Villains are not born. They are made. But when it’s the hero of a story who starts down that path, it hits different. And the result is a tantalizing look at what pushes people and the fine line between ambition and ruthlessness.

With the final book in my Kinder Poison trilogy, The Sweetest Betrayal, releasing on Feb 14, I have this at front of mind. I’ve always been fascinated by what drives people, and especially with what weight power and responsibility have on the choices we make. Zahru begins the trilogy as a firm hero—and a human sacrifice. But as desperation to protect herself and her loved ones grows and new power tempts, she becomes something else.

Here are five books with heroes who, like Zahru, either find themselves trading places with the villain or straying a bit farther than morally gray. As to where these characters land in the very end – well, you’ll have to read to find out!

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

This trilogy follows Adelina, a girl who survives a deadly illness and comes out on the other side of it with terrible scarring – and a vicious new magical power. Considered an abomination by her father and society alike, she joins the Young Elites with others like her who survived the plague and now possess magic. While the Young Elites aim to do good, Adelina can’t help but notice how poorly her world continues to treat her. And she intends to get the respect she deserves, one way or the other …

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Vanja begins her life as a maid in the service of a princess—until she steals the princess’s magical pearls along with her identity. Now the princess works as Vanja’s maid, and Vanja enjoys frequenting the many parties the princess has been invited to and stealing riches from her hosts. So, okay, technically Vanja is already a bit villainous when we start this story – but it’s a delightful and funny read, and I think she and my Zahru would get along very well.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

The beautiful Xifeng in this lush East Asia retelling of The Evil Queen begins her life in the cruel care of her aunt, a witch who foresees Xifeng as the next Empress despite their current living in poverty. But, that can only happen if Xifeng spurns the boy who loves her and embraces the command of the dark magic living in her veins. Needless to say, watching Xifeng struggle between her heart and her desire to rule where no one else can hurt her makes this a compelling read.

All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman

This villainous Hunger Games-like duology follows seven champions from seven families who must compete in a tournament to the death for the right to wield High Magick, the most expensive and powerful resource in their world. Naturally what follows is much backstabbing, many desperate decisions and rampant betrayal among family members and lovers alike as outside pressures push each champion to win.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

A classic in its own right, The Cruel Prince follows Jude, a human girl thrust into a cutthroat world of faeries who hate humans as a whole. When Jude is unable to find acceptance among their ranks, she begins down a path of ruthlessness and trickery all her own to fit in. This is a story where I’m not even sure there are definite heroes and villains, just people and bad choices and a romance that comes with claws.

I hope you find new villains to love in this list. And don’t forget to check out The Kinder Poison trilogy as well for all your corruption arc needs!

The post 5 YA Fantasies Where The Hero Becomes The Villain appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi there Natalie! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your new novel, The Kinder Poison?

Hi, and thanks so much for having me! I’m a Colorado author who graduated with an Information Technology degree from CU Boulder, because I didn’t think writing books could be an actual job. (I guess I thought authors just “existed” out there? Like stars?) Very happy to say that I soon found out anyone could pursue authorship, and the rest is history!

The Kinder Poison is an enthralling fantasy adventure that follows sixteen-year-old Zahru, who’s chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game between three heirs who will do anything for the crown. Expect an enchanting desert setting, cutthroat sibling rivalries, strong friendships, sassy cows, magic, and a main character who often speaks before she thinks, and only sometimes regrets it.

What steps did you take to achieve the in-depth world building and magic system for The Kinder Poison?

To create the world of Orkena, I looked into three of my favorite ancient civilizations—Greece, Egypt, and Rome—wherein I studied how these people lived, what they ate, how they worshiped their gods, their relationships with their leaders, and how they dressed and constructed cities. This felt like the right time period to look at considering the contest revolves around human sacrifice, and it also helped me identify what details were important to these people that set them apart from modern cultures. The desert itself is a combination of deserts from all over the world, including our own Southwestern US, where you get that gorgeous orange sand and the brush and plateaus. In this way, I could build a completely new world with its own unique details, that hopefully also feels familiar to readers.

For the magic system, it only made sense to me that magic – and peoples’ perception of its worth – would be used to determine social status in an evolving world. Thus the upper classes would be those perceived to be physically stronger or more “useful” in military applications, like those who can control storms or fire, while the lower classes would be comprised of gentler magics, like the ability to grow plants or speak with animals. Naturally, you and I might argue that providing food is just as important to a society as the ability to protect people, and this book explores the same question: what is true power?

If you could have any of the magics from your novel, which would it be?

I would definitely want the Speaker’s magic, because they are able to master many different types of magic over their lifetime, while everyone else is limited to one specialty. Plus they live for thousands of years, and I think it would be fascinating to see how the world changes over lifetimes.

One of the aspects that really stood out in The Kinder Poison was the tension and fighting between the royals. Were there any historical or pop culture influences for this?

No, actually! My genius editors helped me flesh these characters out down to the bone, and through them, I found some natural sensitivities I could push on to amplify the tension. There are also little pieces of me in each character, so often I have my own insecurities or ambitions or worries I can work from, too.

Which character was the most fun to write?

I have to admit, while Zahru is pretty fun to write just because I love to see what kind of trouble her no-filter comments will get her in, I really enjoyed writing the main villain. I’ve always had a soft spot for darker characters, and I especially love those who aren’t all the way gone, because there’s this delicious ongoing battle within them between the extremes they’re willing to go to and the fear that maybe they’ve gone too far. I think that makes them unpredictable and so very human, which always makes for a compelling story.

What is something you hope readers take away from their read of The Kinder Poison?

