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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In Dorothy Dreyer’s A Sabre in the Hemlock, Princess Celeste of Delasurvia travels to Hedera expecting to honor a political betrothal, only to find the court changed by the reported death of Prince Torbin. King Silas moves swiftly to legitimize Dante Copperhammer, his illegitimate son, and name him heir in Torbin’s place. To secure that claim, Dante must survive formal trials staged before rival rulers in Podrosa, Bastos, Messanya, and Mersos, each realm judging whether he is fit to rule. Bound to him by alliance and growing loyalty, Celeste accompanies the tour while concealing the awakening of a volatile magic within her bloodline that she secretly uses to keep him alive. When Torbin resurfaces in Dulcamar under the rule of the Shadow Tsar, Axel, who has a terrifying connection to Celeste, she is abducted and forced to confront the source of both her power and the spreading unrest.
Dorothy Dreyer’s A Sabre in the Hemlock is the perfect titular metaphor, signaling danger hidden within beauty, holding a mirror up to Celeste’s position as both an ornamented princess and a concealed weapon. I love Celeste, who does everything in her power—and it turns out, she has a lot of it—to reject ritual subjugation and reclaim her agency. Dreyer's world-building is extraordinary, with feral wolf-like beasts twisted by dark magic called the carnoraxis, siren peacekeepers who dwell in the mountains, and frost-covered ballrooms with masked courtiers. Axel, the Shadow Tsar, defines the novel’s menace with a Machiavelli meets Caligula panache. The writing is elegant and completely immersive, with loads of realms, inherited magical gifts, fae rulers, siren heirs, and witch bloodlines within a rigid court system. Readers who enjoy velvety, rich political fantasy and volatile inherited magic should prepare to fall in love. Very highly recommended.
