Can “happily-ever-after” start with a lie?

LIAR’S KINGDOM
by Christine Calella
Page Street YA, January 2025
(via KT Literary)

Ell DeBrun is the girl of the cinders. The girl who’s spent years slaving away for her cruel stepmother and ungrateful stepsisters, dreaming of rescue. So when Prince Bayard — who seems to have difficulty recognizing faces — shows up at her door with a glass slipper in hand, Ell allows him to believe she is the girl he danced with at the grand ball. There’s just one problem: Ell didn’t attend the ball and she’s never met the prince before in her life. But if it’s a choice between being whisked away to the royal palace and staying trapped with her miserable step-family, Ell is willing to concoct any fairy tale that will grant her an escape.

However, Ell finds that fitting into royal life isn’t as easy as sliding into a glass slipper. Bayard’s sister, the crown princess, has gone missing. The king is preparing for war with the sinister army of fae. And Maxim, Bayard’s treacherous (and unfortunately, terribly handsome) best friend, appears to know Ell’s secrets — and is just waiting for the most advantageous moment to call her bluff. As her lies pile up like unwashed plates, she knows they’re only seconds away from crashing down on her head.

Luckily, Ell is used to a little dirty work. If she wants to keep this life she’s stolen for herself, one with creature comforts and companionship she’s only dreamed of, she’s going to have to roll up her sleeves and rescue herself.

Christine Calella is a graduate of Columbia University’s MFA program for Creative Writing. Her debut YA novel The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray published in April 2024. She lives in New York City.