Treason’s Crown (Crownkeeper #1)
2021 Realm Award Winner, novella/novelette
A king in need of a bride.
A rebel leader in his dungeon.
A farmer’s daughter with a choice.
This isn’t a fairy tale.
The last thing Riette expects on a snowy winter’s evening is Meirdre’s royal guard appearing on her doorstep. Their purpose? The king needs a bride, and tradition dictates the position is hers to accept. Desperate to secure her parents’ future, she agrees to the marriage and is whisked away to Lochfeld Castle, all too aware her childhood friend is there as well—imprisoned as a rebel in the dungeons below.
Leaving him to hang isn’t an option, even as her nuptials and his execution grow closer. No matter what secrets the castle holds—mysteries she alone can see—or how desperate King Laurent is to marry an unknown peasant girl, the glittering crown in her future is nothing more than a distraction from her new mission: she’ll free Thomas or die trying.
But what happens when succeeding at either means the downfall of Meirdre?
Praise for Treason’s Crown
Jenelle Schmidt
“…absolutely devoured it…thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend in the fictional kingdom of Meirdre.”
War’s Crown (Crownkeeper #2)
A kingdom on the verge of conflict.
A sovereign desperate to prove his worth.
A crownkeeper pledged to protect them all.
The end was just the beginning.
To protect her kingdom, Riette has married King Laurent, the tyrant she doesn’t love and never will. As a crownkeeper, her foremost purpose now is to shield Meirdre from both natural disasters and outside forces—mortal ones—who would love to see it fall. Ignoring Laurent’s existence? That’s a not-so-distant second.
But life at the Meirdrean court isn’t all beautiful gowns and an enchanted map. When Laurent is struck ill, Riette stumbles across yet another one of his secrets—one which may render her power as a crownkeeper more necessary than ever. Perhaps worse, when Laurent’s true feelings come to light, she finds herself wondering if she can preserve her vow to keep him at arm’s length.
Yet it turns out that not falling in love with her own husband is the last thing Riette can bring herself to worry about—because war is coming to Meirdre.
Queen’s Crown (Crownkeeper #3)
A foreign crown bent on conquest.
An escaped traitor out for vengeance.
A realm caught in the middle.
Sometimes it takes a queen to save a kingdom.
Laurent has left to meet the Vassian Army at the border, leaving Riette in charge of Lochfeld Castle and indeed Meirdre itself. Waiting on war to come to the kingdom she loves is unthinkable, so she escapes to her home village for a visit, searching for one last bit of normalcy in a life that is no longer her own.
But that normalcy is shattered when Thomas appears. Bitter over his imprisonment and bent on the revenge he’s always wanted, he’s intent on destroying Laurent and has no qualms about using Riette to do so. Worse, her power as a crownkeeper is no longer a secret, and King Damir of Vassian wants it for himself. From Lochfeld itself to a coastal town, defeat looms. For their adversary is well-prepared and powerful—a formidable enemy to her small kingdom.
But the map on the floor of Lochfeld’s ballroom holds power of its own—and Riette will soon discover what it truly means to be a crownkeeper.