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CRIMSON REIGN

From the Blood Heir series , Vol. 3

Awash in bloodshed, this trilogy closer is most interesting for the questions it poses.

Allies and enemies fight for country and love.

In this follow-up to Red Tigress (2021), Ana and company have gone on separate quests. As Ana makes her way to Cyrilia to confront her aunt, the Empress Morganya, Linn is off to the Kemeiran Empire to recruit forces for their cause. Ramson remains in Bregon to discover what he can about regaining the Affinite powers stolen by the siphons. While the villain comes off as somewhat two-dimensional—in it for the power and little else—the evil aunt makes some interesting comments about leadership and winning wars. The ultimate goal is to rid the world of the current corrupt monarchy, and the questions Ana and the others must ask themselves are: What will take its place? What will be best for the people? And who will be the one to lead them? It is the journey to answer these questions rather than the frequent bloody battles that is compelling. Though Ana is the main heroine, the storytelling finds its stride in delving into the ensemble cast, exploring their motivations and watching them come to their personal and sometimes painful resolutions. Cultural and physical markers code the Kemeirans as an East Asian fantasy equivalent, while the Northern Cyrilians read as Russian inspired, and Southern Cyrilians have light-brown skin.

Awash in bloodshed, this trilogy closer is most interesting for the questions it poses. (map, glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: March 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-525-70787-5

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022

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RUTHLESS VOWS

From the Letters of Enchantment series , Vol. 2

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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A DOOR IN THE DARK

From the Waxways series , Vol. 1

Truly fantastic.

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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

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