Fine for devoted paranormal-romance fans but probably not many others.
She’s been alive for 616 years, but now she’s in love with a teenage boy.
This second installation in the Incarnation series leads to a showdown between the lead character and her nemesis but leaves the way open for another sequel. Evil Cyrus has the formula that allows souls to incarnate in new bodies, once the bodies are sufficiently dead. Cyrus clings to his obsessive love for Sera, whom he turned immortal in 1349, but she escaped in the previous book by finding a girl dying in a car accident and taking over her body. Living as 16-year old Kailey, Sera’s now happily ensconced in Berkeley with the girl’s former family, who don’t know their daughter is dead. She’s also firmly in love with Kailey’s boyfriend, Noah. She wants to escape Cyrus and live as Kailey with her new romance intact, but to do it, she will have to outwit Cyrus. Can Sera/Kailey find Cyrus before he finds her, even as he uses his coven of fellow Incarnates to search for her? Chick-lit action full of fashion, friendships and girl rivalries vies with the immortality plot, which includes Sera’s hand-wringing about the ethics of the practice she and the other Incarnates have been following for centuries. Volcano metaphors occasionally stand out in the otherwise straightforward prose.
Fine for devoted paranormal-romance fans but probably not many others. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4319-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
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
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
