Royal Bastards (Royal Bastards, 1) - Hardcover

Shvarts, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1484767659 ISBN 13: 9781484767658

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017

Synopsis

"Jon Snow won't be the only 'bastard' whose name readers will remember."
-Entertainment Weekly

Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children.
At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who's been in love with Tilla since they were children.
Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards' Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.
Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana's uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead--with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.
The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart-if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . .

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Shvarts is an author of novels and video games. He has a BA in English Literature and Russian from Vassar College. He works for Pixelberry Studios as a designer, making mobile games like High School Story, Choices, and more. Andrew lives in San Jose, California, with his wife, toddler, and two kittens. Find him on Twitter @Shvartacus.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—As the bastard daughter of Lord Kent of the Western Province, Tillandra has always lived between two worlds, that of the nobility, where she strives for recognition and acceptance, and that of her stablehand half brother Jax, where she is free to swill wine and run wild. When Princess Lyriana, daughter of the royal family to whom Tilla's father was forced to swear allegiance, disregards social etiquette by sitting at the Bastards Table during a banquet to honor her visit, Tilla is thrown into the company of the model of a perfect royal daughter, along with fellow bastards Zell, a barbarian Zitochi warrior from the north country, and bookish Miles. When this ragtag group of misfits encounter a sinister plot to overthrow the royal family, they are catapulted into a life-and-death mission to save Princess Lyriana, as well as themselves, and rescue the kingdom from an inevitable and bloody civil war. Elements such as magic and deadly mythical creatures will be familiar to fans of the fantasy genre, but the book's hurried plot and crass language paint a confused picture and give the narrative a disjointed feel. The result is a novel that strives to include every possible element of the genre, rather than a captivating fantasy adventure. VERDICT A strictly additional purchase.—Sarah Lorraine, J. Sterling Morton High School, Cicero, IL

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1484767659
• ISBN 13: 9781484767658
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352