The Scented Court

Series Complete

As the series title suggests, flowers and their perfumes play an important role in the lives of the citizens of Solana, even moreso than in Stavarjak, which is a kingdom to the north (and which you have visited already if you’ve read Georjie’s trilogy). Not only flora is important, but fauna too.

I have always loved flowers, insects, animals and nature in general. I think many people do, and this series is giving me an opportunity to immerse myself in the world of botanicals and pollinators, as well as that of the larger mammals who roam our earth. King Agir and Queen Esha of Solana keep a group of flora fae called the Calyx as part of their royal household. These fae are famous even beyond the borders of Solana. There are only fifty positions within the retinue but when an open position comes up (as Calyx retire) children throughout the kingdom and beyond who meet certain criteria are invited to the palace for Discovery. The Royal Gardener (but Ilishec is so much more than your typical gardener) helps the young fae realize what connections they have to the earth, and the especially gifted ones may be offered a coveted place among the Calyx. A Blossom at Midnight unfolds the enchanting life and world of the Calyx through the eyes of a naive young villager named Jessica Fontana who has a lot to learn, not only about the world she inhabits but her own past and identity.

Other important characters of The Scented Court come from the northern Kingdom of Stavarjak (a certain red-headed, irreverent fae named Laec whom you know from Earth Magic Rises, who has been lazing around Elphame’s castle since he was rejected by the blond girl from Canada, drinking too much and annoying everyone), from the southern Kingdom of Boskaya (a beautiful half-fae woman named Çifta who dares to dream that her arranged marriage will be a loving one), and from the troubled Kingdom of Rahamlar (Prince Faraçek is tired of being marginalized and wonders if he should just become the monster everyone seems to think he is), a neighbor of Solana.

While Jessica’s naivety falls away and she finds her place among the royal household, there are those abroad whose lives are not so enchanted, those whose lives are on a collision course with hers. The Scented Court will be full of beauty, but there’s danger in this world too. Intrigue, betrayals, friendships, deceptions, family alliances and strained betrothals, political interplay between kingdoms, and personal relationships that stretch all of our main characters and demand they grow beyond what is expected of them, all of these tensions play their part. When things go wrong, what can a young flora fae who is trained to conjure fragrance and blossoms do against powerful enemies? Perhaps she needs to better understand the Gardener’s oft-referenced principle: soft does not mean weak.