AustLit

'Kaaren Sutcliffe delivers a richly layered fantasy tale with intrigue, romance and compelling characters. The trilogy weaves together a young spy mage on a covert mission, a rogue half-mage, an alluring bird caller with uncanny abilities. A fiercely competitive dragon boat teams and river dragons with a hidden past seeking amends from a Mages' Guild founded on deception.

'A grumpy river dragon withholds rain. Their crops wilting in unrelenting sunlight, the provinces plan a festival of dragon boat races to appease the dragon.

'But someone doesn't agree ... As the incidents of sabotage mount, Riverfall sends a desperate messenger to the aloof Mages' Guild, hidden behind its deadly warded wall.

'Mage Everand, a spy, is astounded when his master sends him to Riverfall to find out what's going on.

'The catch? 'Under no circumstances, none whatsoever, reveal your identity.'

'The undercover mission unfolds with layer upon layer of intrigue, until Everand starts to question everything he believes.

'The alluring boatwoman, Lamiya, insists on helping him, making it increasingly difficult to conceal his purpose - and retain control of his heart.

'Everand faces an irate dragon, a rogue half-mage and, worst of all, a legacy of treachery and secrets underpinning the foundation of his beloved Guild.

'Can he save the provinces and make things right without sacrificing his soul and sense of self?'(Publication summary)