The Privilege of the Sword -- Ellen Kushner
I hope, hope, hope that this book wins an Alex. I loooooooooooved it.
No one sends for a niece they've never seen before just to annoy her family and ruin her life. That, at least, is what I thought. This was before I had ever been to the city. I had never been in a duel, or held a sword myself. I had never kissed anyone, or had anyone try to kill me, or worn a velvet cloak. I had certainly never met my uncle the Mad Duke. Once I met him, much was explained.
I walked into the library this morning, held The Privilege of the Sword up and said, "Swashbuckling romance, political intrigue and a strong heroine. Who wants it first?"
Absolutely perfect pick for adult* fans of Tamora Pierce. (Also highly recommended for non-fans of Tamora Pierce -- in a blurb, Kelly Link describes it as a cross between Georgette Heyer and Dumas, if that helps.)
As I said above, I loved it -- I got so hooked that I braved nausea to read in the car yesterday. (Not to mention being an extremely boring traveling companion. Sorry, Josh.)
I'm going to have to buy myself a copy**, because it will be a perfect, perfect, perfect comfort read. I'm off to ILL the other two Riverside district books. WHEEEE!
*Older teens, too, depending on their maturity level -- there's lots of sex, but none of it is particularly graphic.
**Preferably the Small Beer Press hardback with the nice cover art. I don't like the look of the trade at all.