A breezy, bloody, well-rounded send-off.
Ethical vampire librarian Amber Fang is back for a last hurrah.
Three months after her last outing, Amber Fang has a good lead for finding her missing mother, kept hostage by ZARC Industries. With the help of her boss (and romantic interest), Dermot, the dwindling forces of the League, and the ninja librarians known as the Returns, Amber has every reason to hope this time she will succeed. But a botched mission leaves Amber alone, hurt, and on the run from ZARC and its increasingly dangerous AI Hector as well as from the nonethical vampires who wish to use Amber’s fertile womb to save their species. Will Amber manage to survive—and save her mother and herself from their enemies? Amber has come a long way in this third book: She plans better, is more confident, fights more effectively, and reacts more cautiously to the dangers coming her way. With an abundance of literary allusions, librarian in-jokes, and plenty of high-stakes action, the series comes to a fitting, satisfying conclusion. With so many factions interested in Amber’s and her mother’s ovaries, though, there is a missed opportunity for a more in-depth conversation about women’s agency, especially after an unsettling connection is made between good morals and fertility in female vampires. The majority of characters are assumed white with a couple of minor Chinese American characters in the mix.
A breezy, bloody, well-rounded send-off. (Paranormal thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2275-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry.
Three young people find their places in a world of vengeance and destiny in National Book Award winner Tahir’s duology opener set in the multicultural world of her An Ember in the Ashes series.
Aiz, from the impoverished nation of Kegar, seeks revenge against Tiral bet-Hiwa, an air squadron commander who, as a child, murdered Aiz’s fellow orphans. Guided by a voice claiming to be Mother Div, Kegar’s first queen, Aiz escapes imprisonment after her failed assassination attempt on Tiral and embarks on a journey to free Mother Div’s trapped spirit. In the Martial Empire, Sirsha, a skilled tracker with magical abilities who’s been banished from her homeland, is saved by a stranger who hires her to hunt an unnatural killer. Quil, the crown prince of the Martial Empire, faces an invasion by the Kegari and the lingering threat of a mysterious force responsible for recent murders, including those of two of his loved ones. As the storylines converge, Sirsha and Quil cross paths, leading to revelations about the insidious force. The story explores the blurred line between good and evil and the lengths one will go to for a better life. Tahir’s deep and intricate worldbuilding requires time for readers to fully grasp. Following a slow start, the plot engages as pieces fall into place, leading up to an unexpected ending. The beautiful writing compensates for the romantic relationships, which develop quickly and somewhat inorganically.
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593616949
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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