A deeply rewarding sequel that’s equal parts uncanny and moving.
In this sequel to 2024’s The Unfinished, a new horror emerges from the black water—and it’s coming for Avery.
Two weeks after defeating the black water and saving Key, Avery is leaning into getting her “Perfect Summer back on track,” attending parties and the annual FallsFest. But she can’t shake the feeling that things are askew. Key acts eerily out of character, losing himself as he gazes into mirrors and blaming his distance on exhaustion. The fountain in the town square has suddenly filled with water for the first time in decades, and everyone seems strangely drawn to it. Soon Avery begins to see disturbing reflections—and something tells her that whatever it is won’t remain trapped within mirrors for long. It’s up to her to set things right before it’s too late. Avery confronts more than just the Big Pond, and the truths she uncovers about her family’s connection to the black water are expertly delineated and truly affecting. The strength of her relationships and her newly felt connection to the stories of her Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk) heritage may become her best weapons. Already a uniquely eerie enemy, the black water’s significance deepens further as a new world of lore emerges. Isaacs (Mohawk) compellingly juxtaposes supernatural horrors with Avery’s journey to accept truer versions of herself and those close to her and keeps readers hooked with shocking twists.
A deeply rewarding sequel that’s equal parts uncanny and moving. (Kanyen’kéha glossary, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Supernatural. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780063287440
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans.
Romantic complications between a trained killer and one of her captors drive this sequel to Watch Me (2025).
Appealing to readers who prefer their romantic dramas to be light on action and heavy on long passages of banter, bitter sibling arguments, and tortured reflections, Mafi continues the tale of Rosabelle Wolff, the flaxen-haired assassin from the dystopic Reestablishment, and magnetic, “impossibly stunning” James Anderson, her nemesis-turned-lover who’s still trying to take down the regime. Now desperate to accomplish several secret missions, Rosa easily escapes from one of The New Republic’s prisons, where she was left in the series opener, and, dressed in “a little kid’s cat onesie,” eludes all pursuers except for James, who can seemingly find her at will. Enigmatic Rosa responds unpredictably to many human contacts—including with violence, temporary death (one of her abilities), or a sudden panic attack. Along with the central pair of rivals and lovers, James’ older brother, Aaron, shares the narration. Bestseller Mafi tucks in several subplots, including, notably, a cameo from Juliette Ferrars, the protagonist of the original Shatter Me series, who’s undergoing a scarily difficult pregnancy. Amid the slowly simmering rising action, the author delivers a revelation and a twist that set up a potential series climax. Some ethnic diversity is present in the supporting cast.
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans. (Dystopian. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780063419056
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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