by David Bowles & Guadalupe García McCall ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 11, 2024
An intriguing tale of love and repentance.
Teen heirs realize they share a present-day zeal for social justice and a tragic past-life love story.
Seventeen-year-old Blanca Montes is passionate about Indigenous rights and potable water for communities in need. But neither her longtime boyfriend nor the godfather who’s raised her in Nevada and managed her estate since her parents’ deaths feel the same way. Increasingly disappointed by these entitled men, she’s drawn to rich, handsome Gregorio Chan, 18, a mysterious Mexican transfer student from a Swiss international school. Written in straightforward, page-turning prose, the novel follows Blanca’s and Greg’s sympathetic alternating perspectives as they discover secrets about their identities. Blanca was Lady Iztac, who, according to Aztec and Nahua tradition, killed herself after being deceived into thinking her love, the warrior Popoca, was dead. When Popoca found Iztac’s body, his reaction and ensuing bloodshed triggered a 1,000-year-old curse involving the lovers and people whose souls are intertwined with theirs. Greg—who’s Popoca—has just awoken with amnesia and the supernatural ability to wield heat. With the help of goddess guides, Greg must piece together lessons from flashbacks of all his failed attempts to find Iztac and also help Blanca to remember her past life and embrace her newfound power to control ice as the two try to identify and defeat the reincarnated power-hungry traitor in their midst. While some elements are initially confusing, the interesting premise will keep the pages turning until everything comes together at the end.
An intriguing tale of love and repentance. (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781547610044
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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by David Bowles ; illustrated by Charlene Bowles
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by David Bowles ; illustrated by Amanda Mijangos
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by Lynn Painter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 2025
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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by Lynn Painter
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by Lauren Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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