When Princess Wilhelmina was just a child, she saw her parents killed when the Indigo Kingdom conquered her country. Wil escaped, along with a handful of other children. Together, they are the Ospreys: a tiny gang dedicated to regaining their kingdom and putting Wil back on her parents' throne. Wil and her best friend Melanie are about to set off on their most dangerous mission yet: infiltrating the palace where the royal family of the Indigo Kingdom live and rule, in order to gain information and certain key supplies. Disguised as refugees, they claim sanctuary and set about gathering information . . . but, in a place where she can trust no one, Wil walks a fine line, especially since she has certain forbidden magical powers, ones that may be able to save not only her kingdom but the entire world, from encroaching danger.
For readers of YA fantasy, this sort of quest story will have a familiar ring to it, but I thought the elements of the story were put together in a way that felt fresh and interesting. I liked the magic system in the story, with magic outlawed because magic produces a byproduct known as Wraith, though there were definitely parts of that whole system that could have been explained more fully. Also, at one point in the story, Wil befriends a vigilante known only as the Black Knife, and while I suspected his true identity early on, the author managed to create enough doubt that I was pleasantly surprised to be proven right. All in all, I found this a satisfying read -- but if you're thinking about picking it up, be warned: it ends in a cliffhanger.
(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)
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