A slog.
Happily-ever-after isn’t so easy to hang onto in the Inkworld.
Sixteen years after Inkdeath, the blood-soaked conclusion to the trilogy that began with Inkheart (2003), author Funke brings forth another dismal installment. Where the first book balanced delight and darkness, here rage and revenge suffuse the pages. Orpheus, defanged villain of Inkdeath, has discovered a way to punish his former idol, Dustfinger: He will have those Dustfinger loves painted into a book and thereby lure the Fire-Dancer to his doom. However, the drunken troubadour who acts as Orpheus’ stooge makes a mistake, losing the model for Dustfinger’s best friend, Nyame, the Black Prince. Thus, when Dustfinger heads off alone to confront Orpheus, Nyame can follow in hopes of keeping him safe. This novel is slender compared to Funke’s previous doorstoppers, but it still feels overlong, with arbitrary magic and plot twists that feel perfunctory rather than organic to the story. Adding to the dragging pace is the often-turgid prose. The late Anthea Bell’s translations of the first three books were full of power and grace; Schmitt Funke’s translation of her mother’s German text is characterized by awkward phrasing and malapropisms. As sentence gives way to leaden sentence, readers will be hard pressed to keep the pages turning. The characters, who are almost all adults, are mostly implied white; Nyame is Black.
A slog. (dramatis personae) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781338758931
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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