The Golden Rose

January 7, 2008
This graceful tale of magic, court intrigue and high drama follows Averil, duchess of Quitaine (introduced in 2007’s The Serpent and the Rose
), as she keeps her promise to visit her uncle, the evil King Clodovec of Lys, and let him marry her to a noble so she can breed the kingdom’s heir. Far from her home and her commoner lover, Gereint, Averil soon discovers hidden allies and a faction that opposes the king but supports the Serpent he serves. They tempt Averil with talk of chaotic magic and anarchy, suggesting she could escape the laws governing noble marriages and wed Gereint at last. As plots and counterplots thicken, Averil finds herself besieged in a foreign land, guarding a powerful relic and torn between love and duty. Bryan achieves real suspense about which path her heroine will choose; the painful pleasure of Averil and Gereint’s longing will bring readers back as much as the cliffhanger ending.

March 1, 2008
Bryan (aka Judith Tarr) continues from The Serpent and the Rose (2007) the adventures of Averil, duchess of Quitaine, and powerful peasant mage Geraint, now a squire of the Rose. The two beard the enmity of Averils uncle, King Clodevec of Lys, as he attacks what have been the foundations of order ever since the Young God and his followers defeated the evil Serpent, which Clodevec wants to wake to bring back its magic. While he threatens Averil, she discovers plots surrounding him. The characters resemble twelfth-century tapestry figures brought to life, and this book ends with a fantastic sea battle and intimations of further trouble.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)