-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A queer and cli-fi reimagining of a Portuguese folktale about a young trans woman who must save her elder sisters from the King of the Air, the King of the Sea, and the King of Misery.
Elixane lives in a village ravaged by waves, storms, and the encroaching forest. When she was too young to remember, her elder sisters each picked a flower and were whisked away: Borboleta to marry the King of the Air, Adelina to marry the King of the Sea, and her favorite sister Dores to marry the King of Misery, who promised: No one will ever love you as I will.
So when Elixane receives a mysterious message from a toad, she sets out to rescue Dores from the Kingdom of Misery. She is aided by the jester-like Marquês of Luck and his sister Jinx, the contrary and beautiful Marquesa of Misfortune. On the way, she'll have to reunite with her sisters and their magical husbands, break several unbreakable curses―and, perhaps, find a magical love of her own.
"If the repetitive nature of the narrative device leaves little space for suspense, Tierney's poetic prose consistently elevates the tale. The novel particularly shines when exploring sisterhood, grief, trauma, and the process of stepping confidently into one's power. A beautifully written reimagined folktale." —Kirkus Reviews
"Tierney's debut is written in the cadence of a fairy tale, with everything cast in threes, everything coated in the rich, beautiful imagery of pearls, feathers, and fool's gold. Fans of Naomi Novik and other sensuous, emotional, and wry fantasy stories wrapped in the trappings of classic folklore will fall hard for this story about the power of love, sisterly and romantic, that's based on a classic Portuguese fairy tale." ―Booklist
"A masterpiece of style, Misery's Wife is delicately poised between the layers and motivations of traditional fiction and the archetypes of folk and fairy tales." ―BookPage
This information about Misery's Wife was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joan Tierney is the author of the Publishers Weekly-starred novella The Killing Grounds. Misery's Wife is her debut novel.
If you liked Misery's Wife, try these:
by Yume Kitasei
Published 2026
From the acclaimed author of The Stardust Grail comes the epic tale of two sisters who sail across oceans to find their missing third sister―and Earth's environmental salvation.
by Allegra Goodman
Published 2025
A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this breathtaking saga, an epic story of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.
by Natasha Siegel
Published 2025
For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women—a witch and an immortal demon—who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
