Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.
This week’s book is:
The Queen of the Spirit Woods
Pub. Date: November 3, 2026
Page Length: 352
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Genres: Young Adult; Fantasy; Romance; Romantasy
Synopsis: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea meets The Cruel for Young Prince in this epic, lush young adult romantic Readers fantasy following a royal kitchen maid who gets swept up in dangerous palace intrigue and a forbidden love triangle…and accidentally becomes the vessel for thousands of spirits and deities.
A kingdom on the brink of colonization Ten thousand nature spirits and deities seeking a vessel A genial nobleman and a grumpy prince uncovering the secrets at Court . . . and the girl at the center of it all.
Mirae dreams of seeing the world. When her friend falls sick, she fakes the girl’s identity to work as a royal kitchen maid. Perhaps then she can earn enough coin to provide for her family. Life in the kitchens isn’t easy, though. The palace is in an uproar after a recent assassination attempt on the king involving a mysterious godtouched sword. And Mirae nearly gets fired when she gets in the crosshairs of the prickly crown prince, Jae, while he’s in the midst of investigating the secrets at Court. Her position gets even more precarious when she’s sent on an errand, and a chance encounter with a witch in the dangerous Spirit Woods makes her the vessel of 10,000 spirits and deities.
When her new abilities spill out in the palace kitchens, she draws the attention of Wonshik, a kind nobleman, and soon finds herself caught up in a power struggle between the Queen and Wonshik’s best friend, Prince Jae. Neither trusts the other despite both being opposed to the encroaching threat from the east: The First Sun Empire.
With the help of a fellow kitchen maid, Oona, and a friend (or foe?) in the form of a meddlesome ghost named Doobu, Mirae must untangle the web of lies to find the traitor within the palace, all while navigating her love for Wonshik and her confusing but growing feelings for Prince Jae. But the Palace is a stage powered by lies, shadowy allegiances, and betrayal, and the assassins aren’t the only ones wearing masks. In a race against time, who can she really trust?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop.org
