Ridge Gambit. Differentiate the Darkness

A chess genius, hacker, gamer, nerd, and bespectacled one — this is Snezhka. She is prickly and serious, distrustful and vengeful. She doesn't believe in fairy tales, but finds herself in one. Only instead of a handsome prince, a magical gift, and the title of The Chosen One, she receives the fate of a companion to a romantic heroine and a witch's doll. And there is also a world on the verge of war, a slave collar, a prison of cruel Shadows, and not-so-bright Light beings.
Snezhka enters the main game of her life, where the stakes are survival and freedom. But will she be able to win this game relying only on her own intellect? After all, when everything around turns out not to be what it seems, it drastically changes the rules. Just like a sympathy for the player on the other side of the board...

The first book of the duology «Ridge Gambit» by Evgenia Safonova, author of the series «Saga of the Forbidden» and the duology «Necromance».

The magical world turns out to be nothing like in the books, although there is a game being played here too, and the stakes are life.

An enemy you want to respect, an opponent you should beware of, — and a person whose presence makes your heart beat faster. A combination too dangerous for everything to simply work out.

A bright, memorable heroine and an unexpected take on a familiar plot. A story that defies all genre canons and mocks clichés.

The publication is supplemented with illustrations by popular artist Polina Graf.