For fans of Captive Prince, The Nightrunner Series, and a little bit of Hamlet, M.A. Wellons' debut novel The Virgin Crown is a rich, tactile fantasy that seeks an answer on how to reconcile what we want with what we know will hurt us. “I do not want a new life. I want to return to my old one.” When Prince Joska is banished without warning from his home in Szargys, he’s left anguished and adrift with no answers as to why his eldest brother cast him out. His single hope for salvation comes in a mysterious anyone who brings a unicorn back to Castle Szargyed will be granted Joska’s land and titles, and the promise of the crown when comes the king’s abdication. In the midst of his despair, Joska meets a secretive and charming stranger named Edham, who offers his escort to a neighboring country with a sly smile and no questions asked. It is there that Joska can fulfill his exile... and where unicorns yet remain. With no choice left but to slay an innocent creature to earn back his place in his family, what can Joska do but bury his pride, bloody his hands, and pray that he is worthy of his brother's forgiveness?