The False Prince (the Ascendance Trilogy, Book 1): Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy - Jennifer A. Nielsen

Sage, an orphaned thief, is one of four boys chosen to participate in a lethal contest. After being plucked from the streets by a nobleman named Connor, Sage learns that Connor plans to choose one of the orphans to impersonate a long-lost prince in the hopes of averting a civil war.
New York Times bestseller The False Prince thrills with wild twists and turns, danger and deceit, and the revelation of hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontented kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

And don't miss the highly anticipated fourth book in the series, The Captive Kingdom, coming October 2020