Capes’ fictional universe expands slowly but compellingly in this latest installment.
In this new-adult fantasy sequel, the immortal Aion clan threatens to use the captured Dalia against her allies in the Decagon.
The year is 2046. The immortal Dalia used to visit the realm called the Dreaming to locate wandering souls and return them to the Waking world. Those she’s saved form a group called the Decagon, and the events of Capes’ previous novel have left Dalia in the hands of their enemies, the Aion. Rourke, the Aion’s leader, keeps Dalia in his Glass Estate and calls her “Ambra,” the name she used as an Aion member 200 years ago. She has no idea how long she’s been in Rourke’s clutches, and injections of a special serum keep her from traveling to the Dreaming or contacting the Decagon. After Ambra meets Six, the newest member of the Aion, she also realizes that Rourke will cross any boundary to increase his power; he even creates a sleek exoskeleton, Baphomet, for Ambra to wear—but not always control—in battle against the Aion’s enemies. These include Iridian, who’s abandoned Rourke to build an army to overthrow him. Rourke also believes that Ambra is the key to “smuggling” things from the SubDream, the subconscious level beyond the Dreaming. Eventually, Ambra will face her former allies in the Decagon—but will she have control over what happens? Capes smoothly juggles several mysteries in this second volume of her series, and the truth about Six gives the narrative a surreal tone. Flashbacks to the 18th century continue, with each segment moving readers further backward in time until they meet a young Delia. The descriptions of locations are frequently gorgeous, such as the Glass Estate’s garden, “hung with fog blown down from the looming mountaintops.” Capes brings the Aion’s actions to life with fine historical details; for instance, in 1737 Vienna, beautifully dressed women wear “tiny gems dotting their hair and jewelry” that “twinkled like shy galaxies.” The violence ranges from sadistic to relatively comical, as when Six mentions dispatching an enemy with a simple “hairdryer in the bath.” The time-twisting finale sets up fresh mysteries for the next volume.
Capes’ fictional universe expands slowly but compellingly in this latest installment.Pub Date: June 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73437-764-4
Page Count: 426
Publisher: Capas LLC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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