A sexy YA fantasy that creates a deep bedrock for sequels.
Texas novelist Owen (The Cursed King, 2021, etc.) launches a new YA series with a tale of a princess and her nonruling twin who battle an ancient enemy of their kingdom.
In the kingdom of Aryd, 18-year-old Meren is Princess Tabra’s twin. As the second-born of the pair, she must live outside the palace as a peasant with Omma, her caretaker. Should anything happen to her sister, Meren would take her place permanently in the public’s eye. The main threat comes from King Eidolon of Tyndra, an immortal with a penchant for murdering Aryd’s female rulers. Meren finds her primary relief from her drab life in sneaking outside the walls of the city of Enora to the desert. Even as the second-born she has special powers over sand, and she uses them there to sculpt glass flowers for Tabra. Meren also meets with Cain, a handsome desert Wanderer who expects to become the next “zariph” of his “zariphate.” Cain asks Meren to join his Wanderers and travel to Aryd’s Sacred Tree, but she’s kidnapped by a shadowy figure who takes her through a portal to the region called Wildernyss. The coldly attractive man is Reven, a Shadowraith who can manipulate darkness. When he claims to need Tabra’s help, Meren pretends to be her sister and learns Reven’s secrets, which both terrify her and draw her to him. The author playfully leads readers through sharp fantasy twists as Meren and Reven travel together, encountering a petrified dragon skeleton and a harpy eagle that mimics the sound of a woman climaxing. Owen adds modern phrases to keep things fresh (Meren calls herself a “total bitch”) and a bit of political commentary in lines like: “People...don't want to acknowledge a problem exists unless it affects them personally. And leaders, once they gain power, don’t want to risk losing it again.” Reven turns out to have a shocking connection to King Eidolon that further complicates his entanglement with Meren. The finale rattles the status quo enough to pique interest in future installments.
A sexy YA fantasy that creates a deep bedrock for sequels.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64937-152-2
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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