Muse - Hardcover

Cavallaro, Brittany

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062840258 ISBN 13: 9780062840257

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2021

Synopsis

American
Royals meets The Winner’s Curse in
the first book of a dazzling duology from New York Times bestselling
author Brittany Cavallaro about revolution, love, and friendship in a
reimagined American monarchy.

The year is 1893, and war is brewing in
the First American Kingdom. But Claire Emerson has a bigger problem. Claire’s father
is a sought-after inventor, but he believes his genius is a gift granted to him
by his daughter’s touch, so he keeps Claire under his control.
As their province
prepares for war, Claire plans to escape, even as her best friend, Beatrix,
tries to convince her to stay and help with the growing resistance movement
that wants to see a woman on the throne.


When her father’s weapon fails to fire on the
World’s Fair’s opening day, Claire is taken captive by Governor Remy Duchamp,
St. Cloud’s young, untried ruler. Remy believes that Claire’s touch bestows
graces he’s never had, and with political rivals planning his demise, Claire
might be his only ally.
The last thing that Claire has ever wanted is to be someone
else’s muse, but she finally has a choice: Will she quietly remake her world
from the shadows—or bring it down in flames?

About this title

About the Author

Brittany Cavallaro is the New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Charlotte and the Charlotte Holmes novels. With Emily Henry she wrote the young adult thriller Hello Girls. Cavallaro is also the author of the poetry collections Girl-King and Unhistorical and is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry. She lives in Michigan, where she teaches creative writing at Interlochen. Visit her online at brittanycavallaro.com.

Reviews

GR 7 Up-It's 1893 and Claire's father is the weapons inventor set to be featured at the World's Fair in St. Cloud—he's more than a little unstable and the weapon doesn't work. Convinced Claire has the magic to fix it, he abuses her when she fails. Claire plans her escape, but when the weapon succeeds—with her intervention—she's in the crosshairs of young, unpopular governor Remy Duchamp. He takes her hostage to be the muse of the World's Fair, and possibly use her powers for himself. With an epigraph, preamble, and prologue, this book should feel like a slow start—more history lesson than novel—but juxtaposing a historical America where George Washington turned his back on democracy to become king against today's political theater sets the story alight with tension. Unfortunately, the complete lack of characters of color distracts from the story. With no mention of slavery (the First American Kingdom never fought a Civil War), one unnamed character of color, and white villains with an anti-immigration plotline, readers will be disheartened by Claire, who refuses to get involved in politics that don't directly affect her. Overbearing men, white supremacists, and white feminists are cast as the villains of the story; ultimately Claire is put in the position to be a white savior to the immigrants who have come to St. Cloud. VERDICT Problematic elements overshadow what could have been a well-crafted plot and interesting worldbuilding, making this an additional purchase for libraries in need of historical series.—Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., IL

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062840258
• ISBN 13: 9780062840257
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352