A Farm Girl's Guide to Ruling as a Bloodthirsty Tyrant - (Scandals of the Gifted) by Katy Nyquist (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When Bora swaps bodies with a homicidal duchess, the sweet-tempered wallflower must embrace her inner villainess to survive and save her country.

Within an hour of Bora's arrival in Arahasnor, she runs into her toxic ex-boyfriend, offends a malicious noblewoman, and narrowly escapes from the city guards. Never the type for adventures--unlike her sister, Holy Maiden Ysabel, who left the family farm and scandalously eloped with Dark Lord Kaine--Bora intends to quickly return home and settle back into her usual role as the plain, boring sister. That is, until there's a freak magical accident.

Suddenly, Bora finds herself in the life--and body--of the Blood Duchess, a woman who once threatened to have her killed. Now a noblewoman in a kingdom on the verge of economic collapse, the citizenry hangs her in effigy, and her staff spits in her food. It's too much for a farm girl without a mean bone in her body to handle. Unfortunately, the previous ruler sold Arahasnor to three different foreign powers, and only their crippling fear of the Blood Duchess is holding them off . . . as long as Bora can successfully embody the ruthless villainess. At least she's not alone in this bizarre charade; she has the support of Countess Donya, her heroic celebrity crush.

And she'll need it. Because if Bora's real identity gets uncovered, she'll die. But after an assassin named Ari mistakenly targets her for revenge, she strikes a deal with him: she'll help find the actual duchess in exchange for his protection. As someone who struggles with body-image issues, Bora feels drawn to Ari's confidence, rakish charm, and gender queerness. But a love triangle may be a distraction she can't afford, especially when it turns out her sister is among the enemies coming to town to challenge the Blood Duchess.

After spending years obsessing over her weight, the death threats scare Bora less than showing off her extremely generous curves in the Blood Duchess's low-cut dresses. But if she can embrace the beauty of her new body, she might just learn to love her true self as well. Though, appearances will be irrelevant if the duchess's adversaries remove her head from her shoulders . . .

Review Quotes

Praise for A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped

"[A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped features] a protagonist with a strong voice and unique character facets like face blindness and a healing gift . . . and some nice worldbuilding, both in broad strokes and specific detailing." --Elayne Audrey Becker, author of the Forestborn duology

"I . . . absolutely fell in love with Ysabel and Kaine . . . The 'opposites attract' trope worked so well for this story . . . The stakes are high throughout . . . Great craft and storytelling!" --April L. Wood, author of the Season of the Witch series

"Both [Ysabel and Kaine are] strongly drawn and very relatable." --Bogi Takács, author of Power to Yield

About the Author

Katy Nyquist is an economist in Washington, DC, who writes humorous fantasy novels to take a break from the constant math jargon. She has had short fiction published in Abyss & Apex Magazine, The Arcanist, Every Day Fiction, Strange Changes, and Magic, Mayhem, and Monsters.