Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne (review)

When the rose plague leaves its contagious marks on Zivah, her skills as a healer become worthless as she is cast out to the borders of her village. After escaping his imprisonment in Amparan dungeons, Dineas manages to return to his nomadic tribe, but he is now a hesitant warrior plagued by nightmares. Both, however, prove to be valuable in rising rebellion against the Amparan Empire. Zivah accepts an invitation to work as a healer at a hospital for the rose-plagued in the capitol; Dineas, immune to the illness, can travel with Zivah and then infiltrate the Amparan army there. Though the setup is somewhat contrived, the plot takes a fascinating turn when Dineas' memories of torture cripple him so much that Zivah gives him a drug that strips away his memories for days at a time as he trains with the army but leaves him with the recon info he needs to relay to Zivah when the medicine wears off. Zivah heartbreakingly falls for the drugged Dineas, the man he might be without a history of trauma, while the true Dineas struggles to sort his feelings for Zivah and wondering if she's a healer or a manipulator. The surrounding drama of the insurgence against the empire falls to the background, but it will likely play a larger role in the hinted-at sequel. Fans of Rutkoski's The Winner's Curse (BCCB 3/14) will find the complications of Zivah and Dineas' relationship amidst a growing uprising just as compelling. KQG