The first in a duology, Blade of Honey, by #1 New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal, is a tantalizing romantic fantasy with a dark and deadly twist on The Bachelor, where a girl’s only chance at her target’s throat comes with a chance at his heart.

A wounded bee can still sting . . .

Yasmine Ra’ad has a vendetta against the most powerful man in Arawiya: the king himself. His throne was built upon the bones of her family, and though she’s never wielded a blade, she dreams of the day she can end his life. That day arrives with an invitation, for the king is in need of a wife.

A cornered lion will still roar . . .

Altair al-Badawi will die by the next full moon—unless he takes a bride. And if he chooses her from one of the houses of old, the rest will riot, so when his captain of the guard proposes a competition in which anyone might try her hand at becoming queen, he agrees.

Love can make or break a life . . .

Yasmine knows she must play the part of a doting suitor if she wishes to enact her revenge. She does it well. Too well. Altair knows he must marry even when he wishes for nothing less. But as the hourglass empties, will they find a love worth forgiving—or dying—for?