The scarlet throne

Binsa is theoretically a living goddess, channeling the wisdom of an immortal deity to dispense justice daily from the Scarlet Throne until she ages out of the role and the deity selects a new girl in her place. Except Rashmatun has never channeled wisdom through Binsa; Binsa is bound instead to a blood demon named Ilam, inherited at her mother's death. Through her spies, Binsa discovers that her chief priests suspect something and are plotting the selection of the next living goddess. Driven largely by fear, as she has no home to return to once released from service, she attempts to derail the selection. But this goes awry, and Binsa finds herself torn between sabotaging and defending her successor, Medha. Medha and her half-sister, Nali, have their own ulterior motives for arriving at the temple: their older sister was one of the deceased candidates during Binsa's selection day, commonly known as the Bloodbath of Shiratukh. Binsa's morality hangs in the balance as she deepens her bond with Ilam in this delightful novel that launches the False Goddess Trilogy. Debut author Leow carefully balances the characters' humanity against their fears to drive this story along unexpected paths.

Debut author Leow launches her False Goddess series with a gripping dark fantasy inspired by Southeast Asian folk religion. Binsa, 15, has been the Rakhti, or the vessel of the goddess Rashmatun, and therefore the ruler of Bakhtin, for the past 10 years. No one knows, however, that she does not actually host the goddess but instead harbors the demon Ilam. Because of her extended and unusual tenure as Rashmatun's vessel, the priest Harun organizes a selection process to remove Binsa from power and install a new Rakhti. When Binsa discovers his ploy, she desperately turns to blood magic to strengthen her bond with Ilam and increase her abilities--at the cost of innocent lives. With the people of Bakhtin losing confidence in her ability and the country suffering from a drought, Binsa must gather enough power to summon rain and dispel their doubts. Binsa makes for a fascinating and deeply morally ambiguous antihero. Readers won't necessarily root for her, but her secrets and scheming will have them on the edges of their seats. The worldbuilding, meanwhile, feels rich and specific. This tension-filled adventure gets Leow off to a strong start. (Sept.)