Waiting on Wednesday #75: Empire of Shadows

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

Empire of Shadows (Bhinian Empire #2) 
by Miriam Forster 
Hardcover, 496 pages 
Expected publication: November 4th 2014 
by Harper Teen

Goodreads | 

Cast out of her family three years ago, Mara turned to the only place that would take her—a school where students train to protect others. But Mara is stunned when guarding a noble girl in the Empire’s capital turns out to be more dangerous than she could’ve imagined. More shocking still, she finds the boy she thought she had lost forever outside the gates of her new home. Mara knew her life in the dizzying Imperial city would hold dangers. How could she have known that her heart, as well as her life, would be at stake? Empire of Shadows will take readers on a spellbinding journey into the world Miriam Forster first introduced in City of a Thousand Dolls—a world with a divided society, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and deeply laid conspiracies. 

The first book in the Bhinian Empire series is a much needed break in the YA fantasy genre. I mean with most of the books taking place in medieval European setting, it's nice to read a book inspired by the Indian culture. It is ultimately a tale of feminist reform and how the mostly female population of the City of a Thousand Dolls tried to overcome their current way of life. I can't wait for this new installment but it also left me wondering what happened to Nisha; the main character from the first book since a new main character is now introduced.