An engaging fantasy and romance that explores the importance of vulnerability and forgiving oneself.
Sirota’s romance-centered fantasy novel explores themes of intimacy, commitment, and coming to terms with the past.
Nineteen-year-old Estrid and her shadow-wolf familiar Rafe incapacitate a group of soldiers in an effort to protect a local village—Estrid accomplishes this with dark, powerful magic to fulfill an oath she’s taken to make up for the lives of innocents she’s claimed in the past (“a heavy debt she’s not sure will ever be repaid”). She encounters a person called Zain unconscious in the nearby wilderness and takes him in to nurse him back to health. During their time together, they discover that their combined magic has the power to resurrect the dead, which they demonstrate on a bird. They are attracted to one another, but Zain reveals he’s “Fae” and King of the Summer Court; when his companions Del and Alvey come for him, he must go with them to protect his realm from the evildoings of Rodden, the King of Nordia, who threatens his reign. Estrid helps strategize, having previously been under Rodden’s control and therefore familiar with his tactics. However, as they approach his stronghold, Estrid is captured. Zain solicits help from Del and other allies to rescue her from a dungeon. They seek help from the Shadow Court—whose King Cethin is revealed to have an intimate connection with one among the group. Sirota excels in creating dynamic characters like Estrid and Zain, with complex backstories drawn from the similarly elaborate worldbuilding. The author conveys a palpable attraction between them—their erotic scenes are treated with a deft hand and effectively convey the characters’ growing connection to each other, propelling the plot forward. However, the inception of their relationship feels a bit rushed, and some secondary characters could benefit from additional development. While Estrid’s magic is a central element, its limitations are murkily defined, which may prove frustrating for some readers. Nonetheless, this opening installment lays a strong foundation for a sequel. Fans of high fantasy and romance alike will enjoy Sirota’s tale, which successfully highlights aspects of both genres.
An engaging fantasy and romance that explores the importance of vulnerability and forgiving oneself.Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781763704701
Page Count: 364
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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