HOUSE OF SHADOWS

This is a standalone novel about a family of sisters torn apart by their father's death and their unexpected poverty.
HOUSE OF SHADOWS is rich, character driven fantasy sure to appeal to fans of Patricia McKillop.

When their merchant father dies and leaves them orphaned eight sisters are forced to make a painful decision to save their family home and livelihood. One sister, Karah, is sold to a keiso house or house of flowers. In the keiso house women are groomed to be cherished flower wives and are treated with the greatest care. A second sister, Nemienne, is sold to be an apprentice to a powerful mage learning magic and spells. All of this takes place in Lonne, a kingdom poised at the edge of war, as a fifteen year old treaty with the country to the north comes to the end. Neumeier does a brilliant job intertwining the stories of three main characters - Taudde, a young man from that northern country, whose magic stems from his music, Leilis, a young servant in the keiso house where Karah is studying and Nemienne, whose own apprenticeship could be taking her down a darker path than she had imagined.