The Lady's Handbook of Intrigue and Murder (High Fantasy Politics)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Summary:The daughter of a dying house is summoned to the Imperial City to meet and perhaps marry a handsome prince. It sounds like a fairy tale.

Except Mydea doesn’t have the advantage of a half-forgotten childhood encounter, supreme magic to match the highest echelons of society, or even the privilege of an ally. In order to survive and make a name for herself, she must beat the Imperial Court at its own game.

At least no one's tried to kill her—yet.

Notes:Basically, if you liked the magic of Harry Potter and the politics of Game of Thrones, you'll probably like this. While the first book focuses on the female lead, and the interplay of competing regional and imperial interests, subsequent books will also cover warfare and how I imagine that differs wildly from historical norms with the introductions of a magical aristocracy.Advance Chapters available on my Patreon

Information

Status
Hiatus
Year
2022
Author
HaltWrite

Tags

ACTIONFANTASYMAGICFEMALE LEADHISTORICALROMANCE SUBPLOTSTRONG LEADLOW FANTASYWAR AND MILITARYHIGH FANTASYSTRATEGYLOCAL PROTAGONISTRULING CLASS

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.8/ 5.0
Followers
963
Views
244,639

Chapters(49 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

  • totankforuRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    No spoilers other than what is stated in the blurb.
    A politically saavy protagonist, Mydea is woman who finds that only she can bring back there house from the statethat it is in. With her grandmother ill, her father a fighter more than a diplomat and her brothers petions to the empress having failed, an unlikely summons may be their only chance. . The main character is from a flagging noble house who is facing a crisis on two fronts, internal tensions and foreign aggression in the other and is facing potential extinction. Using her quick wits she is more than capable of fighting with words and does so in a believable and realistic manner. The initial chapters due well to highlight and showcase the unique world and setting that the author here has created. Usually I dont read novels like this however the way this one is written so far is excellent and makes me eager for more, sentences flow smoothly, no punctuation or grammar mistakes as far as the eye can tell. Keep it up!!!!
    Give this story a read if you are looking for something new and well written.
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  • CromajoRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Interesting, subtle world building. A dynamic cast of characters. Immaculately written, putting most entries on the site to shame. Tight prose. Everything you didn't know you wanted from an Otome manga, except written in full. The only question I'm stuck with is why it took this long for someone to write this in the first place.
    What's that? You want flying magical cities complete with pegasus knights? Politics that don't suck? Schemes and familial drama and foreign enemies and magical girl Stacey rivals to flounce past in your superior outfit? It's all right here, in what seems to be a first for RoyalRoad. Maybe it'll start a new trend of Otome stories the way we had the xianxia boom.(Full disclosure, I've read ahead if you're wondering about some of those. Still early days yet in public chapters)
    Hell, we've even got fantabulous commissioned art from day one. Just look into the eyes of her noble pegasus steed and try and say no to that face. It's farting rainbows and glitter. Need I say more?
    I, for one, look forward to snubbing all the bitches at M̵a̵g̵i̵c̵ ̵h̵i̵g̵h̵ ̵̵s̵c̵h̵o̵o̵l̵ court and claiming the best husbando by right of conquest. Our destiny is obviously to become the greatest sigma female. Whether that means becoming the most popular girl in s̵c̵h̵o̵o̵l̵ court or simply dabbing on the one who thought she would be, it'll be a treat.
  • DeathlyOreoRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This story was surprisingly enjoyable to me. Typically I'm not a big fan of stories that heavily focus on politics and intricate worldbuilding, especially stories I read on royalroad. I typically come here for fast-paced stories with fun and OP characters.
    This story isn't like the norm, and what we've seen so far already includes a huge world with tons of different factions that all feel realistic in their goals and interactions. It follows the MC exclusively, and she's delightfully devious and politically minded.
    It's still very early on into what seems like a massive story. But what I've read so far makes me excited for what's going to come next, and it seems like the author has a solid plan for the future of the story.
    The one potential downside I see is that I'm not sure how well this story translates into a serial format. I enjoyed bingeing up to the current chapter, but there are so many different factions and characters that I'm worried it will be difficult to keep track once I can't read all the chapters back-to-back.
  • Forgettable MinionRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Great political intrigue novel. Scratches a weird feudal ruling class itch. It doesn't get bogged down with exposition, pretty organic. I'm sure magic will be a prominent element and the author has thought how it would affect society, but the politics, interactions and other info about society have already succeeded in keeping me hooked so far.
  • HaaallfRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Really promising start to this story, there are few novels i find capture my interest and keep me immersed all the way through. It helps that the Protagonist is very likeable, very competent and has a distinct voice. The novel is excellently written so far, the world feels lived in, there is very fun and interesting worldbuilding with a nice magic system and detailed  political hierarchies. I am excited to see how everything unfolds.
  • Klaelhead27Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    You know those stories that like to claim they're about court intrigue and politics? This one actually is.
    The writing and characterization are top notch, and I'm very disappointed there are only 28 chapters available right now. I feel like I could binge a hundred chapters of this story in one sitting.
  • LazeerlowRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    An excellent start to a story. Halt manages to weave together strong character introductions with an intriguing plot and solid world building without getting overly bogged down in useless detail. The stakes are interesting and feel developed and our main character, Mydea, is both charming and interesting. Thus far, this story is extremely promising.
  • jey114Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Great characters and great politics! The author is thoroughly proficient at combining fantastical magic with a society and the intrigues of politics. There is both a romance and realism to the whole narrative which comes together very well. The contrasting personalities of the protagonist siblings also match very well. I highly recommend it!
  • CarbonCopyRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This was a breath of fresh air after perusing multiple other titles and not finding what I had hoped. The work paints a picture of the world with vivid descriptions of people and scenery allowing the reader to imagine themselves watching. The politics and lore of the world are laid bare in small pieces revealed to the audience naturally as they observe conversations and the thoughts of the characters.
    My biggest complaints are miniscule and petty. First, the work is on hiatus. It is a polished piece and obviously went through refinement before it was posted, so I expect and hope that the work is simply undergoing the process rather than languishing. At the very least, the stop for the work was not a cliffhanger or especially stressful point.
    The second complaint is that in conversations, there is a lot of repetition of  "[insert speaker] said." During a back and forth, it could be said a dozen times. It is beneficial to know who is speaking, as many authors can leave it more vague as to which party is speaking, but the lack of variety in the wording becomes grating as the repetition increases.
    I don't often give 5 stars, but I was truly impressed and enthralled with the work. I hope to read more once the work returns.
  • ParcatRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Halt really delivers quality with this new story of his. First, keeping you hooked with the feudal struggles and great introductions of characters. Then moving on to the capital and getting to the heart of a classic Otome story.
    Mydea is a wonderful character and her family's tumultous history is intriguing. Her brother, and grandmother giving a glance into the Kolchis character and her father always stealing scenes he's in. No one so far is one dimensional and the character interactions are really good and believable to an extent considering it's high fantasy. Personally, Vivyan is a favourite of mine.
    Halt keeps his minimalist but beautiful writing style and the prose is just descriptive enough to make you want to read great lines over and over again. Couldn't find any flaws with the grammar of course, and there were no glaring errors I could see.
    Lastly, I'm looking forward to the rest of the story, with every new chapter leaving me wanting more.
    I like the political antics with the blend of fantasy and intrigue and magical duels with the hints of more high fantasy. Everything is grounded in Mydea's experiences and she doesn't feel unrealistic, a smart and savvy character that is easy to root for.