current reading, 47% of the way through
Long May She Reign, by Rhiannon Thomas
A horrific terrorist attack kills hundreds at a royal birthday party, leaving this painfully introverted, 23rd-in-line young woman ... shocked ... to learn she's now heir to the throne, as the Secret Service pounds down the stairs into her basement lab and hastens her to a secure location.
She'd wanted to become a scientist, to lead research at a continental university. Now she has no choice but to try to lead a grieving country, while trying to catch the culprits, while trying to avoid being killed before she can.
Who can she trust? What can she do about her panic attacks? She never trained for this job, she hates it, she never knows the right thing to say ... but she has to rely on others, she can't do this without help.
-----
I'm finding it a gripping story so far, and different from a lot of fantasy novels. No magic. A woman in charge, but not a "strong" woman either. One who must deal with obstacles both without and within, to survive an unexpectedly bewildering world.
A horrific terrorist attack kills hundreds at a royal birthday party, leaving this painfully introverted, 23rd-in-line young woman ... shocked ... to learn she's now heir to the throne, as the Secret Service pounds down the stairs into her basement lab and hastens her to a secure location.
She'd wanted to become a scientist, to lead research at a continental university. Now she has no choice but to try to lead a grieving country, while trying to catch the culprits, while trying to avoid being killed before she can.
Who can she trust? What can she do about her panic attacks? She never trained for this job, she hates it, she never knows the right thing to say ... but she has to rely on others, she can't do this without help.
-----
I'm finding it a gripping story so far, and different from a lot of fantasy novels. No magic. A woman in charge, but not a "strong" woman either. One who must deal with obstacles both without and within, to survive an unexpectedly bewildering world.