A mostly tidy ending to a bold, fast-paced, page-turning trilogy.
One week after fleeing London, Joan Sands is ready to return and lay her life on the line once more to defeat the murderous Fae queen, Titanea, in this sequel to 2024’s Saint-Seducing Gold.
Joan, her family, and all the other humans blessed by the Orisha barely escape the carnage Titanea unleashes on King James’ palace after she releases the Fae, who are hungry for human flesh and fully restored to power. Joan, who’s Black, tries to regroup in William Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon home, but she’s burdened by the knowledge that everyone’s safety hangs on her abilities as a child of Ogun. As a result, she feels compelled to take risks that lead to deaths and betrayals. She’s also being haunted by her ancestor who created the initial Pact that separated the Fae from humans and whose connection to their current conflict helps to drive the tension throughout most of the story. Williams does a wonderful job showing the possibilities of loving polyamorous and queer relationships. The assorted Fae creatures summoned to terrorize the mortals of London are fantastically gruesome in their quests for revenge, and Joan’s growing mastery of her gifts from Ogun and top-tier combat skills in fight scenes will engage readers. Still, while the saga’s main storylines are completed, some plot points and characters’ arcs are disappointingly dropped without full resolutions.
A mostly tidy ending to a bold, fast-paced, page-turning trilogy. (map, dramatis personae, historical notes, cultural note) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781419758683
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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