One of my favorite reads of all time.
Iolanthe Seabourne wants nothing more in life than to live quietly with her mage master. Yes, she is also a mage. Woohoo magic! Then, everything changes when she does an...oopsie ( I won't give it away) AND THEN SUDDENLY EVERYONE IS AFTER HER. AHHH. To the rescue comes Titus, Prince of the realm and mage extraordinaire.
"You are the chosen one Iolanthe" he says
"Efff you" she says.
Iolanthe and Titus are at odds for a good portion of the book until the grudgingly learn that they cannot avoid their destinies. Titus whisks Iolanthe away to an all male boarding school he attends in order to keep her identity under cover. Woohoo cross dressing.
Eventually they learn to depend on (and loveee) one another as Titus trains Iolanthe to be the chosen one and Iolanthe comes into her destiny.
This book used fantastic prose. I sat down and read a book that expanded my vocabulary, used language properly, and above all, had characters who anyone could relate to, despite this being of the fantasy genre. These characters were characters were scared and didn't want to be heroes, even at the end of the book. I can't really say one bad thing about it. Iolanthe and Titus were both beloved characters as was the setting of the story.