Overdone in parts, but the bright spots of true suspense will satisfy readers looking for a grim, inventive thriller.
A Cherokee curse and a hunger for success wreak havoc in this ambitious supernatural tale.
Three seemingly unconnected episodes open this novel: a pioneer family’s gruesome death on a haunted plot of Georgia land; a surprise attack that injures young Ozzie’s imprisoned family; and ex–football star Blake Savage’s bitterly going about his daily food deliveries. Blake’s wife, Angelica, of Cherokee blood and faith, is suffering after a miscarriage, going so far as to bury their stillborn daughter on their expansive property. Told in alternating chapters among an array of characters, the plot escalates as Ozzie makes a bold escape from his captors and Blake’s food production for rich chef Nick Vegas’ secret dinner clubs takes on a dreadful air. What’s more, Ozzie’s captors, now on the hunt for Ozzie after his escape, apparently work for Blake. When two of the three captors go missing in the woods, including Jesse, who’s tormented by a sinister disembodied voice, Blake begins to worry that he’s in too deep with Nick’s veiled plans, but as media attention grows for the secret dinner clubs, it’s too late for Blake to back out. A local sheriff and a food safety officer join the ranks of narrators with chapter-length contributions, along with Angelica’s twin sister, Rose, and Hal, a friendly recluse who takes in Ozzie. The connection between Ozzie and Blake’s work is frustratingly opaque, until a few clues reveal Ozzie isn’t like the other characters at all. Nick’s nationwide supper clubs debut without a hitch, but a few hours later, a widespread epidemic is in full swing; all signs point to Nick, and there’s a satisfying amount of page-turning suspense as the media and authorities begin to jigsaw together how these supper clubs could’ve caused the epidemic. Things settle into an idyllic conclusion before a final loss marks the story’s conclusion, reminding readers of the powerful, cursed land that opened the novel. Grisly descriptions and thorough research lend credibility to the story, but its many narrators and constantly shifting points of view muddy the numerous plotlines. The linchpin of the story’s suspense—why Blake has kept Ozzie and his family captive—is more confusing than surprising, and at times, there’s an overreliance on dialogue. Readers will likely be more engaged in the cleverly rendered story of Nick’s deadly supper clubs than in the lingering Cherokee curse that bookends the novel.
Overdone in parts, but the bright spots of true suspense will satisfy readers looking for a grim, inventive thriller.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-1479220212
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.
In 16th-century Madrid, a crypto-Jew with a talent for casting spells tries to steer clear of the Inquisition.
Luzia Cotado, a scullion and an orphan, has secrets to keep: “It was a game she and her mother had played, saying one thing and thinking another, the bits and pieces of Hebrew handed down like chipped plates.” Also handed down are “refranes”—proverbs—in “not quite Spanish, just as Luzia was not quite Spanish.” When Luzia sings the refranes, they take on power. “Aboltar cazal, aboltar mazal” (“A change of scene, a change of fortune”) can mend a torn gown or turn burnt bread into a perfect loaf; “Quien no risica, no rosica” (“Whoever doesn’t laugh, doesn’t bloom”) can summon a riot of foliage in the depths of winter. The Inquisition hangs over the story like Chekhov’s famous gun on the wall. When Luzia’s employer catches her using magic, the ambitions of both mistress and servant catapult her into fame and danger. A new, even more ambitious patron instructs his supernatural servant, Guillén Santángel, to train Luzia for a magical contest. Santángel, not Luzia, is the familiar of the title; he has been tricked into trading his freedom and luck to his master’s family in exchange for something he no longer craves but can’t give up. The novel comes up against an issue common in fantasy fiction: Why don’t the characters just use their magic to solve all their problems? Bardugo has clearly given it some thought, but her solutions aren’t quite convincing, especially toward the end of the book. These small faults would be harder to forgive if she weren’t such a beautiful writer. Part fairy tale, part political thriller, part romance, the novel unfolds like a winter tree bursting into unnatural bloom in response to one of Luzia’s refranes, as she and Santángel learn about power, trust, betrayal, and love.
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250884251
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
