World Within Roots

NAMES ARE IMPORTANT. BEWARE THE PRETENDER. Eleven years after the fatal accident of her brother, Juliet Barrows still lives in the shadows of her past.

While the surface is idyllic—loving parents, a best friend, and a job—it is merely an illusion. And Juliet’s shaky foundations are exposed when a portal sends her into another world filled with cultural differences and deception. Alone in a small sea town, Juliet is warned by a seer of impending danger: the northern raiders.

She escapes, only to be confronted with a difficult decision: accompany the one person set on liberating the captured townspeople or find her own way home. In her desire for freedom, both for herself and the people, she chooses to go. Along the way, they are joined by a man cloaked in mystery, who claims they have no chance without him.

Just when the trio think the tide is turning, an uprising against the king draws them into its ranks under the threat of death. Caught in the middle and fighting for survival, Juliet realizes that confronting her fears and uncertainty is only the beginning. Rather than hiding from her past, she must learn from it in order to survive what is to come.

Rebellions, enslavement, rivalries, and secrets layer upon each other in this medieval Japanesque society, where conspiracy abounds and even friends may not be what they seem.