Review: Troubled Waters

Zoe Ardelay is grieving for her father when a messenger of the king is sent to retrieve her.  She is asked to go to the Palace as the king's fifth wife, and she cannot refuse this messenger.  But once she gets to the city, she slips out of his grasp and disappears from all view.

For a time, Zoe lives happily in the city, but eventually she discovers something that had been hidden from her when her father took her into exile with him: she is the Coru Prime, and she must return to the Palace.  This time, however, she must go in her own right with power of her own.  And, as Coru Prime, she is safe from any unwelcome marriage attempts, such as that of the king, who we find out later is not a bad person.  Now Zoe must navigate the court and be careful not to make an enemy of any of the four wives of King Vernon.

In Zoe's world, people are associated with four different things - sweela, which is fire; elay, which is air; torz, which is earth; hunti, which is wood; and coru, which is water.  Each of these elemental associations is passed down from parent to child.  Zoe's father was a sweela man, as she put it, but she is like her mother and is a coru woman, though she is said to have a sweela heart many times. 

I found this book in the new books section of the public library by my school.  I've spent a great deal of time reading books I've gotten there that I never would have found at the bookstore or at my home library.  Then again, my home library is not well-stocked and it's staffed by nazi librarians.

I loved this book.  I absolutely adored this book.  I flew through this book even though I was sick the evening I read the largest chunk of it.  It brought me a great deal of joy when I wasn't feeling very well.  I honestly wish that Sharon Shinn had written more books in this universe (though this book only came out at the end of last year).  But, since she hasn't, I will probably be picking up her other books anyway.  I would give this book the full five starts.  It's really amazing and I highly recommend it.