This tidy conclusion to an ambitious duology should satisfy returning fans.
A conflicted leader confronts tainted magic and a family’s sins in this follow-up to The Beasts We Bury (2024).
After unseating her corrupt father from his position as the Prime, Mancella “Mance” Cliff has spent months wrestling with the burden of leading the Cliff Realm. Unsure of whom to trust and unwilling to burden those she loves, such as the former thief Silver, she utilizes her newly inherited power, which allows her to physically manifest and consult aspects of her character, such as Heart, Poise, and Asset, for counsel. However, a marriage proposal from the Prime of the Forest Realm, along with signs of corrupted magic, pushes Mance to face the part of herself she fears the most—and forces Silver to fight for their love. This installment is light on the backstory and requires readers to be familiar with the first book. Mance’s existing ability to summon and wield the animals she’s killed is secondary to her new powers of multiplicity. The chapters are narrated by Mance, Silver, and Mance’s various personas. While the dark magic is less graphic than in the previous book, this entry does feature body horror. The romance between the white-presenting leads is secondary to Mance’s journey toward self-acceptance. The new characters are well rounded, but the returning supporting characters feel underutilized, and the book overall lacks the emotional depth of the previous volume.
This tidy conclusion to an ambitious duology should satisfy returning fans. (content warning) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781250331700
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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