No new ground broken but a good read for those looking for bloody action and twisty politics.
Monsters or heroes: Our choices define us.
In Zhao’s debut, Anastacya, the Crown Princess of Cyrilia, is charged with the murder of her father and is presumed dead herself. For the past 11 months, however, she has been desperately searching for the real murderer. Seeking help, Ana breaks Ramson Quicktongue, a purported criminal mastermind, out of prison. However, Ramson is out for revenge against someone who betrayed him as well as on a mission to regain his status as Deputy of the Order of the Lily, an underground criminal organization that deals in human trafficking. Though at times her emotions feel overwrought, Ana is not the typical damsel in distress. She asks for help when needed but is capable of making ruthless threats and carrying out quick decisions. In fact, readers should take heed of the title, because there is quite a bit of blood spilled from multiple orifices; the path to redemption and revenge is not always pretty. Descriptions such as “lost princess” and the characters’ names may lead readers to certain conclusions about the plot, however, they simply evoke the Eastern European–inspired setting; the ruling Northern Cyrilians are pale and have light hair while Ana’s mother came from the “tawny-skinned Southern Cyrilians.” A secondary character comes from an East Asian–like culture that references yin and yang.
No new ground broken but a good read for those looking for bloody action and twisty politics. (map, glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-70779-0
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Truly fantastic.
This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66591-868-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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