Ultimately, The Kinder Poison is meant to be an escape from the stresses of the real world; a fun, adventurous read you can lose yourself in for awhile. But on a deeper level, the story is about the power of quieter strengths. Kickass assassins and sword-fighting heroines are awesome, and I will always read about them, but I also wanted to explore what life is like for a girl who isn’t those things, whether by ability or choice. I wanted to show readers who identify with Zahru that they are still powerful, even in a world that often seems to favor wealth and physical strength over all.

What does an average day of writing look like for you?

I have a 4-year-old, so my mornings begin with trying to figure out what she wants for breakfast, playing with cars or LEGOs, bribing said child to go on a walk (as otherwise she tells me she never wants to leave the house again, ever), convincing her it really is in her best interest to eat lunch, and then around 2 or 3 my husband gets off work and I can sit down to write. I then try to get down at least 500 words before dinner. It’s definitely a juggling act, and I do have a couple of days when grandparents come over to give me more time to write, but I’ve become a much more efficient writer knowing I have such a tight window to work with.

Are there any 2020 releases, besides your own, that you are excited for?

I’m dying for a copy of THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab! Also A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik, RAYBEARER by Jordan Ifueko, and SKYHUNTER by Marie Lu.

If you could interview any author, living or dead, who would it be and why? And what would your first question be?

Man, there are SO MANY I would want to sit down with. But if I had to pick just one, I think it would have to be Victoria Schwab because I’ve been following her work since VICIOUS and in many ways feel I’ve “grown up” with her as an author. She’s so personable and real, and I have yet to read anything by her that didn’t hit me right in the heart. My first question would be, “How do you do it?” – which is super open-ended, but I really don’t know how she juggles all her social expectations, tight deadlines, and the pressures of fame, all while continuing to produce one 5-star read after another.

Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you are working on? *crosses fingers for any tidbits on The Kinder Poison II*

While I can’t share details yet about the other projects under my belt, I can assure you revisions are heavily underway for The Kinder Poison II! I can tell you we have a title, that the kingdom tensions built up in the first book reach deadly breaking points, and that an unexpected challenger for the throne sets everything into absolute chaos. I can’t reveal much else without spoilers, but rest assured that certain beloved characters will reappear in the second installment, and that political intrigue will abound!

Will you be picking up The Kinder Poison? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Natalie Mae, Author of ‘The Kinder Poison’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Wow, what an amazing read this was! The style of writing, the story, the characters… this book just has it all in a perfectly successful combination. As soon as you pick up the book, you are immersed and thrown into this intriguing story. The writing style is extremely engaging and fun to read, making the high stakes in the story that much more intense.

Lately for me it seems that young adult books are either a complete miss or a total win. And what it seems to come down to is the uniqueness of the stories and the ability for the author to infuse important concepts/issues without sounding preachy. Now, that might sound very contradictory but there is a way to tell a story that perfectly conveys those ideas without losing the story in order to share the ideas, and Mae does this perfectly. The Kinder Poison is such an intricately and well written story that everything comes together so perfectly.

So, the magic system in this book is so diverse yet incredibly interesting. For instance, Zahru has the ability to speak to animals, and isn’t that pretty much the dream power? I mean, if I were to have any type of magic, it would definitely be talking to animals (asides from my desire to be able to stop time for unlimited naps with zero consequences). But while the magic system was interesting, so was the world, but this is the one place where the story is lacking. There are multiple countries mentioned, each at war with one another. But that seems to be as far as it goes. Hopefully that as this series continues this will continue to be built on and expanded, given a chance to explore more about these locations that make up the world in The Kinder Poison.

The romance was well incorporated into the story. It is definitely more of an insta-love story, but there is still plenty of time for the relationship to develop. And maybe even a chance for another relationship to develop. But even outside of the romance, the characters develop and grow on their own. You are immediately able to connect with each of the characters and the powers they have. And this is one of those books where you actually might find you like the side characters more than the main characters. I personally really like when this happens because it makes every scene with those characters that much more interesting.

For those who love a bit of humour in their reads, there are plenty of laughs scattered throughout this book. Within the first few chapters alone, there are multiple laugh out loud moments. I always appreciate humour in a book, not just because it makes the story amusing, but just because it adds some depth to stories that could go down too dreary a path. There needs to be a little bit of give and take between the separate tones that can be instilled in a story.

So far 2020 has proven to be dominating the fantasy genre. There have been so many books with different styles of fantasy that have already come out this year, and The Kinder Poison is an excellent new addition. This is a book that even those who are not huge fans of fantasy will be able to pick up and enjoy. And enjoy is truly the best word for it as it really is an enjoyable read. It’s one of those books that you can just pick up and read without wanting to set it down. You’ll find yourself laughing at points, frustrated at points, excited at points, and even sad at points. Mae definitely did an amazing job incorporating so many different feelings for the readers to enjoy throughout the story and the second book cannot come soon enough!

The Kinder Poison is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Kinder Poison? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Holly Black, this enthralling fantasy adventure follows a teenage girl chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game between three heirs who will do anything for the crown.

Zahru has long dreamed of leaving the kingdom of Orkena and having the kinds of adventures she’s only ever heard about in stories. But as a lowly Whisperer, her power to commune with animals means that her place is serving in the royal stables until the day her magic runs dry.

All that changes when the ailing ruler invokes the Crossing: a death-defying race across the desert, in which the first of his heirs to finish—and take the life of a human sacrifice at the journey’s end—will ascend to the throne and be granted unparalleled abilities.

With all of the kingdom abuzz, Zahru leaps at the chance to change her fate if just for a night by sneaking into the palace for a taste of the revelry. But the minor indiscretion turns into a deadly mistake when she gets caught up in a feud between the heirs and is forced to become the Crossing’s human sacrifice. Zahru is left with only one hope for survival: somehow figuring out how to overcome the most dangerous people in the world.

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