THE WATCHERS OF MONIAH is classified as young adult fantasy, but ignore those labels. A tightly plotted and beautifully written page-turner, it’s packed with fascinating and duplicitous characters, romance and jilted lovers, revenge and mysticism, political intrigue and telepathic giraffes

On page one we meet fifteen-year-old Adana, heir to Moniah, one of four kingdoms that co-exist peacefully. Adana is a Watcher, a race of warrior women with psychic powers and, as is the case with the royal family, bonded telepathically to her giraffe, Ambrosia. But her mother is dying, Ambrosia shares a terrifying vision, and Adana’s safety is threatened.

On her death bed, the queen decrees Adana will leave immediately for the court at Elwar, home of her betrothed, and stay there until she can claim her throne, with her husband by her side, at eighteen. Adana knows this will impede her training as a Watcher and separate her from Ambrosia, but she trusts her mother. Heartbroken, Adana obeys.

As she leaves, she learns her betrothed, the only person she knows in Elwar, is dead. When the leader of her guard is murdered on the journey, she understands the vision Ambrosia shared is real. Evil is quietly amassing an army under Malignon, the ambitious traitor thought to have died decades earlier.

Isolated in Elwar, Adana wins friendship from a spoiled young princess and adoration from Kiffen, heir to the throne. A quiet, good soul, he’s trying—and failing—to ignore his attraction to his dead brother’s fiancée. He also knows, as does Alana, that tradition demands the two kingdoms be ruled separately. But their story is only beginning, and Adana and Kiffen grow into remarkable young leaders.

This is the first in a trilogy, with the final installment out in March 2021. I highly recommend the second; can’t wait for the third!