'This is a series worth your time' The Quill to Live

'A dashing, compelling and exciting story, blending magic, assassination, conspiracy and diplomacy . . . I loved this book' Blue Book Balloon on The Defiant Heir

While winter snows keep the invading armies of the Witch Lord Ruven at bay, Lady Amalia Cornaro and the fire warlock Zaira attempt to change the fate of mages in the Serene Empire forever. But on the night of Raverra's great masquerade, Ruven executes a devastating surprise strike at the heart of the Empire - threatening everything Amalia holds most dear.

To stand a chance of defeating Ruven, Amalia and Zaira must face their worst nightmares, expose their deepest secrets and unleash Zaira's ravaging fire.

The Unbound Empire is the epic finale to the spellbinding tale of courtly intrigue and dangerous magic that began with The Tethered Mage and The Defiant Heir.

Praise for the series:

'I couldn't put it down' Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library

'I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series' Girls in Capes

'I raced through this exquisite debut in three days and adored it' Fantasy Book Review

'Wonderful characters and intriguing mysteries that kept me eagerly anticipating what would happen next . . . I can hardly contain my excitement for the third instalment' Fantasy Book Cafe

'Absolutely recommended' Book Smugglers

Books by Melissa Caruso:

Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
The Unbound Empire

About the Author

Melissa Caruso was born on the summer solstice and went to school in an old mansion with a secret door, but despite this auspicious beginning has yet to develop any known superpowers. She has spent her whole life creating imaginary worlds, and in addition to writing is also an avid larper and tabletop gamer.

Melissa graduated with honours in creative writing from Brown University and has an MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her first novel, The Tethered Mage, was shortlisted for a Gemmell Morningstar award for best fantasy debut.

Melissa lives in Massachusetts with her video game designer husband, two magical daughters and assorted pets. You can find her on Twitter, where she posts about writing, tea and sword-fighting in ballgowns.

Reviews
A gorgeous narrative that intertwines war, love, political intrigue, betrayal . . . I'll be following this author's career closely as I think she is sublimely talented . . . A phenomenally well-written, engrossing political fantasy series -- FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
Melissa Caruso has taken things to an ENTIRELY new level of awesome with The Defiant Heir . . . I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book -- POWDER AND PAGE
A dashing, compelling and exciting story, blending magic, assassination, conspiracy and diplomacy . . . I loved this book -- BLUE BOOK BALLOON on THE DEFIANT HEIR
I love this book and series . . . refreshing and lively fantasy that has characters that I just can't get enough of -- SPECULATIVE HERALD on THE DEFIANT HEIR
The Tethered Mage is an excellent debut novel that set a high bar for its follow up, but The Defiant Heir takes the series to the next level in every way . . . I absolutely LOVED The Defiant Heir. It's extraordinarily fun with wonderful characters and intriguing mysteries that kept me eagerly anticipating what would happen next . . . I can hardly contain my excitement for the third instalment -- FANTASY BOOK CAFE
This is a series worth your time . . . The Defiant Heir takes everything that was good about its predecessor and adds depth and weight to make it a more serious and compelling read -- THE QUILL TO LIVE
Centered around a fierce and heroic set of characters, with intricate world-building and a quick pace, Caruso has really hit her fantasy stride with The Defiant Heir -- CULTUREFLY
Freaking AWESOME . . . it's one of the best first novels in a brand new high fantasy series that I've read in ages . . Absolutely recommended and on my shortlist for favourite books so far in 2017 -- BOOK SMUGGLERS on THE TETHERED MAGE
I've been dying to get my hands on The Defiant Heir . . . My expectations were extremely high-and the book went in a totally different direction from what I expected. In the best possible way. . . I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series -- GIRLS IN CAPES
The eagerly awaited conclusion to Caruso's Swords and Fire Trilogy is as spellbinding as the first two books -- BOOKLIST



Book Information
ISBN 9780356510644
Author Melissa Caruso
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint Orbit
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 370g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 128mm * 44mm