Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When an assassin kills Princess Jiara’s older sister Scilla, her vengeful ghost is doomed to walk their city of glittering canals, tormenting loved ones until the murderer is brought to justice. While the entire kingdom mourns, Scilla’s betrothed arrives and requests that seventeen-year-old Jiara take her sister’s place as his bride to confirm the alliance between their countries.

Marrying the young king intended for her sister and traveling to his distant home is distressing enough, but with dyslexia and years of scholarly struggles, Jiara abandoned any hope of learning other languages long ago. She’s terrified of life in a foreign land where she’ll be unable to communicate.

Then Jiara discovers evidence that her sister’s assassin comes from the king’s own country. If she marries the king, Jiara can hunt the murderer and release her family from Scilla’s ghost, whose thirst for blood mounts every day. To save her family, Jiara must find her sister’s killer . . . before he murders her too.

Review:

Nearly every YA fantasy book I read is part of a series.  And, while I love a long-format storyline, it can be frustrating for a reader to rip through a book, only to have to wait a year for the sequel.  A Dragonbird in The Fern, by Laura Rueckert is the rare STAND-ALONE novel!  Yes, you read that right.  And given that, the author does a wondrous job of creating a folklore of spirits, and daemons that felt true to the book's universe.  That, along with some wonderful characters, and a story that centers around the mystery of Scilla's death, makes for a very entertaining reading experience.

What I Liked:

World-building:

From the start of the book, the reader understands that this world is populated with spirits.  Scilla, Jaira's sister, has been murdered.  The belief among the characters is that if Scilla's killer is not found, her spirit will become a vengeful Earthwalker.  This fearsome creature starts out as mildly annoying, tickling family members, or sometimes scratching them.  However, as time goes by, if Scilla's killer is not found, she will become increasingly violent, possibly even murderous.

In King Raffer's society, they believe in Watchers.  These are spirits of Air, Water, and Stone, who protect people.  The characters wear amulets that represent these elements.  If the Watchers deem you worthy, you get an "life" bonus.  If you are about to die from an act of violence, the Watcher will save you...But only once.

Inclusion:  

Given that this is a fantasy series, the author has free-reign to create this world.  I appreciated that there were a variety of genders and sexual orientations.I   There were gay characters who had the right to marry, and characters who were non-binary. I appreciated that the author put a spotlight on a married lesbian couple.  Their relationship was really lovely.

Characters:

Jiara, the main character, is not one of those princesses who is instantly good at everything.  In fact, much of the book centers around the fact that Jiara has dyslexia, which is making learning her husband's language a challenge!  I could completely understand Jiara's feelings of frustration and embarrassment as she tries (and mostly fails) to learn Raffa's language.  

King Raffa ia Jiara's husband.  He is a very young, idealistic king (probably around age twenty), who feels he needs to prove himself among his people.  This make him vulnerable to manipulation.  He is so loyal to his friends, he cannot see when he is being taken advantage of.  

Alder, Raffa's cousin, and Jiara's translator, is holding onto a secret.  While he charms Jiara at first, she has such a tough time learning Raffa's language that she beings to wonder: is there something is off?  Does her learning disability make it impossible for Jiara to learn a new language?  Or, could Alder be deliberately teaching her the language wrong? And if he's doing such a thing, why?

Mystery:

One of the reasons that Jiara is so eager to marry Raffa is that Scilla's killer has face tattoos that suggest that her killer is one of Raffa's subjects.  Unless Scilla's killer can be brought to justice, her sister will never be able to move on.  I liked how Jiara pieces together who might have killed her sister, and also why it happened in the first place.  

What I was Mixed About:

Although the author took great pains for the characters to wait until Jiara was eighteen to consummate their marriage, it  was nevertheless kind of creepy.  Arranged marriages among royalty is presented as a normal part of Jaira's universe.  But I found it odd that the only qualms she had was guilt over taking her sister's fiancé.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  August 3, 2021

Author:  Laura Rueckert

Publisher:  Flux Books

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Page Length:  392 pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  The rare stand-along YA Fantasy!  This had wonderful world-building, and a mystery that compelled the book forward.  Highly entertaining.