Felicia Karkarova is connected to many influential people: her half-sister Lizbeth Rose is a famous gunslinger and married to Eli, a Russian grigori (magic user) and prince. Felicia is also a granddaughter of Rasputin. Her blood helps to keep Tsar Alexei alive with needed transfusions. Yet, somehow, she is not acknowledged at all. Enrolled in the Grigori Rasputin School in the Holy Russian Empire (formerly California and Oregon), Felicia is treated as a charity case with no magic and shunned by most of her classmates and teachers. When Felicia is taken by strangers outside of her school, it opens the door to the truth about her heritage--and her powers. As she tries to fend off her pursuers, Felicia must find the strength and courage to trust others around her, and herself, to survive. The alternate-universe United States setting and repudiated magical system create a complex backdrop for this new character arc. VERDICT The fourth "Gunnie Rose" novel (after The Russian Cage) moves the setting from the rural west to an urban city, but contains just as much intrigue and action as the previous books.--Kristi Chadwick

Series heroine Lizbeth Rose lets go of the reins for Harris's action-packed fourth Gunnie Rose alternate history (after The Russian Cage), which sees Lizbeth's half sister, Felicia, taking over as narrator. Rescued by Lizbeth and her partner, Eli, from a life of poverty in Mexico, Felicia is initially thrilled to find a home--and regular food--at the Rasputin School for Grigoris in the Holy Russian Empire, even though her spot there hinges on her being a regular blood donor to the tsar. As one of the few living descendants of Rasputin, her blood alone may heal what ails the ruler. Her peaceful new life is interrupted, however, when she's kidnapped. She escapes her abductors--only for the school to be attacked in their attempts to get her back. Felicia's responding fury causes magic more powerful than she knew she had to explode from inside her, making her realize that her role in things to come may be more critical than she knew. Readers may initially be disappointed not to hear from Lizbeth, but Felicia proves an equally strong and magnetic heroine who's sure to win fans over in the end. This takes the series in an exciting new direction. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary. (Nov.)