These squabbling BFFs will continue to please their fans, though they are unlikely to win new ones
The intrepid detective/vampire-slayer team of Stoker and Holmes returns for a third diverting steampunk mystery (The Spiritglass Charade, 2014, etc.).
Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes have collaborated on solving mysteries before. Action-oriented Evaline is a hereditary slayer of UnDead while Mina is a condescending mistress of deduction, much like her famous uncle. Or, as Evaline says, "I'm not the one who finds out things….I'm the one who does things." The girls react with dismayed pride when asked to entertain visiting Princess Lurelia of Betrovia. It's good to be trusted, but neither young lady has any desire to go about in society. Evaline would rather wear trousers and slay vampires in the vilest parts of London. Mina loves to wear pretty clothes but lacks any desire to make polite conversation. Luckily, disaster strikes: a guard is murdered, a gift between nations is stolen, and the princess is threatened by a mysterious figure the girls suspect is Mina's nemesis, the Ankh. This gives Mina the opportunity to deduce cleverly in the presence of her swain, the equally clever Inspector Grayling, while Evaline slays vampires while flirting with Cockney criminal mastermind Pix. The mystery moves at a glacial pace, as does the romantic build, despite the setup. The reappearance of Olympia Babbage ("granddaughter of some famous inventor") is, sadly, a mere side note.
These squabbling BFFs will continue to please their fans, though they are unlikely to win new ones . (Steampunk. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4317-0
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In Nina's world, children have GPS trackers until they turn 18, and surveillance satellites monitor for subversive talk. Tight control stands between young women and a threatening sexuality; at 16, teenage girls get tattooed with their age and become fair game. Fifteen-year-old Nina, unlike her friends, dreads becoming “sex-teen.” Her life is too confusing without extra complications: Her mother's just died, and Nina's half sister Dee might be legally claimed by her father to be a servant—or worse. How does the cute boy who might be a member of the resistance fit into Nina's life? And had Nina's mother been part of the resistance herself? Nina doesn't want to get involved, but she needs to protect Dee. A large suspension of disbelief is required for the dysfunctional gender politics. (How did the situation get so broken? How do teenage boys and girls manage to be friends when they're only weeks or months away from effectively legal rape?) Otherwise, a fun little thriller for the abstinence romantics. (Science fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-14-241771-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Speak/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2010
Those obsessed with paranormals won't dislike anything here, but everyone else should give it a miss
Boy meets Girl. Boy turns out to have a deep—nay, otherworldly—connection to Girl despite being the loneliest member of a family of immortal, sexy, good-hearted monsters.
Newly-orphaned Brooklynite Kate Mercier is now living in Paris with her grandparents and sister. She's grateful for anything that breaks the constant tyranny of her depression, even the weird obsession she's developing with Vincent, a hot Parisian she's seen in her favorite café. Vincent is equally obsessed with Kate, but after a few dates his secret is revealed: Vincent is a revenant, driven by some mystical force to give his life to save others again and again, constantly reborn as an 18 year old with rippling "rock-hard abdominal muscles." Along with his revenant family (one father figure, several extremely sexy pseudo-brothers and a teenage girl to be Kate's friend), he rescues at-risk Parisians while fighting off the revenant's evil counterparts among the undead. Kate and Vincent are, of course, drawn to each other, miserable with despair when apart. When they are together, it takes all Vincent's willpower not to molest his beloved; readers of Twilight and its ilk know the drill. But wait! Evil is afoot, and perhaps it will spice up their love life!
Those obsessed with paranormals won't dislike anything here, but everyone else should give it a miss . (Paranormal romance. 12-14)Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-200401-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
