TIDESPEAKER

In a world where all magical people are effectively enslaved, a teen hopes for the least painful future assignment possible.

There are four kinds of Orha in the Queendom of Nenamor: Mudmouths, Sparkmouths, Gustmouths, and Floodmouths, like Corith and her best friend, Zennia. They’re wards of the state, destined at age 18 for a mandatory service placement. A month ago, Zennia was sent to be the Floodmouth at House Shearwater, which like all noble houses keeps a set of one of each Orha type. Now it’s Corith’s birthday, and to her horror, her placement is House Shearwater. No noble house would keep two Floodmouths—and Corith’s terrible suspicions are confirmed: Zennia died in “an unfortunate accident.” At House Shearwater, she has occasional important magical tasks but is mostly engaged in menial labor. Surprisingly, the nobles make enslaved Orha mages perform tasks such as fetching water from the well and mopping floors. But Corith isn’t bored—she’s received a secret note promising information about Zennia’s fate, found a letter in code that Zennia left for her, and been recruited by local rebels. Throw in some cute noble boys, counterfeit magical jewelry, political intrigue, and illicit pamphlets espousing Orha rights, and the result is so many plot points that character development gets short shrift in the sometimes clunky prose. In this primarily white world, Corith is cued white.

Action-packed yet mostly flat; lacking human authenticity or satisfying worldbuilding.