Emotionally decadent and immersive.
Following All the Hidden Monsters (2025), Sage is sent to deal with a volatile feud.
Unhappy that he lost the bet and had to allow Sage to join the paranormal police force Arcānum as the first werewolf among warlocks, Roderick, their captain, sends her to an isolated part of the Jura Mountains. There she’ll attempt to resolve tensions between the local werewolves and witches. It’s a poison pill assignment—the witches will believe her to be biased, and territorial werewolves look poorly on non-pack werewolves—and an eruption of violence that kills Sage would suit Roderick nicely. Oren insists on accompanying her, letting her take the lead in the case, which starts off simple but escalates into dangers and unveils past wrongs. The pair grapple with their feelings and the impossibility of their relationship due to their different lifespans in yearning-filled descriptions of their messy emotions that fans of the genre will devour. Oren is keeping secret from Sage some suspicions he has—if true, the lifespan obstacle might be moot but other dangers would arise. Juxtaposed with the slow-burn romance, P’s storyline includes the sweetly done beginnings of a flirtation. The relationships focus on emotional over physical connection, using strong characterization to drive readers’ investment. The steadily building mystery expands the world’s magic and factional conflicts. Aside from occasional mentions of geographical heritage, most characters present European, and Jordan uses the supernatural species for commentary on multiculturalism and other social themes.
Emotionally decadent and immersive. (Paranormal mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781546136637
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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