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Scandals of the Gifted #2
A Farm Girl's Guide to Ruling as a Bloodthirsty Tyrant
When Bora swaps bodies with a homicidal duchess, the sweet-tempered wallflower must embrace her inner villainess to survive and save her country.
Within an hour of Bora’s arrival in Arahasnor, she runs into her toxic ex-boyfriend, offends a malicious noblewoman, and narrowly escapes from the city guards. Never the type for adventures—unlike her sister, Holy Maiden Ysabel, who left the family farm and scandalously eloped with Dark Lord Kaine—Bora intends to quickly return home and settle back into her usual role as the plain, boring sister. That is, until there’s a freak magical accident.
Suddenly, Bora finds herself in the life—and body—of the Blood Duchess, a woman who once threatened to have her killed. Now a noblewoman in a kingdom on the verge of economic collapse, the citizenry hangs her in effigy, and her staff spits in her food. It’s too much for a farm girl without a mean bone in her body to handle. Unfortunately, the previous ruler sold Arahasnor to three different foreign powers, and only their crippling fear of the Blood Duchess is holding them off . . . as long as Bora can successfully embody the ruthless villainess. At least she’s not alone in this bizarre charade; she has the support of Countess Donya, her heroic celebrity crush.
And she’ll need it. Because if Bora’s real identity gets uncovered, she’ll die. But after an assassin named Ari mistakenly targets her for revenge, she strikes a deal with she’ll help find the actual duchess in exchange for his protection. As someone who struggles with body-image issues, Bora feels drawn to Ari’s confidence, rakish charm, and gender queerness. But a love triangle may be a distraction she can’t afford, especially when it turns out her sister is among the enemies coming to town to challenge the Blood Duchess.
After spending years obsessing over her weight, the death threats scare Bora less than showing off her extremely generous curves in the Blood Duchess’s lowcut dresses. But if she can embrace the beauty of her new body, she might just learn to love her true self as well. Though, appearances will be irrelevant if the duchess’s adversaries remove her head from her shoulders . . .
Praise for A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped
“[A Holy Maiden’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped features] a protagonist with a strong voice and unique character facets like face blindness and a healing gift . . . and some nice worldbuilding, both in broad strokes and specific detailing.” —Elayne Audrey Becker, author of the Forestborn duology
“I . . . absolutely fell in love with Ysabel and Kaine . . . The ‘opposites attract’ trope worked so well for this story . . . The stakes are high throughout . . . Great craft and storytelling!” —April L. Wood, author of the Season of the Witch series
“Both [Ysabel and Kaine are] strongly drawn and very relatable.” —Bogi Takács, author of Power to Yield
Within an hour of Bora’s arrival in Arahasnor, she runs into her toxic ex-boyfriend, offends a malicious noblewoman, and narrowly escapes from the city guards. Never the type for adventures—unlike her sister, Holy Maiden Ysabel, who left the family farm and scandalously eloped with Dark Lord Kaine—Bora intends to quickly return home and settle back into her usual role as the plain, boring sister. That is, until there’s a freak magical accident.
Suddenly, Bora finds herself in the life—and body—of the Blood Duchess, a woman who once threatened to have her killed. Now a noblewoman in a kingdom on the verge of economic collapse, the citizenry hangs her in effigy, and her staff spits in her food. It’s too much for a farm girl without a mean bone in her body to handle. Unfortunately, the previous ruler sold Arahasnor to three different foreign powers, and only their crippling fear of the Blood Duchess is holding them off . . . as long as Bora can successfully embody the ruthless villainess. At least she’s not alone in this bizarre charade; she has the support of Countess Donya, her heroic celebrity crush.
And she’ll need it. Because if Bora’s real identity gets uncovered, she’ll die. But after an assassin named Ari mistakenly targets her for revenge, she strikes a deal with she’ll help find the actual duchess in exchange for his protection. As someone who struggles with body-image issues, Bora feels drawn to Ari’s confidence, rakish charm, and gender queerness. But a love triangle may be a distraction she can’t afford, especially when it turns out her sister is among the enemies coming to town to challenge the Blood Duchess.
After spending years obsessing over her weight, the death threats scare Bora less than showing off her extremely generous curves in the Blood Duchess’s lowcut dresses. But if she can embrace the beauty of her new body, she might just learn to love her true self as well. Though, appearances will be irrelevant if the duchess’s adversaries remove her head from her shoulders . . .
