Damsels of Distress

Lily Red has trained her entire life as a system-acknowledged scout. When she discovers the Wolf Warband is about to invade from the frozen north, she races to warn the city-states — and is laughed out of every hall. With no one willing to act, she vows to protect the people of Canu Moch herself, even as the Wolf Warband's war leader marks her as the only obstacle in his prophesied path.

Isabella Vigatori dreams of mastering the system-granted ability she inherited — Minor Creature Control, a magic that bonds small creatures like mice and birds through song. Her father condemns her ambition, and after he remarries, his cunning new wife relegates Bella to servant status. When Bella uncovers a dark secret threatening the entire kingdom, her only hope is to gain the ear of Prince Cinder at a royal masquerade — before it's too late.

Danielle Tinkersdottir dreamed of becoming a magic engineer, but on her eighteenth birthday the System grants her the powers of an Enchantress instead. Before she can adjust, Baron Gasteel Leiter demands her hand in marriage or her father dies. Refusing both, she faces a third option: convince the cursed, System-Forsaken Battle Beast — a monstrous war criminal abandoned by the crown — to return to the war. Only a beauty who sees beyond the beast can save the continent.

Rebecca Punzel grew up an orphan in the slums, dreaming small and caring for her found family. Her first system class is practically a curse: golden locks of hair that tangle every valuable in reach, getting her blacklisted from honest work. Pushed into the thieves' guild, she builds a name as Goldie Locks — until a job goes wrong and a ruthless alchemist marks her as an endless source of magical material. Her only escape is to attempt the Brute Queen's battle tower.

Snow Weiss was born to rule, her silver tongue perfectly complementing her twin sister Rose's raw emotional power. When their mother falls mysteriously ill and their father is enthralled by a powerful Witch, Rose sacrifices herself to smuggle Snow away. As an exiled princess in her own kingdom, Snow gathers seven dangerous mentors who teach her to fight, sneak, inspire, heal, and even wield poison — all in preparation for a march on the palace to free her sister and break the Witch's power.