The School of Hard Knocks — Christopher G. Nuttall

Mountaintop Academy, sister school of Whitehall, has secrets, deadly secrets - and its MageMaster is dying. When he finally leaves the mortal world, it will trigger a power struggle that may tear the school apart. When a cabal within Mountaintop plots to kidnap Emily and seduce her to their side, she is asked to go undercover into Mountaintop in the hopes she can uncover some of their secrets before they explode out into the open. But when Mountaintop's Administrator begins to introduce her to entire branches of forgotten or forbidden magics, Emily finds herself torn between her love for knowledge, her sense of what is right and wrong... and the mission she agreed to undertake. And when she comes face to face with the dark secret at the heart of the school, it may kill her... or leave her corrupted with a darkness that will never leave her soul. Praise for Lessons in Etiquette "...Emily and Alassa are strong female heroes, remaining composed in the face of danger and asserting themselves when necessary. The book speaks to those who wonder how much developed nations should interfere in the cultivation of a developing society...." ~ San Francisco Book Review.