Praise for A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped
“[A Holy Maiden’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped features] a protagonist with a strong voice and unique character facets like face blindness and a healing gift . . . and some nice worldbuilding, both in broad strokes and specific detailing.” —Elayne Audrey Becker, author of the Forestborn duology
“I . . . absolutely fell in love with Ysabel and Kaine . . . The ‘opposites attract’ trope worked so well for this story . . . The stakes are high throughout . . . Great craft and storytelling!” —April L. Wood, author of the Season of the Witch series
“Both [Ysabel and Kaine are] strongly drawn and very relatable.” —Bogi Takács, author of Power to Yield
280 pages, Paperback
Published December 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 23, 2026
**ARC Review**
I absolutely adored this!!! Katy Nyquist is definitely going on my auto-buy authors list. This series is such fun chaos and I can't get enough of it. No notes, 5 stars.
Thank you so much to Katy Nyquist for a copy of the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was such a cute, amusing, and genuinely enjoyable read, very much in the same vein as the previous book. I loved returning to this world and seeing it expand further, especially with the cameos of Ysabel and Kaine!
The quirky characters, humour, and yes, even the melodramatic acting, were all part of the charm!
The central plotline is delightfully bizarre in the best way: a woman who grew up on a farm trying to dismantle a dictatorship and usher in democracy while trapped in the body of the tyrant herself. And yet, despite how fantastical that sounds, it somehow feels surprisingly believable because the characters themselves feel so grounded, relatable, and refreshingly normal, even in all their eccentricity.
I also really appreciated how the Bora’s relationship with her body and size was handled. It’s something I personally connected with, and I loved how matter-of-fact it was treated. The underlying message (i.e. what does size actually have to do with beauty or attraction?) is never over-laboured and is simply presented as common sense, which made it feel both validating and natural for me, and added an extra layer of enjoyment on top of an already fun book.
One of the things I continue to admire about Katy Nyquist’s writing is how she approaches representation. Concepts like bisexuality and non-cis gender identities are explored with warmth and clarity and kindness, but didn't sound like an after school specials. I really feel that Katy captures the confusion, uncertainty, and self-questioning that can come with figuring these things out, especially when you don’t yet have the words to express your feelings. It’s grounded, honest, and handled with real care. There’s no rose-tinted gloss here, just an understanding that these experiences are part of everyday life and don’t need to be exaggerated to be meaningful.
Overall, this was a wonderful, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable read. The writing pulled me in, the story kept me invested, and I finished it feeling genuinely really invested in this world and its characters. I’ll absolutely be continuing with this series and happily picking up anything else Katy Nyquist writes!
The quirky characters, humour, and yes, even the melodramatic acting, were all part of the charm!
The central plotline is delightfully bizarre in the best way: a woman who grew up on a farm trying to dismantle a dictatorship and usher in democracy while trapped in the body of the tyrant herself. And yet, despite how fantastical that sounds, it somehow feels surprisingly believable because the characters themselves feel so grounded, relatable, and refreshingly normal, even in all their eccentricity.
I also really appreciated how the Bora’s relationship with her body and size was handled. It’s something I personally connected with, and I loved how matter-of-fact it was treated. The underlying message (i.e. what does size actually have to do with beauty or attraction?) is never over-laboured and is simply presented as common sense, which made it feel both validating and natural for me, and added an extra layer of enjoyment on top of an already fun book.
One of the things I continue to admire about Katy Nyquist’s writing is how she approaches representation. Concepts like bisexuality and non-cis gender identities are explored with warmth and clarity and kindness, but didn't sound like an after school specials. I really feel that Katy captures the confusion, uncertainty, and self-questioning that can come with figuring these things out, especially when you don’t yet have the words to express your feelings. It’s grounded, honest, and handled with real care. There’s no rose-tinted gloss here, just an understanding that these experiences are part of everyday life and don’t need to be exaggerated to be meaningful.
Overall, this was a wonderful, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable read. The writing pulled me in, the story kept me invested, and I finished it feeling genuinely really invested in this world and its characters. I’ll absolutely be continuing with this series and happily picking up anything else Katy Nyquist writes!
