A moody tale of teen-centered paranormal action and romance.
A New Orleans witch, hoping to rescue her father, braves the Afterworld with help from friends and enemies alike in this fourth installment of a YA saga.
Callisto Salazar has stolen teenager Adele Le Moyne’s and other witches’ Spektral magic. He and his Ghost Drinkers coven threaten the entire city. Callis has also kidnapped Adele’s father, Mac, and will kill him unless she fetches the Medici vampires’ grimoire (book of shadows). But Adele, who fancies Niccolò Medici, has a plan to save Mac and everyone else. She’ll cut Callis’ tie to his magic’s source—his late father, Jakome—in Guinée, the Afterworld. Adele, Nicco, and five other vampires and witches must each travel through Guinée’s seven gates on their way to find Jakome. Even in the Afterworld, which resembles a desolate New Orleans, Jakome is a menace, and Adele doesn’t trust all in the traveling party. Arden has amassed an impressively diverse cast of varying backgrounds, skin tones, ages, and abilities. This harrowing installment focuses a bit more on witchery than vampirism and further develops a romantic entanglement among Adele, Nicco, and Air witch Isaac Thompson, who, like his fanged rival, begins this novel harboring a secret. Arden’s prose is lyrical, especially when describing the Afterworld, an unnerving place: “The archway opened into a circular room, which was simply an enormous pool of water. The reflection of the mirrored walls sparkled atop it like diamonds in a treasure chest.” While one subplot reaches a sublime resolution, this series has more to come.
A moody tale of teen-centered paranormal action and romance.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9897577-6-8
Page Count: 550
Publisher: For the Art of it Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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