In this lush, South Asian-inspired epic fantasy a young woman must uncover her secret past to free her kingdom from terrible colonial forces—if the Throne doesn’t kill her first.
She was the last Damadi princess.
She had to be.
Seventeen-year-old Eshaal Bibi is just another orphan. At least, that’s the story her family has always told her—that her parents were among the many killed during the fall of the Azzamin empire to colonial forces fifteen years ago. But what if that isn’t entirely true? What if the dreams Eshaal had while struck by a magical malady—the ones where she is a princess, the last heir to the Peacock Throne, and the would-be savior of Azzamin—are real?
Desperate to be more than her tragic upbringing, Eshaal becomes possessed by the idea, but her pursuit of the truth quickly draws the attention of colonial authorities. To save herself, Eshaal is forced to flee and marry the heir of a secret loyalist family, the handsome and infuriating Imran Mirza. But with a possible princess in his sights and revolution on the horizon, Eshaal’s new husband will let nothing stop him from taking back their country—not even the simmering tension between them.
With her enemies circling and her closest allies more loyal to the cause than to her, Eshaal will be put to the test, the fate of Azzamin itself in the balance. And whether she’s a princess or just a pretender, Eshaal knows one thing to be true: Nothing is more powerful—or deadlier—than belief.
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“South Asian history and magic intertwine in this lush, slow-burn YA fantasy, rich with sweet mangoes and tinkling pahzebs. Zeba Shahnaz crafts an unforgettable protagonist who will go to any lengths to uncover her own truth-even at devastating cost-as she navigates love and the heartbreak it brings. A stunning jewel of a book.”
-Tanvi Berwah, critically-acclaimed author of Monsters Born and Made
Shahnaz describes well the constraint that Eshaal experiences and her desire for something more. The book is full of splendid descriptions […] while sharply addressing colonialism and its devastating consequences. VERDICT: An intense first installment of a magical fantasy grounded in exploring power, imperialism, and relationships.
-School Library Journal
The novel’s South Asian atmosphere is vivid, from the mardana/zenana divide between men’s and women’s quarters to the maneuvering between Azzamini gentry and Berang magistrates. Eshaal’s wry, self-aware voice anchors its themes of survivor’s guilt and inherited trauma. […] The tension between fate and self-determination pays off.
– Kirkus Reviews
A haunting, ambitious tale of grief, rebellion, and the price of finally mattering.