A fantasy certain to please genre fans and readers seeking a new approach to vampires.
A mystical epic chronicles the adventures of a vampire warrior set for battle.
This first volume in mother-daughter team Katie and Debra Keller’s fantasy series is headlined by a resilient warrior princess who comes of age in the magical island realm of Fanticlear. The island is populated by two opposing factions of immortal vampires with flying and invisibility traits: the Kihnalta (compassionate), who have ruled the area for five centuries, and the Fiantes (fierce), who surrendered the region after the Clash War but remain poised to eventually reclaim their territory, now shared with mortals. The story opens with a hopelessly barren Queen Jennifer and Prince Liam, who appeal to the wise sister-goddesses to bless them with a child soon. A baby christened Princess Skyler Victoria Connellan arrives by carriage. As Skyler matures, she becomes obsessed with becoming a soldier and suffers frightful nightmares and visions about an army of torch-wielding warriors led by a Fiante poised to overthrow the monarch. Skyler secretly trains with local soldiers in the woods and soon develops true fighting skills, including their unique mind-reading talents. But she angrily separates from her family once she realizes the queen mother has orchestrated an arranged marriage to a wealthy Fiante prince. The Kellers impressively expand the story through intricate plotting and a colorful cavalcade of detailed characters, incorporating themes of revenge, family loyalty, romance, destiny, and Fanticlear island pride. Along the way, there are dragons, talking trees, glowing fairies, and large, yellow-eyed trolls to keep readers bewitched as the finale arrives, pitting Fanticlear’s heiress and her assembled mystical army of oddities against a legion of Fiante soldiers in a territorial war for the enchanted island. All the best elements of fairy tales and epic battles are here, complete with an opening map of the Fanticlear territories. The authors have forged a creative tale replete with brisk pacing, uniquely distinctive creatures, medieval vernacular, and the age-old battle between good and evil. Once Skyler’s thrilling journey to defend Fanticlear (and herself) begins, readers will be glued to the page and remain eager for the next installment.
A fantasy certain to please genre fans and readers seeking a new approach to vampires.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-671401-0
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Bowker
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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