Deeply romantic and utterly magical.
An aspiring alchemist and a talented sharpshooter team up to hunt an ancient beast.
When the hala appears each autumn, New Albion’s Halfmoon Hunt soon follows. Teams consisting of a marksman and an alchemist hunt the creature in pursuit of fame and fortune. Though the Katharist church condemns the hala as a demon, 17-year-old Margaret Welty has been taught by her Yu’adir father that it is a sacred creation of God. Legend even has it that the hala’s alchemized carcass could be forged into the philosopher’s stone. If Maggie wins the hunt and kills the hala, her alchemist mother, gone for months, may finally return home to stay. Weston Winters, son of Banvish-Sumic immigrants, has been fired from every apprenticeship he’s charmed his way into. Being taken on as Evelyn Welty’s student is his best chance at becoming an alchemist, but when he arrives at Welty Manor, Maggie immediately dislikes him. However, after they ultimately come to understand each other’s personal motives, they rely on one another to achieve their dreams. This atmospheric, emotionally driven story focuses on the slow-burn romance between two outcasts who yearn to belong and who face discrimination for their cultural and religious backgrounds. Characters are cued as White, and New Albion is reminiscent of early-20th-century America: the Banvish-Sumic, Katharist, and Yu’adir people read as fantasy-world corollaries of Irish Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish immigrants, respectively.
Deeply romantic and utterly magical. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-62365-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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