August 8, 2026
Bora was just arriving in Arahasnor when she runs into her jerk of an ex, pisses off an evil noblewoman known as the Blood Duchess, and saves a young girl, only to run away from the city guards, narrowly escaping. And then a flash of light changes everything… and Bora finds herself in the body of the Blood Duchess herself. While she looks for a way back into her original body, she realizes – along with the help of new friends/allies of her sister (the Holy Maiden Ysabel) and her sister and her new husband – that with her in the Blood Duchess’s place, she might be able to save the country that is on the brink of ruin.
This was a wild ride of body swapping and shenanigans with humor that matches the first book and romance that was actually sweet. I liked the lack of spice for the most part until the end (and it made sense for me for them to not go at it for the majority of the book). I enjoy the plot, and the way that Bora and her allies were able to figure out how to use this to their advantage for good. I loved seeing Ysabel and the Dark Lord Kaine again, and hearing things from Bora’s POV was refreshing. I loved the characters, the worldbuilding, the magic… honestly this is such a great series – it feels cozy and magical with a bit of comedy, romance, and a dash of adventure.
This was a wild ride of body swapping and shenanigans with humor that matches the first book and romance that was actually sweet. I liked the lack of spice for the most part until the end (and it made sense for me for them to not go at it for the majority of the book). I enjoy the plot, and the way that Bora and her allies were able to figure out how to use this to their advantage for good. I loved seeing Ysabel and the Dark Lord Kaine again, and hearing things from Bora’s POV was refreshing. I loved the characters, the worldbuilding, the magic… honestly this is such a great series – it feels cozy and magical with a bit of comedy, romance, and a dash of adventure.
January 8, 2026
This was just as much if not better rollicking entertaining book as A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped! I just adored Bora who is sweeter than Ysabel and it was so easy to feel for her when her helping out others leads to almost being put to death by the Blood Duchess for an imagined slight (and an awful ex boyfriend!). Though like Ysabel, things go awry quickly and become extremely complicated with switching bodies, assassins looking to kill the Duchess and a country to save from utter ruin (all due to the fact that the previous ruler made promises to many shady organizations).
Yes, there is also humor galore, sweet found family, and much confusion on the romantic side of things that also leads to real love of the soul where bodies are not the most important, or even choosing to be what you want and standing outside societal norms. Also fighting for the people while staying alive long enough for justice to be served to the most awful villains. And while Ysabel does make an appearance, Bora gets her chance to shine.
These books can be read as standalones but I do highly recommend each one and I cannot wait for that third book to come out in this wonderfully funny and entertaining series!
Yes, there is also humor galore, sweet found family, and much confusion on the romantic side of things that also leads to real love of the soul where bodies are not the most important, or even choosing to be what you want and standing outside societal norms. Also fighting for the people while staying alive long enough for justice to be served to the most awful villains. And while Ysabel does make an appearance, Bora gets her chance to shine.
These books can be read as standalones but I do highly recommend each one and I cannot wait for that third book to come out in this wonderfully funny and entertaining series!
January 22, 2026
A Farm Girl's Guide to Ruling as a Bloodthirsty Tyrant is the sequel to A Holy Maiden's Guide to Getting Kidnapped. Bora, the younger sister of the Holy Maiden Ysabel, is on her way to visit her sister. However, she unfortunately has a chance encounter with her ex. Even more unfortunate, her ex is the current lover of the Blood Duchess, who takes offence and orders her to be killed. As she escapes, she ends up body swapped into the Blood Duchess's body. Suddenly she battling assassins, trying to find out how to change back, and failing in pretending to be as bloodthirsty as she needs to be to survive as the faux Blood Duchess.
I loved the storyline. It was a lot of fun to read, but even more so, the struggles and issues that both of the main characters have made it really even more memorable. Katy Nyquist has such an easy way of including identity struggles in her books and makes it seem approachable and , well, less scary. It's almost like you could give this book to someone who is curious about these issue, and it explains it really well.
I loved this book, and hope that there is going to be some more in the series.
I loved the storyline. It was a lot of fun to read, but even more so, the struggles and issues that both of the main characters have made it really even more memorable. Katy Nyquist has such an easy way of including identity struggles in her books and makes it seem approachable and , well, less scary. It's almost like you could give this book to someone who is curious about these issue, and it explains it really well.
I loved this book, and hope that there is going to be some more in the series.
