A high stakes horse racing competition, forbidden magic, political games, and betrayals await as two girls find their fates forever changed when their paths cross and they join forces with each other and an ambitious heir. Mikira Rusel is the daughter of a renowned enchanted horse breeding family. Yet despite her family's prestige, they have debts to pay and in order to save her family's ranch she is forced to enter and win the Illinir, a deadly horserace where raiders normally finish maimed or murdered. The prize money is amazing and the prestige won would be unparalleled. Yet in order to win she needs the help of Damien Adair, a dashing and deadly lord in a succession battle for the title of heir and Arielle Kadar, a illicit enchanter who has only begun to scratch the depths of her power. Damien and Arielle both have their own revenge plans and blood feuds and agree to help Ari. Yet winning was never easy and with so many people out to get them, can they trust each other or will betrayal destroy them? Mikira wants to atone for all the things she's done and the situations she's gotten her family in, yet she just keeps messing up. Damien is ruthless and wants the title of the house, yet he finds himself falling for Arielle. The lengths he'll go to to protect her and those he holds close is ruthless, yet so is the anger he has for anyone who betrays him. Arielle has spent her life an outcast, and wants nothing more than to get an official license to do her magic, yet she is beginning to hear a voice in her head and losing time, as well as the fact that her magic is growing as well as her blood lust. I loved Damien and Arielle and had a lot of fun with their story, the weak part of the story for me was Mikira, I just couldn't connect with her and found her to be so annoying by the end. I really didn't care that much about her story and was more interested in what Damien, Arielle and Reid ( Damien's friend/servant who works with magic and has a cat and is a bit grumpy) were up to. This is the first book in the series and I am curious to see where the next book goes. If you enjoy horse racing/magic/succession politics, then give this book a go!

Spoiler

Mikira enters into a race to win a bet against Rezeh, the rich lord who wants her farm and is holding her father hostage, and in order to do so she needs Damien's sponsor and Arielle to make her a magic horse. She loses but Rezeh makes a counter offer, she spy on Damien and get him some evidence to get rid of Damien and then she'll be given another chance to race again in another bet. Reid finds out and tells Damien and Arielle. Mikira is angry at them all and says that they are her enemy now (girl look at what you did, you literally betrayed them all and didnt say or do anything, they have a right to be mad at you and the fact that you act so self righteous when you lie, cheat, and betray people too?? get over yourself). Damien does kill people and does end up winning the title to the succession but he finds out that Mikira was the one to have evidence of him killing the two men who had attacked Arielle. Arielle begins hearing a voice in her head egging her on and stealing her body, she later discovers it is a spirit taking over her body as her powers grow. Rezeh was sent to jail but the book ends with Arielle visiting him (only because the spirit in her body is controlling her). Damien and Arielle get together as a couple, while Mikara is hinted at being bisexual (but it really doesn't feel like she has any love interests which is completely fine).

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*