Curse of Shadows and Thorns

Elise Lysander is the protagonist and narrator of Curse of Shadows and Thorns, along with two of the following novels in The Broken Kingdoms series. She is the second daughter of the king’s sister, giving her the title of “Kvinna” in the kingdom of New Timoran.

From childhood, Elise has felt like an outsider in her family, who are more interested in power and prestige than in other people. She has a tenuous relationship with her father, Leif, her mother, Mara, and her older sister, Runa, as they all conform to the rigid and inequitable social structures of the other Timoran royals. Elise finds her family members selfish, though she is nevertheless willing to do anything for them, such as when she willingly agrees to the king’s plans for her marriage so he continues to let her father receive medical treatment for the disease that is killing him.

Elise always felt boxed in by her royal status and her role as a noblewoman, so she often escapes to gaming halls and into the forest with friends, where she can be herself. She befriended her maid, Mavie, when they were teenagers, and though the two didn’t get along at first, they became close friends later.