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Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn has a quasi Middle Eastern type setting in her new fantasy novel. Zoe Ardlay loses her brilliant father and is fetched to marry the king by his trusted adviser Darien Serlast the same day. A coming of age story, but also one of romance with plenty of intrigue, politics, and jockeying for gain follows Zoe as she tries to overcome grief and survive on her own.

Product Description: Zoe Ardelay receives astonishing and unwelcome news: she has been chosen to become the king's fifth wife. Forced to go to the royal city, she manages to slip away and hide on the shores of the mighty river.

It's there that Zoe realizes she is a coru prime ruled by the elemental sign of water. She must return to the palace, not as an unwilling bride for the king, but a woman with power in her own right. But as Zoe unlocks more of the mysteries of her blood-and the secrets of the royal family-she must decide how to use her great power to rise above the deceptions and intrigue of the royal court.

(Source: Ace)