Informationen zum Autor ELIZABETH LIM grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard College and the Juilliard School, she now lives in New York with her husband and her daughters. Elizabeth's internationally bestselling novels include Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon's Promise, Spin the Dawn, and Unravel the Dusk. She is also a contributor to Disney's A Twisted Tale series. Visit her at elizabethlim.com Follow her on Twitter at @LizLim Follow her on Instagram at @elimpix Klappentext NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a fantasy tale of two sistersone as beautiful as the other is monstrouswho must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever! One sister must fall for the other to rise. Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent's face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vannathe only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn't see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts. Now at seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who's had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrathlaunching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi's heart to its breaking point. Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood. Leseprobe CHAPTER ONE There was no moon or moonbow when my sister was born. Contrary to the stories, she arrived late in the morning, close to noon. I remember, because the sun was in my eyes, and its glaring heat needled my skin until I bubbled with sweat. I was very young and playing outside, poking the ants crawling up my ankles with a stick, when the sun suddenly receded--and I heard screams. Mama's screams. They were faint at first. Thunder had begun to rumble, swallowing the brunt of her cries. The loud cracks in the sky did not frighten me; I was already used to the island's fickle winds and the low howls that rolled from the jungle at night. So I stayed, even as rain unfolded from the sky and the chickens ran for cover. The dirt under my toes became mud, and the warm, humid air chilled. The ants drowned as the water climbed up my ankles. Adah had told me not to come inside until I was called, but the rain was getting harder. It came down in sheets, soaking my shirt and sandals and drumming against my skull. It hurt. Kicking off my sandals, I clambered up the wooden stairs to our house and ran inside to the kitchen. I shook my hair free of rain and tried to warm myself by the fire, but only a few embers remained. Adah? I called, shivering. Mama? No answer. My stomach growled. Up beside the cooking pot was a plate of cakes Mama had steamed for me yesterday. They'd made her hands smell like coconut and her nails shine, sticky with syrup. Channi's cakes are ready! she would always call when they were done. Don't eat too much at once, or the sugar flies...

Klappentext

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a fantasy tale of two sisters—one as beautiful as the other is monstrous—who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever!

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now at seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.