Another winding quest with only intermittent bursts of intrigue and action.
Ulla continues the quest to find the identity of her parents; her missing friend, Eliana; and the location of the First City.
After Eliana’s kidnapping, Ulla and Pan set off to Fulaträsk in Louisiana, hopeful they’ll find more information about the cult of the Älvolk and the First City. Ulla learns that the troll she believed to be her mother, Orra Fågel, went missing 20 years ago during a mission to find the Lost Bridge of Dimma—the mythical bridge guarded by the Älvolk. Then Ulla hears rumors of roaming philanderer Indu Mattison, an Älvolk from the First City who may be her father. Indu was last heard railing against Kiruna, which is located in the Arctic area of Sweden. This is their best lead yet; it could lead them to the First City. Pan is summoned back to Merellä, and Ulla returns with him, set on continuing her research. But it isn’t long before Ulla and her friends gain the final clues they need to set off to Sweden, where answers to Ulla’s identity bring more turmoil than relief. With fewer dives into deep lore, Ulla’s journey moves with steady purpose, though the clues she finds line up too easily to feel earned. True danger arrives in the climax, but it’s too little, too late.
Another winding quest with only intermittent bursts of intrigue and action. (glossary) (Fantasy. 16-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20428-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Unexamined toxic masculinity makes this romance anything but.
A girl’s strained relationships with two brothers causes strife in this trilogy opener by Argentinian author Ron that’s translated from Spanish.
In the small American town of Carsville, Kamila Hamilton was friends with her neighbors the Di Bianco brothers. Taylor was Kami’s constant, kind companion; older brother Thiago grew increasingly antagonistic. When she was 10 and a half and he was 12, Thiago coerced Kami into her first kiss. Following the revelation of a family secret, the Di Biancos moved away, but a restraining order against Thiago led them to return to their old home after eight years without contact. But 20-year-old Thiago’s new job as assistant basketball coach at the high school where Taylor is on the team and 17-year-old Kami is a cheerleader brings the white-presenting trio into close contact, leading to tense confrontations over past events. Thiago and Kami’s interactions are marked by antagonism and lust (Thiago: “Accumulated rage, bitterness, hatred, and arousal….I could have taken her then and there, not even thinking of the consequences”; Kami: “I felt like a small, defenseless animal being hunted by a beast”). The softer and more empathetic Taylor tries to smooth things over. Thiago’s abuse of power—he uses his role as coach to confront and bully Kami—is uncomfortable and feels like a misguided attempt by the pair to process their traumatic history, which Ron purposefully reveals, making this overall read more cringeworthy than romantic.
Unexamined toxic masculinity makes this romance anything but. (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234279
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
BOOK REVIEW
A very full mixed bag.
In the sequel to Furyborn (2018), Rielle and Eliana struggle across time with their powers and prophesied destinies.
Giving readers only brief recaps, this book throws them right into complicated storylines in this large, lovingly detailed fantasy world filled with multiple countries, two different time periods, and hostile angels. Newly ordained Rielle contends with villainous Corien’s interest in her, the weakening gate that holds the angels at bay, and distrust from those who don’t believe her to be the Sun Queen. A thousand years in the future, Eliana chafes under her unwanted destiny and finds her fear of losing herself to her powers (like the Blood Queen) warring with her need to save those close to her. The rigid alternation between time-separated storylines initially feels overstuffed, undermining tension, but once more characters get point-of-view chapters and parallels start paying off, the pace picks up. The multiethnic cast (human versus angelic is the only divide with weight) includes characters of many sexual orientations, and their romantic storylines include love triangles, casual dalliances, steady couples, and couples willing to invite in a third. While many of the physically intimate scenes are loving, some are rougher, including ones that cross lines of clear consent and introduce a level of violence that many young readers will not be ready for. The ending brings heartbreaking twists to prime readers for the trilogy’s conclusion.
A very full mixed bag. (map, list of elements) (Fantasy. 17-adult)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5665-4
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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