Black Salt Queen - Samantha Bansil

There can be no victory without betrayal.

Hara Duja Gatdula, queen of the island nation of Maynara, holds the divine power to move the earth. But her strength is failing and the line of succession gives her little comfort. Her heir, Laya, is a danger—a petty and passionate princess who wields the enormous power of the skies with fickle indifference. Circling the throne is Imeria Kulaw—the matriarch of a traitorous rival family who wields recklessly enhanced powers of her own—with designs to secure a high-ranking position for her son and claim the crown for her family. Each woman has a secret weakness—a lover, a heartbreak, a lie. But each is willing to pay the steepest price to bring down her rivals once and for all.

Filled with passion, romance, betrayal, and divine magic, Black Salt Queen journeys to a gorgeous precolonial island nation where women—and secrets—reign.

Reviews

·"Bansil's debut, the first in a proposed series, is a captivating read filled with love, power, and betrayal, set against a lush island background. Readers will eagerly await the second installment." —Booklist

·"Centered within a whirling battle between love and power, Black Salt Queen is an epic tale of female ambition, court intrigue, and betrayal that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Bansil is a writer to watch." —O. O. Sangoyomi, author of Masquerade

·"Richly immersive with political intrigue as sharp as a blade, Black Salt Queen is a triumph of a debut. This precolonial Philippines–inspired fantasy is a vivid portrayal of love and power and what happens when one is forced to choose between them. Skillfully epic yet splendidly intimate." —Maddie Martinez, author of The Maiden and Her Monster

·"Complex matriarchs in a vivid setting. A marvelous addition to the growing multitude of voices in Filipino fantasy fiction." —K. S. Villoso, author of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro

·"Black Salt Queen is a superbly gripping tale of love, mortality, and the intergenerational effects of trauma. With lush and evocative prose, Samantha Bansil brings to life a Filipino fantasy world of mythic proportions that is bursting with historical and cultural details. If you want intrigue, passionate romance, and a delicious dose of yearning, Black Salt Queen is a must read." —Gabriella Buba, author of Saints of Storm and Sorrow and Daughters of Flood and Fury

·"Samantha Bansil crafts the perfect storm in Black Salt Queen. Crackling with magic, the prose is as soft as a summer rain but packs the punch of an unrelenting monsoon. The plot—steeped in equal parts love and betrayal—is utterly addicting. Moreover, the three main characters offer a clever and varied exploration of femininity, motherhood, and power. This book kept me reading late into the night and [made me] never want to leave Maynara." —S. Hati, author of And the Sky Bled

·"Passion, heartache, and betrayal layered over a lush, history-rich world. Black Salt Queen is all consuming yet balances on the edge of a blade. I'm dying for more!" —Brittney Arena, author of A Dance of Lies