12 must-read sci-fi and fantasy releases to escape with this March

The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme. Image courtesy Tor Books
The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme. Image courtesy Tor Books /
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The Councillor book cover
The Councillor by E.J. Beaton. Image courtesy Penguin Random House /

March 2021 book release: The Councillor – E.J. Beaton

Described as a Machiavellian political fantasy, E.J. Beaton’s The Councillor is a rich, slow-moving tale about a scholar who must help choose a monarch.

It follows the story of Lysande Prior, an orphan girl in the kingdom of Elira who is plucked from poverty and raised by Queen Sarelin herself in the royal palace. But when Sarelin dies when Lysande is just 22, she is proclaimed the kingdom’s Councillor and tasked with selecting Elira’s next ruler.

However, she suspects that the queen’s death may have resulted from foul play, and likely involves the infamous White Queen, one of the kingdom’s last elementals, a.k.a. those capable of using magic. But will the city rulers – who already consider Lysande low-born and beneath them – listen to her – especially if anyone finds out about her own dark secrets?

The official synopsis describes the story in greater detail.

"When the death of Iron Queen Sarelin Brey fractures the realm of Elira, Lysande Prior, the palace scholar and the queen’s closest friend, is appointed Councillor. Publically, Lysande must choose the next monarch from amongst the city-rulers vying for the throne. Privately, she seeks to discover which ruler murdered the queen, suspecting the use of magic. Resourceful, analytical, and quiet, Lysande appears to embody the motto she was raised with: everything in its place. Yet while she hides her drug addiction from her new associates, she cannot hide her growing interest in power. She becomes locked in a game of strategy with the city-rulers – especially the erudite prince Luca Fontaine, who seems to shift between ally and rival. Further from home, an old enemy is stirring: the magic-wielding White Queen is on the move again, and her alliance with a traitor among the royal milieu poses a danger not just to the peace of the realm, but to the survival of everything that Lysande cares about. In a world where the low-born keep their heads down, Lysande must learn to fight an enemy who wears many guises… even as she wages her own battle between ambition and restraint."

The Councillor is available on March 2.