Action-packed yet intimate; sets the stage for a truly epic next installment.
Following a royal kidnapping and amid widespread fear of magic, the tenuous alliance between Emberfall and Syhl Shallow is tested by violent attacks on both sides of the border.
In this sequel to 2022’s Forging Silver Into Stars, the three narrators are separated, and the stakes are even higher. Callyn, now a lady-in-waiting at the Crystal Palace, gradually embraces her own newly discovered abilities in secret. She reluctantly becomes the queen’s liaison to the arrogant Lord Alek, her one-time lover whose loyalty to the queen is matched only by his hatred of magic. Jax, a skilled archer and blacksmith, hoped his new job at Ironrose Castle would deepen his discreet romance with King’s Courier Tycho, but he finds himself alone and dependent on the few Emberish speakers after Tycho’s duties force his return to Syhl Shallow. Tycho, whose magic has been flaring due to past traumas, struggles to regulate his emotions—and his power—under the guidance of the scraver Nakiis, a magical winged being whose harrowing past helps explain why scravers are leaving the ice forests of Iishellasa to attack humans. Kemmerer thoughtfully structures each protagonist’s narrative arc, balancing plot-driving action with the exploration of resonant questions of loyalty, trust, and forgiveness that deftly model the often-uncomfortable process of reevaluating core beliefs when presented with new perspectives. Main characters read white; Jax walks with crutches before he’s fitted for a prosthetic foot.
Action-packed yet intimate; sets the stage for a truly epic next installment. (maps, character list) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781547610105
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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