An imaginative work that weaves fantasy and social commentary into a scathingly funny revenge tale.
In this fantasy, a bitter keyboard warrior must confront some hard truths when he finds himself magically transported into one of the medieval novels that he savaged online.
Milton Smith loves nothing better than to tear people down on the internet—especially authors who specialize in medieval fiction, like Anna DeMarco. After leading a smear campaign that nearly destroyed her first book, Milton is readying his attack on Anna’s new release when he is suddenly transported to a strange realm. Now, Milton finds himself trapped in the world of Anna’s first novel, Love in a Time Faraway. Captured by knights and thrown into a dungeon, Milton discovers sections of the novel mysteriously delivered to him on parchment scrolls. With nothing better to do, he finally finds the time to actually read the book instead of simply judging it—and much to his chagrin, he becomes desperate to know what comes next. As Milton escapes prison and makes an unexpected friend, he slowly works his way toward the queen’s castle and the end of the novel. Will he finally concede that Anna has some real talent? Or will his stubbornness curse him to a lifetime of being trapped in his own hostility? Prater gleefully leans into the stereotype of the overweight, basement-dwelling incel who lives with his mom and only feels powerful by anonymously hurting people. This makes Milton’s eventual emotional reckoning—and realization that he was simply jealous of both Anna and her heroic knight characters—all the more satisfying (if sadly fantastical). The dissonance between modern and medieval dialogue sometimes comes across as hokey, but also adds to the fun. After accusations by Milton of being a gym rat and using steroids, for example, a knight responds: “I feel this statement is derogatory and expect you to explain what this steroid and gym is.” Prater has ultimately crafted an amusing, inventive, and timely foray into the perils of authorship.
An imaginative work that weaves fantasy and social commentary into a scathingly funny revenge tale.Pub Date: April 5, 2025
ISBN: 9798306677422
Page Count: 304
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
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
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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