December 17, 2025
When a child’s wish goes awry, Bora, a shy and retiring farm girl, finds herself in the body of the Blood Duchess, a woman who terrorizes everyone who comes into contact with her. Bora, who has a love-hate relationship with her body, wants it back because she hates being the Blood Duchess, but first she has to save her country from the Duchess’ plans to take the country for herself.
Nyquist has written a romantasy with a very interesting and different main character and a rather unique storyline. However, her writing isn’t quite up to the task of keeping all the plotlines under her control. Ifyou love your books full of angst and characters who don’t seem able to move on, then this book is for you. If you don’t want a lot of angst, but do want a book with a lot of substance, this book is not for you.
My thanks to Podium Publishing and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Nyquist has written a romantasy with a very interesting and different main character and a rather unique storyline. However, her writing isn’t quite up to the task of keeping all the plotlines under her control. Ifyou love your books full of angst and characters who don’t seem able to move on, then this book is for you. If you don’t want a lot of angst, but do want a book with a lot of substance, this book is not for you.
My thanks to Podium Publishing and Edelweiss for an eARC.
July 6, 2026
I loved this book. I didn't read the first book but definitely need to after reading this one.
This book was written so well showcasing the struggles that some of the characters have.
Bora is such a great character. While she's off to go visit her sister, she's stopped by her ex. He is horrible and she just wants to get away from him but the Blood Duchess comes out and she's dating the ex and thinks Bora wants him and decides to have her taken and unalived.
A lot happens in this book including switching bodies with the Duchess. Such a great plot and found myself laughing at parts, and just falling in love with the characters. Thank you so much Podium Entertaiment for sending me this book.
This book was written so well showcasing the struggles that some of the characters have.
Bora is such a great character. While she's off to go visit her sister, she's stopped by her ex. He is horrible and she just wants to get away from him but the Blood Duchess comes out and she's dating the ex and thinks Bora wants him and decides to have her taken and unalived.
A lot happens in this book including switching bodies with the Duchess. Such a great plot and found myself laughing at parts, and just falling in love with the characters. Thank you so much Podium Entertaiment for sending me this book.
December 23, 2025
“A Farm Girl’s Guide to Ruling as a Bloodthirsty Tyrant” brings back the engaging dialogue of the first book in this romantasy series and introduces a new tension when the heroine, Bora, is swapped into her nemesis’ body. You don’t have to read “A Holy Maiden’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped” to enjoy “A Farm Girl’s Guide” because the plot is distinct. However, reading in order will help you welcome characters from the previous book. I couldn’t figure out which body the heroine would end up in, and the resolution both surprised me and made sense. It’s hard to find books with both action and sly humor; I will keep reading this author.
March 15, 2026
- Funny story with a layered reflexion on the body (weight, genderfluidity, self). Modern humour and speech set in a high fantasy setting.
- I liked the main and secondary characters (official crush on Ari 🥰).
- There was a lot of hand holding regarding the plot and repetitive bits in the inner monologue.
- I thought that the enmeshing of dark themes and silliness, though not perfect, made for an engaging tone.
- The next installment is out soon, I will be reading it ! It looks like it's featuring the Dragon we kept hearing about.
- I liked the main and secondary characters (official crush on Ari 🥰).
- There was a lot of hand holding regarding the plot and repetitive bits in the inner monologue.
- I thought that the enmeshing of dark themes and silliness, though not perfect, made for an engaging tone.
- The next installment is out soon, I will be reading it ! It looks like it's featuring the Dragon we kept hearing about.
December 16, 2025
She is just a simple farm girl who is about to face a huge challenge. A magical spell goes wrong and she ends in the body of a blood thirsty duchess. They are in danger of losing the kingdom so she will need help to save it all without revealing who she really is. See how she gets on
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a brilliant read
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a brilliant read
December 27, 2025
A Farm Girl's Guide to Ruling as a Bloodthirsty Tyrant is a page turner with dynamic characters and a compelling storyline with touches of humor . Nyquist creates a fantasyland of good and evil antagonists fighting for control of a kingdom and child princess who deserves to be protected until she can rule in her own right. I couldn't put her book down until I finished it!
January 6, 2026
from the summary i thought this was going to be a villainess isekai but nah, it's a straight bodyswap. also fun!
4 stars
4 stars
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews