The Goblin Emperor

My favorite book of all time, and I do not say that lightly. Maia is the fourth, forgotten son of the emperor and never expects to be on the throne. A tragedy changes that and throws Maia headfirst into a world of Court. My favorite aspect of this book is the kindness that Maia clings to despite the difficulty of his circumstances.

Also, yes, there are way too many names and they all look the same but there is a very thorough list of persons in the beginning and the rest of the book more than makes up for it.