Only the truly devoted will feel like joining the slog
Just a scant 157 residents of Baalboden remain after the devastation wrought by the dragonlike Cursed One at the end of series opener Defiance (2012).
Reluctant 19-year-old leader Logan knows they will soon be beset: by the leader of city-state Rowansmark, whose prized piece of stolen, Cursed One–controlling tech Logan holds, or by the ousted Commander of Baalboden, bent on revenge—or both. Sure enough, the Commander comes knocking, and they all go fleeing in an unlikely exodus that takes them into the Wasteland. Logan’s kick-ass lover, Rachel, with the help of Tree People Willow and Quinn (ersatz Native Americans in this bizarre, post-apocalyptic very-near-future), conducts weapons training along the way. But who is leaving creepy notes and murdering refugees as they go? It must—gasp—be someone among them. Logan frets, and Rachel fights grief, guilt and PTSD; only in each other’s arms can they temporarily forget their current miseries. The plot trudges along with the refugees, narration shared between Rachel’s and Logan’s indistinguishable first-person, present-tense voices. The murder mystery fails to generate enough tension to distract readers from the slipshod worldbuilding (not a whit improved over the opener), but it does provide some opportunity for extra grieving and hand-wringing. Revelations discovered in their hoped-for haven of Lankenshire feel anticlimactic, chucked in to provoke enough angst to fuel the third book.
Only the truly devoted will feel like joining the slog . (Dystopian romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-211720-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exciting and bittersweet ending to a compelling duology.
The gang gets back together after the catastrophic events of A Tempest of Tea (2024).
Arthie Casimir and her brother, Jin, managed to uncover the real identity of—and steal a ledger with incriminating evidence about—the Ram, monarch of Ettenia, but their crew, a mix of vampires and humans, is irrevocably changed. The revelation of a secret leads to a rift between the siblings, the Ram is still in power, and now humans are going missing, with blame unjustly falling on the vampires. To take down the colonizer of her birth country, Arthie must get everyone to work together again, travel back to her homeland of Ceylan, and pull off her most daring heists yet. With chapters alternating among the perspectives of Arthie, Jin, and Felicity “Flick” Linden—a skilled forger and Jin’s love interest—this genre mashup set in an intricate fantasy world combines exciting action and adventure, heartfelt romance, and complex paranormal beings, all while feeling relevant to real-world issues. The trio of non-white leads face racial prejudice among other hardships in a society that constantly underestimates them. The plot takes a little while to really get started, but once the action amps up, there are plenty of tense and impassioned moments. The ending satisfyingly wraps up the main conflicts and is sure to evoke a strong emotional response from invested readers.
An exciting and bittersweet ending to a compelling duology. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780374389420
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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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