book cover of The Unwilling
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The Unwilling

(2020)
(The first book in the Barrier Lands series)
A novel by

 
 
'Fantasy at its most sublime' ERIN MORGENSTERN

'Ingenious . . . Kelly Braffet is a marvel'
KELLY LINK

Perfect for fans of Samantha Shannon, Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas.

She has no name and no history, but she has a power greater than the Empire has ever known.

Judah is an orphaned girl with a secret gift, born at the gates of Highfall castle. Raised alongside Gavin, heir to Lord Elban's empire, the two share a bond - one that is key to Judah's survival and destined to be Judah's undoing.

Elban - as mighty as he is cruel and greedy - plans to use Judah as a pawn to amass greater control. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

But beyond the castle walls, a magus, a healer with his own powerful force, has arrived from the provinces. He, too, has designs on the realm, and at the heart of his plans lies Judah...

The girl who started life with no name and no history will soon discover her own strength.

She does not have to be given power: she can just take it.

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Readers are obsessed with The Unwilling:

'Clever, beautiful, unexpected'
⭐⭐⭐⭐���

'Reminds me of
Six of Crows. Gritty, real and full of imperfectly amazing characters'
���⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I could stay with these characters a very long time'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Brilliantly executed.
The Unwilling is about sharing joy, and sensing fear and cruelty, and caring beyond ourselves' VANITY FAIR

'Suspenseful: magical, wonderfully written and never predictable . . . An essential addition to the all epic fantasy collections'
BOOKLIST


Genre: Fantasy

Praise for this book

"Gorgeously told, The Unwilling is at once a sweeping epic and an intimate portrait of being trapped in an oppressive regime. Meet your new favorite fantasy writer." - Gwenda Bond

"Wow...The characters, the world, the magic and greed and politics and pain--all of it adds up to something wonderful. I love it." - Ellen Datlow

"Kelly Braffet's The Unwilling is a viscerally powerful book. Full of complex and compelling characters, this is the story of the corruptions of power and the strength it takes to resist. This is an incredible, brilliant story." - Kat Howard

"A juggernaut of an epic fantasy novel with ingenious, thrilling twists and turns. Put this on the shelf beside Naomi Novik and George R. R. Martin. Kelly Braffet is a marvel and I'll read anything she writes." - Kelly Link

"Kelly Braffet is extraordinary... Familiar yet entirely unique, The Unwilling is the sort of story that seeps under your skin and pulses there, intimate and vibrant and alive. Fantasy at its most sublime." - Erin Morgenstern


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