These Shattered Spires - by Cassidy Ellis Salter (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In this YA high fantasy, four magical rivals must work together to survive a deadly competition. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Gideon the Ninth.

Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots. Those who haven't yet decayed inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from the four disciplines--blood, bone, stone and botany.

But when the king of Fourspires is assassinated, the castle is thrown into chaos. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their familiars must kill or be killed in a bloody fight to the top of the Fifth Tower. For the familiars, who are the arcanists' servants and sources of power, this will mean certain death.

Nixie, a botanical familiar, discovers that this fate can be avoided if she and familiars from each discipline find four cursed keys and take them to the Fifth Tower themselves. It's a dangerous and deeply illegal quest, and none of them has reason to trust one another. But with just forty-eight hours until the competition begins, four tenuous allies must decide if they can bear to work together long enough to save themselves.

Review Quotes

"A grotesque extravaganza of a book, with a labyrinthine quest and complex, morally grey characters you can't help but root for--no matter how many times they make clear you shouldn't. With utterly unique world-building, a brilliant magic system, and writing that flips from fun and entertaining to heart-wrenching . . . I've never had so much fun." --Bea Fitzgerald, bestselling author of GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN

"Absolutely perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth, These Shattered Spires pulses with the weird and wonderful macabre. Salter weaves a ragtag crew of lovable misfits with uniquely grim world-building that is impossible to forget. Witty, diverse characters and tongue-in-cheek humor make this gothic YA fantasy both upbeat and chill inducing." --Catelyn Wilson, author of ALL THE DEVILS

"Utterly fabulous and darkly imaginative. Complicated, flawed characters shine in a world of grit and bloodshed, all brought to life through effortlessly evocative prose. I devoured every page." --Elise Kova, New York Times bestselling author of ARCANA ACADEMY

"Part fantastical court intrigue, part murder mystery, part lush queer romance, and part dysfunctional found family. At times, the writing is humorous, at others it bites like a scorpion's sting." --Katy Nyquist, A HOLY MAIDEN'S GUIDE TO GETTING KIDNAPPED

About the Author

Cassidy Ellis Salter is a fantasy author who lives in London with a pile of bones and historical oddities they've rescued from the Thames. They have previously published two middle grade novels, The Bone Snatcher and Where the Woods End.

ceselter.com
TikTok: @cesalter