"There are no limits to the will―and the strength―of this unique female hero." ―Tamora Pierce, writer of the Song of the Lioness and the Protector of the Small quartets This fierce story transports you to 17th century France, to a world of heart-racing duels and seductive soirées as our heroine fights against her chronic illness to train as a Musketeer, uncovering secrets, sisterhood, and self-love. Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but "a sick girl." But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father-a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L'Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It's a secret training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don't shy away from a sword fight. With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels that she has a purpose, that she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He's kind, charming-and might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she's ever wanted.
