The Queen's Gambit

Eleanor, the young queen of Aemogen, is confronted with the greatest threat her country has ever faced: surrender Aemogen’s sovereignty to the treacherous Imirillian Empire or endure a devastating and impossible war. Now she must decide if she will forfeit her people’s liberty or fight.


When Wil Traveler, the disenchanted Imirillian soldier, wanders into her country, Eleanor takes the gamble of asking him to train her ill-prepared men for war, despite suspecting he may be a spy. Battling questions of war and conquest, Eleanor fights to protect her people as Wil challenges her way of life, all the while keeping the secrets of his violent past a mystery.


Readers have compared Beth Brower's books to Robin McKinley, Megan Whalen Turner, Brandon Sanderson, and Lloyd Alexander.