The Witch Who Stormed the Palace — Ryan Graudin

In this captivating sequel to The Girl Who Kept the Castle, Faye must face down the trial of three other Wizards and defeat the Shadow Queen once and for all to become the first Witch of the West. A must-read for fans of Howl's Moving Castle and The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy.

Defeating an evil sorceress was supposed to be the hard part. But now that Faye has succeeded in saving Celurdur from the Shadow Queen, she has an entirely different set of challenges to face. To become the first Witch of the West, she must win the favor of the country's three wizards -- North, South and East. Their trials await Faye in the capital. If she fails to impress these men, she'll lose her nomination, and magic will stay strangled by archaic laws. 

Alas, things are not off to a great start. Faye crashes into the capital on the back of a dragon, feeds the wizards illegal enchanted pastries, and fails to leave a good impression. To make matters worse, there are signs that the Shadow Queen is on the move again.

The kingdom's future depends on Faye proving herself a worthy witch, but time is quickly running out. . . .