The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton
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Book Info
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Number of Pages: 368 Pages
Publication Date: March 27, 2025
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38347283-the-notorious-virtues
Storygraph:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3e6e7d9c-5b37-413b-9773-4550a1b42233
Amazon: https://a.co/d/8vVbAG9 (Canada) https://a.co/d/hLVzjdb (USA)
https://amzn.eu/d/i8QYXs5 (UK)

Blurb
A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of
Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But
despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother
is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora
will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power
that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt.
When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to,
Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want
her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the
only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter
who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.
With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the
dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn
protectors–turns her world upside down.
Incredible tests, impossible choices and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be
one winner.

About the Author
Alwyn Hamilton was born in Toronto and spent her childhood bouncing between Europe and
Canada until her parents settled in France. She grew up in a small town there, which might
have compelled her to burst randomly into the opening song from Beauty and the Beast
were it not for her total tone-deafness.
She instead attempted to read and write her way to new places and developed a weakness
for fantasy and cross-dressing heroines. She left France for Cambridge University to study
History of Art at King’s College, and then to London where she became indentured to an
auction house. She has a bad habit of acquiring more hardcovers than is smart for someone
who moves house quite so often.
Alwyn’s New York Times-bestselling debut, the YA fantasy REBEL OF THE SANDS, was
published by Viking Children’s Books in the US and Faber Children’s Books in the UK, and in
14 other territories. The trilogy continues in TRAITOR TO THE THRONE and HERO AT THE
FALL. Alwyn was named the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Debut Author.

My Review I had a shock surgery coming up so I took this opportunity to dive in, what a perfect way to relieve the boredom of recovery. A perfect world building fantasy tale, I was hooked from the first page. It starts off slowly and we have Nora’s and Lotte’s and August’s point of view in the tales, we see Nora trying to hold on to a legacy she should hold, while proving her worth. Lotte coming from such poverty and cruelty to becoming someone of a worthy name, and a tough Journalist that despises the Rich and Powerful with magic. Cleverly they entertained and give us trails and tribulations,  family politics and dynamics, and strength of character. I have never experienced this author before, and I’ve since found out they wrote Rebel of the Sands trilogy which I wouldn’t mind reading either. Definitely looking forward to reading a sequel to this.