A Court This Cruel and Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, Book 1), by Stacia Stark

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A Court This Cruel and Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, Book 1), by Stacia Stark

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Published by Emma Lawson at 18 January 2026

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Book details

Title: A Court This Cruel and Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, Book 1)

Written by: Stacia Stark

Narrated by: Tim Paige, Meg Sylvan

Length: 14 hrs and 1 min

Release date: October 23, 2023

Genre: Fantasy Romance, Romantasy, Dark Fantasy

When power is forbidden, survival demands sacrifice

In A Court This Cruel and Lovely, Stacia Stark launches the Kingdom of Lies series with a fierce heroine who refuses to burn for the magic she was born with. The gods strip humans of their power at birth, leaving them defenseless against the fae. Those who keep their abilities are branded corrupt and sentenced to the pyre.

When her forbidden magic is exposed, the protagonist flees everything she knows and strikes a deadly bargain with a ruthless mercenary who once left her to die. Their alliance is transactional at first: she helps him infiltrate the city, and he teaches her to control the dark power humming beneath her skin.

But trust fractures as secrets surface. The mercenary guards truths that could shatter kingdoms, and the line between ally and enemy blurs with every revelation. This dual POV audiobook, performed by Tim Paige and Meg Sylvan, captures the tension between forbidden attraction and political intrigue in a world where one wrong move means death.

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Experience A Court This Cruel and Lovely from Stacia Stark in a dual narration format that brings both perspectives to life. It is romance wrapped in rebellion, magic laced with danger, and choices that carry the weight of entire worlds.

Start with a free trial you can cancel anytime. This audiobook runs 14 hrs and 1 min, narrated by Tim Paige and Meg Sylvan, with a slow burn romance that intensifies across the Kingdom of Lies series.

You keep the audiobook forever even after canceling the trial. The offer opens access to thousands of romantasy titles and gives a simple, risk free way to dive into one of the most talked about fantasy romance debuts of recent years.