Noble Family

Haylie Winford is lowborn, clever, and fearless—qualities that make her a friend to Princess Leena, and a target for the cruelty of Alderen's royal family. When King Corland grants her family a place at court to please his beloved daughter, Haylie and her brother Cole are thrust into a world of gilded halls, whispered schemes, and hidden dangers.

At first, Haylie is dazzled by palace life, but she quickly discovers the sharp edge beneath the court's splendor. Queen Marsette and Princess Deidre are beautiful, charming, and terrifying in equal measure—and when they are alone with Haylie, their true cruelty is revealed.

Caught between a forbidden romance with the heir, Prince Elrick, and the advances of the charming Prince Lucas, Haylie must navigate jealousy, ambition, and deception. With only her wits and courage to protect her, she sees the court for what it truly is: a place where appearances deceive, power corrupts, and survival is never guaranteed.

In a kingdom ruled by privilege and poisoned by envy, Haylie must fight to protect herself, her family, and the friends she loves—all while discovering her own strength in a world that would rather see her as a bug that was meant to be squashed.

©2025 Wendy Baran (P)2026 Wendy Baran

Definitely YA

This was not really for me. It is definitely a YA young nobles fall in love with commoners storyline. There was a lot happening and at times it seemed like too much happened to fast. This book is less than 200 pages long and could have been a lot better slowed down. The poor narrator had to voice so many different characters but did incredibly well with that. There was definitely some production issues with the sound as well. Some repetitive lines that didn’t get edited out as well as clicking and background noise. Probably much better suited for kids middle to high school age and not a middle aged woman.