Troubled Waters
core novel 2010 Elemental Blessings
Record
| First published | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.02 (10,167 ratings, collected 2026-11-02) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780441019236 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Zoe Ardelay, a young woman living in a quiet village, loses her father and is left alone. An official from the capital arrives and tells her she has been chosen as the king's fifth wife. In a land where five noble houses each command an element (earth, air, fire, water and wood) and each person is born with a blessing tied to one of them, Zoe refuses to go to the palace as a bride. She slips away during the journey and hides on the shores of a great river. There she learns something about her own nature that gives her power she never expected. She decides to return to the royal city on her own terms, and must deal with court intrigue and secrets about the royal family.
Where it sits
- Universe: Elemental Blessings
- Series: Elemental Blessings core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Sharon Shinn
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award, 2011: finalist
Notes
- From the series record (Elemental Blessings): Five novels set in the kingdom of Welce, each following a different protagonist.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Elemental Blessings: position 1 of 5: next Royal Airs (2013)
Sources
← Elemental Blessings dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.