language, Jiara grows suspicious of her husband’s trusted advisers and soon uncovers betrayals both personal and political. Contending with Scilla’s vengeful ghost, who is growing more violent as her murderer goes unpunished, Jiara also earns the protection of her new home’s deities, the elemental Watchers, and their monoliths. Black-haired Jiara hails from a Mediterranean-feeling Azzaria while Raffar comes from racially diverse Farnskag, a kingdom that feels more northern European. The political passementerie is tiresome while the zero-to-hero/chosen-one trope is regrettably trite; the inclusion of a princess with a disability is welcome, if not unprecedented. Debut novelist Rueckert occasionally offers dazzling settings and swoonworthy romantic moments, using Jiara’s emotional and literal journeys to hammer home the twin messages of acceptance and accommodation for different cultures, sexual orientations, and faiths. Neither grimdark nor frivolous, this is a middling political fantasy.

Achieves flights of fancy but never truly soars.