Echo in Onyx (Uncommon Echoes, #1)

A murder and a masquerade.

Brianna loves her new job as maid to Lady Marguerite. Like many high nobles, Marguerite is attended by echoes, silent creatures who look exactly like her and move in perfect synchronicity. News soon comes that Marguerite has been invited to the royal city as a potential bride for the crown prince. Brianna is delighted to accompany Marguerite to the city - and perhaps get a chance to continue her own flirtation with Nico, one of the king’s inquisitors.

Then, disaster strikes on the road when they come under attack. The brutal assault forces Marguerite and Brianna to concoct a desperate plan. Their subterfuge just might work - but only if Brianna can keep Nico from learning the truth. And only if Marguerite can give up her own secret, doomed romance.

And all that's at stake - is the very future of the kingdom.

Uncommon Echoes, a new trilogy from Sharon Shinn:

In the Kingdom of Seven Jewels, high nobles are frequently born with echoes, creatures who appear identical to them, who mimic their every move and expression. But echoes have no independent thought or motion of their own. They are considered gifts from the triple goddess, who created them generations ago when war and murder put every noble’s life in danger; when assassins could not be sure which identical body was the true lord or lady, many fewer deaths occurred. Now, echoes are primarily a symbol of wealth and status, and no noble has more than three. But sometimes, echoes are not exactly what they seem…